Sec E SB ELA G8

English
Language Arts
STUDENT EDITION GRADE 8
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About The College Board
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ISBN: 978-1-4573-1294-6
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The Writing Revolution © Copyright 2017. All rights reserved. Please refer to The Writing Revolution:
A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades for a comprehensive
discussion of The Hochman Method and the sentence strategies and activities illustrated here.
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Acknowledgements
The College Board gratefully acknowledges the outstanding work of the classroom teachers who have been integral to the
development of this program. The end product is testimony to their expertise, understanding of student learning needs, and
dedication to rigorous and accessible English Language Arts instruction.
Lance Balla Christina Bartholet Carisa Barnes Leia Bell

Everett School District Goodman Middle San Diego Unified Hillsborough County
Everett, Washington School, Gig Harbor, School District Public Schools
Washington San Diego, California Tampa, Florida
Alysa Broussard Robert J. Caughey Susie Challancin Amanda Connell

Lafayette Parish San Dieguito Union Bellevue School District 405 Lisle, Illinois
School System High School District Bellevue, Washington
Lafayette, Louisiana San Diego, California
Paul De Maret Michael Gragert Nancy Gray Charles F. Hall

Poudre School District Plano Independent Brevard County Schools Peninsula School District
Fort Collins, Colorado School District Viera, Florida Gig Harbor, WA
Plano, Texas
Charise Hallberg T.J. Hanify Cheryl Harris Karen Kampschmidt

Bellevue School District 405 Bellevue School District 405 Hurst-Euless-Bedford Fort Thomas Independent
Bellevue, Washington Bellevue, Washington Independent School District School District
Bedford, Texas Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Kerstin Karlsoon LeAnn Klepzig Michelle Lewis Susie Lowry

Hillsborough County Bradley County Schools Spokane Public School Volusia County
Public Schools Cleveland, Tennessee Spokane, Washington School District
Tampa, Florida Deland, Florida
John Marshall Kristie Messer Missy Miles Glenn Morgan

Mead School District Burnet Consolidated Carmel Christian School San Diego Unified
Mead, Washington Independent School Charlotte, North Carolina School District
District Burnet, Texas San Diego, California
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Hillsborough County Hillsborough County Zephyr Cove, Nevada San Jose Unified
Public Schools Public Schools School District
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Aimee Welshans Rebecca Wenrich

San Diego Unified Peninsula School District
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School District Gig Harbor, Washington
San Diego, California
Research and Planning Advisors
We also wish to thank the members of our SpringBoard Advisory Council and the many educators who gave generously of
their time and their ideas as we conducted research for both the print and online programs. Your suggestions and reactions
to ideas helped immeasurably as we created this edition. We gratefully acknowledge the teachers and administrators in the
following districts.
ABC Unified School District Allen Independent School Bellevue, School District 405 Burnet Consolidated
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SpringBoard English Language Arts

Lori O’Dea Natasha Vasavada Doug Waugh Sarah Balistreri
Executive Director Executive Director Vice President Senior Director
Content Development Pre-AP & SpringBoard SpringBoard & Pre-AP ELA Content Development
Programs
Florencia Duran Wald Julie Manley Joely Negedly Jessica Brockman
Senior Director Senior Director Senior Director Product Manager
ELA Content Development Professional Learning Pre-AP Humanities English Language Arts
Suzie Doss Jennifer Duva Spencer Gonçalves Rebecca Grudzina
Director Director Director Senior Editor
SpringBoard Implementation English Language Arts Digital Content English Language Arts
Development
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Georgia Scurletis Abigail Johnson Casseia Lewis Natalie Hansford
Senior Instructional Writer Editor Assistant Editor Editorial Assistant
Pre-AP English Language English Language Arts English Language Arts English Language Arts
Arts
Table of Contents
Introduction to SpringBoard English Language Arts �� xii

A Letter to the Student �� xx
ACTIVITY Unit 1: The Challenge of Heroism

1.1 Previewing the Unit �� 4
1.2 Understanding Challenges �� 5
1.3 Understanding the Hero’s Journey Archetype �� 7
*Film: Big Hero 6, directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams
1.4 Planning for Independent Reading �� 11

1.5 The Onset of Adventure �� 13
Poetry: “Ithaka,” by C. P. Cavafy
1.6 The Departure �� 17

Short Story: “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” by Ray Bradbury
1.7 The Initiation �� 27

Epic Poetry: excerpt from the Odyssey, by Homer
Visuals: About the encounter with a Cyclops
1.8 The Return �� 41

Novel: excerpt from A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle

Graphic Novel: excerpt from A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel,
adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson
Language & Writer’s Craft: Verbs and Mood
LC Language Checkpoint:
Understanding Sentence Boundaries �� 62
1.9 Revising and Editing �� 66

Introducing the Strategy: Self-Editing, Peer-Editing
Embedded Assessment 1:
Writing a Hero’s Journey Narrative �� 69
1.10 Unpacking Embedded Assessment 2 �� 71
1.11
SAMPLE
The Nuance of Tone �� 72
v
CONTENTS
1.12 Physical and Emotional Challenges �� 74

Poetry: “A Man,” by Nina Cassian
Article: “Soldier home after losing his leg in Afghanistan,” by Gale Fiege
Introducing the Strategy: TP-CASTT
Introducing the Strategy: Freewriting
1.13 Definition Strategies �� 82

Article: “Where I Find My Heroes,” by Oliver Stone
Language & Writer’s Craft: Embedded Quotations
1.14 Historical Heroes: Examples �� 89

Sermon: excerpt from White House Funeral Sermon for Abraham Lincoln,
by Dr. Phineas D. Gurley
Poetry: “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman
Poetry: “Frederick Douglass,” by Robert Hayden
Autobiography: excerpt from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,
an American Slave, by Frederick Douglass
1.15 Transitions and Quotations �� 102

1.16 Negation Strategy of Definition �� 106
Essay: “A Definition of a Gentleman,” by John Henry Newman
1.17 Explanatory Writing Focus: Organization �� 109


Writing a Definition Essay �� 116
ACTIVITY Unit 2: The Challenge of Utopia

2.2 Informational Writing: Compare/Contrast �� 123
Essay: “In a Dreadfully Perfect World,” by Benjamin Obler
Language & Writer’s Craft: Verb Moods
2.3 Utopian Ideals and Dystopian Reality �� 133
Short Story: “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut
Visuals: About a Utopia and a Dystopia
SAMPLE
Using Subject-Verb Agreement �� 146
vi SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8

CONTENTS
2.4 Previewing the Novel �� 148

*Novel: The Giver, by Lois Lowry, or Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
2.5 Contemplating Conflicting Perspectives �� 151
Language & Writer’s Craft: Subject-Verb Agreement and Prepositions
2.6 Questioning Society �� 154
Article: “Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read,”
from the American Library Association
Introducing the Strategy: Socratic Seminar
Introducing the Strategy: Fishbowl
2.7 A Shift in Perspective: Beginning the Adventure �� 160
2.8 Navigating the Road of Trials �� 163
2.9 The End of the Journey �� 165
Language & Writer’s Craft: Active vs. Passive Voice
Writing an Informational Essay �� 169
2.11 Understanding Elements of Argumentation �� 172

Essay: “Private Eyes,” by Brooke Chorlton
2.12 Don’t Hate—Debate! �� 176

Article: “Representative Urges Action on the Media”
Introducing the Strategy: Debate
2.13 Highlighting Logos �� 179

Essay: “The Promise of a Post-Driver Life,” by Edward Humes
Editorial: “It’s Time to Tap the Breaks on Self-Driving Cars,”
by The Times Editorial Board
2.14 Forming and Supporting a Debatable Claim �� 190
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vii
2.15 Conducting Effective Research �� 192
Article: “The Very Human Problem Blocking the Path to
Self-Driving Cars,” by Alex Davies
2.16 Gathering and Citing Evidence �� 201

Article: “Five Challenges for Self-Driving Cars,” by Laurel Hamers
2.17 Organizing and Revising Your Argument �� 211

Language & Writer’s Craft: Correct Capitalization
Writing an Argumentative Essay �� 216
ACTIVITY Unit 3: The Challenge to Make a Difference

3.2 Preparing for Literature Circles �� 223
3.3 Understanding Literature Circle Discussions �� 228
Language & Writer’s Craft: Combining Sentences
3.4 Making Thematic Connections �� 232

Memoir: Excerpt from Night, by Elie Wiesel
Poetry: “First They Came for the Communists,” by Martin Niemöller
3.5 Analyzing an Allegory �� 241

*Children’s Book: Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust, by Eve Bunting
3.6 Dangerous Diction �� 245

3.7 Exploring the Museum �� 247
3.8 Presenting Voices �� 251
Language & Writer’s Craft: Active and Passive Voice
3.9 Analyzing Theme in Film �� 254

*Film: Life Is Beautiful, directed by Roberto Benigni
3.10 Dramatic Tone Shifts �� 257

Drama: Excerpt from The Diary of Anne Frank,
by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
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Language & Writer’s Craft: Pronoun–Antecedent Agreement
viii SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8

Using Punctuation Within Sentences �� 265
3.11 A Tale of Survival and Hope �� 267

Novel: Excerpt from Prisoner B-3087, by Alan Gratz
3.12 Creating a Memorable Opening �� 275

Diary: Excerpt from The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank
Presenting Voices of the Holocaust �� 280
Literature Circle Text Collection �� 282
3.14 Making a Difference �� 301
Language & Writer’s Craft: Reviewing Participial Phrases
3.15 Never Forget, Never Again �� 305

Speech: Excerpt from “The Nobel Acceptance Speech Delivered by Elie Wiesel”
Introducing the Strategy: SOAPSTone
Language & Writer’s Craft: Reviewing Clauses
3.16 Students Taking Action �� 311

Informational Text: Excerpt from Do Something! A Handbook for Young Activists
3.17 From Vision to Action �� 317

Informational Text: “Wangari Maathai,” from BBC News

Speech: “Nobel Lecture by Wangari Maathai, Oslo, December 10, 2004”
Informational Text: About Freerice.com
Informational Text: Free Rice Online Quiz Game
3.18 Examining Media Campaigns �� 326

Informational Text: Public Service Announcements
*Public Service Announcements (Nonprint, available online)
3.19 Raising Awareness �� 330

Speech: “Address by Cesar Chavez,” President, United Farm Workers of America, Afl-Cio
Understanding Verb Tense �� 335
SAMPLE
Presenting a Multimedia Campaign �� 337
ix
ACTIVITY Unit 4: The Challenge of Comedy
4.2 Understanding the Complexity of Humor �� 343
ssay: “Made You Laugh,” by Marc Tyler Nobleman
E
Language & Writer’s Craft: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
4.3 Classifying Comedy �� 354
Introducing the Strategy: RAFT
4.4 Humorous Anecdotes �� 358
Essay: from “Brothers,” by Jon Scieszka
Language & Writer’s Craft: Using Verbals
Introducing the Strategy: TWIST
4.5 Finding Truth in Comedy �� 366

Essay: “I’ve Got a Few Pet Peeves about Sea Creatures,” by Dave Barry
4.6 Satirical Humor �� 373

Article: “Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense from Language
Programs,” from The Onion
Language & Writer’s Craft: Inappropriate Shifts in Verb Voice and Mood
4.7 Elements of Humor: Comic Characters and Caricatures �� 380
Short Story: “The Open Window,” by Saki (H. H. Munro)
4.8 Elements of Humor: Comic Situations �� 387

ovel Excerpt: “A Day’s Work” from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
N
Recognizing Frequently Confused Words �� 396
4.9 Elements of Humor: Hyperbole �� 398
Poetry: “Mooses,” by Ted Hughes
4.10 Elements of Humor: Comic Wordplay �� 402
Poetry: “Is Traffic Jam Delectable?” by Jack Prelutsky
*Comedic Skit: “Who’s on First?” by Bud Abbott and Lou Costello (available online)
4.11 Planning and Revising an Analysis of a Humorous Text �� 406
Student Essay: “The Power of Pets,” by Isha Sharma
Writing an Analysis of a Humorous Text �� 413
4.12
SAMPLE
Unpacking Embedded Assessment 2 �� 415
x SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8

4.13 Analyzing Multiple Points of View �� 416
Novel: from Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
4.14 Creating Context for Shakespearean Comedy �� 426
4.15 Insulting Language �� 429
4.16 Close Reading of a Scene �� 431
Drama: Excerpt from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare
4.17 Acting Companies and Collaborative Close Reading �� 434
*Drama: Excerpts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
by William Shakespeare
4.18 Facing the Challenge of Performance �� 437
Informational Text: Adapted from “Fear Busters—10 Tips
to Overcome Stage Fright!” by Gary Guwe
Article: Adapted from “9 Public Speaking Tips to Get Over Stage Fright,”
by Emma Sarran Webster
4.19 Working with Acting Companies and Focus Groups �� 446
*Drama: Excerpts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare
4.20 Same Text, Different Text �� 450
*Film: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
4.21 Dress Rehearsal �� 453
Performing Shakespearean Comedy �� 454
Resources
Independent Reading �� 458
SpringBoard Learning Strategies �� 467
Graphic Organizers �� 474
English-Spanish Glossary �� 518
Index of Skills �� 529
Index of Authors and Titles �� 536
SAMPLE
Credits �� 538
*Texts not included in these materials.
xi
Introduction to
SpringBoard English Language Arts
About SpringBoard ELA

SpringBoard was built around a simple belief: if you give students and teachers the best materials,
engaging methods, and ongoing support, then student success will surely follow. Developed by teachers,
SpringBoard brings your classroom to life with materials that help you practice the skills and learn
the knowledge you need to excel in middle school, high school, and beyond. Read on to find out how
SpringBoard will support your learning.
Instructional Materials
SpringBoard English Language Arts supplies a Student Edition and Teacher Edition, in print and digital
form, for grades 6–12. In addition to using the English Language Arts curriculum, you can sharpen
your reading, writing, and language skills with materials including Language Workshop, Close Reading
Workshop, and Writing Workshop.
CONSUMABLE STUDENT EDITION CONSUMABLE STUDENT EDITION
TEACHER EDITION TEACHER EDITION
English Language
Grade 8 Grade 8
Language Arts Workshop
English Language
Grade 8 Grade 8
Language Arts Workshop

CONSUMABLE STUDENT EDITION
CONSUMABLE STUDENT EDITION
TEACHER EDITION
TEACHER EDITION
Close Reading
Workshop Grade 8 Writing
Grade 8
Workshop
Close Reading
Workshop Grade 8 Writing
Grade 8
Workshop
SAMPLE
xii SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
ACTIVITY
3.13 Unpacking Embedded Assessment 2
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
QHT
• Reflect on and make connections between the lessons of the Holocaust
Close Reading and “taking action�”
Paraphrasing
• Analyze the skills and knowledge needed to complete Embedded
Graphic Organizer Assessment 2 successfully�
Preview
My Notes In this activity, you will preview Embedded Assessment 2 as a class�
Design that Begins with the End in Mind Presenting a Multimedia Campaign
the concept of
Making Connections
2 further
“finding hope in times of despair�” This idea is developed
ASSESSMENT
During your study of narratives of the Holocaust, you were asked to think about
EMBEDDED
in the last half of the unit by building on the idea of people taking action to create
positive change in their communities and the world�
• Based on the Understanding by Design model, SpringBoard ASSIGNMENT

Essential Questions
Reflect on your understanding of the relationship between the first Essential
teaches the skills and knowledge that matter most to meet AP

Question
Develop a multimedia presentation that informs (Why
your is itabout
peers important to learn
an issue aboutorthe
of national Holocaust?) and the second
global
Essential
significance and convinces them to take action� Question
Work (How can
collaboratively to one person
conduct andmake a difference?)�
synthesize
research into an engaging campaign that challenges your audience to make a difference�
Developing Vocabulary
and college and career readiness standards. Dividing words into their individual syllables helps with pronunciation, decoding
word parts, and spelling� Return to the Academic Vocabulary and Literary Terms
at the beginning of the unit, and use a print or digital resource to determine
Planning and Researching: ■■ Which the
of the issuesbreakdown
syllable from the listof your
eachclass
word�has
Youdeveloped are of
might notice interest
that to
some words have
• You will start each unit by unpacking the assessment, so Collaborate with a group of
peers to select and gather
information on an issue for
you? different≈ syllable breakdowns for spelling and pronunciation� Using the QHT
■■ Wherestrategy,
could youre-sort the words
look online
global significance?
based
to find on your
out about newissues
more learning�
of national or
your campaign� 1. Compare this sort with your original sort� How has your understanding
you know where you’re heading and why the skills you’re

■■ How will you evaluate the credibility and timeliness of sources?
changed?
■■ How will you investigate what others are doing about your issue in order to
evaluate possible solutions to incorporate into your call to action?
2. Select a word from the chart (or a Holocaust-related term), and write a concise
developing matter.
■■ How will you give credit
statement for information
about found
your learning� Howinhas
youryour
sources and prepare
understanding of athis word
Works Citedchanged
page orover
an Annotated
the courseBibliography?
of this unit?
Drafting: Collaborate with ■■ How will you use rhetorical appeals (pathos, logos, and ethos) to persuade
your group to design a your audience to care?
Unpacking Embedded Assessment 2
• Each activity starts with clear, standards-aligned learning multimedia campaign�
Develop a multimedia
■■ How can you raise awareness by informing your peers about compelling
Closely read the Embedded Assessment 2 assignment and the Scoring Guide�
facts related to your issue?
presentation that informs your peers about an
INDEPENDENT ■■ What will be your group’s name, mission statement, logo, and/or slogan?
targets. READING LINK issue of will

■■ What media channels national or global
you use in yoursignificance
presentation, and convinces
such them to take
as presentation
action�
tools, audio/visual Work collaboratively
components, social media, to conduct and synthesize research into an
or others?
Reading Plan
■ ■ How will you engagingtalking
organize campaign
pointsthat
to challenges
inform your your audience
audience tothe
about make a difference�
issue,
To support your learning in
the second half of the unit, convince Work
them with
to your
care, class
and to
provide paraphrase
a call to the
action expectations
(what, why, and
and create
how)? a graphic
select a fiction or nonfiction organizer to use as a visual reminder of the required concepts (what you
Rehearsing and Presenting:
narrative about someone who ■ ■ How can you
needuseto feedback
know) andfrom a
skills dress
(what rehearsal
you need to
toimprove
do)� your
Usemade
effective speakingin the world presentation?
a difference

After each activity, use this graphic organizer to guide reflection about what
andor
listening to to
who tried prepare,
confront social■■ How will you
you use
havethe scoring
learned guide
and what toyou
provide feedback
still need on your
to learn ownto
in order andbe successful in
present, and observe�
injustice� others’ presentations?
the Embedded Assessment�
■■ How will you listen and take notes on the what, why, and how of each
300 SpringBoard English Language
® multimedia presentation?
Arts Grade 8
■■ How will you make sure to employ eye contact, speaking rate, volume,
2 The Practice of Reading Closely

enunciation, a variety of natural gestures, and conventions of language to
UNIT
communicate ideas effectively?
• SpringBoard puts a special focus on close reading, giving you

Reflection
After completing this Embedded Assessment, think about how you went about
accomplishing this task, and respond to the following:
strategies and structure for developing this key skill.

• Which presentations were effective in convincing you to care about the issue and why?
ACTIVITY • What were the most effective media channels you observed, and what were the strengths
2.12
of each? ACTIVITY
Close Reading of action,

Scene nonfiction,
Don’t Hate—Debate!
1.14 4.16
• You will encounter compelling texts—fi Unit 3 • The Challenge to Make a Difference 337
poetry,
Knowledge Quest drama,
Strategiesvisuals, and Learning
film.Targets LITERARY
VOCABULARY
Learning Learning Strategies
• What ideals seemed to motivate Lincoln? Learning Targets An allegory is a literary
• Analyze graphical elements in drama.
technique of extending Skimming/Scanning
• What additional knowledge about heroes, and Lincoln as a hero
Visualizing • Summarize text to maintain meaning.
a metaphor through
• Plan bothansides of a debate using rhetorical appeals. Diffusing
specifically, did you gain from reading this sermon? entire poem or story so that
KWHL objects, Preview
persons, and actionsillustration, or analogy to support a claim.
Paraphrasing
• Use anecdote, Close Reading
Debate in the text are equated with
About the Author meanings that Inliethis activity,
outside the you will read a scene from a Shakespearean play and think Summarizing
Brainstorming text. about its meaning. Preview Rereading
Note-taking
Walt Whitman (1819–1892) is now considered one of Visualizing
America’s greatest poets, but his untraditional poetry In this activity, you will learn about rhetorical appeals and how they can
Graphic Organizer
was not well received during his lifetime. As a young
Settingan
strengthen a Purpose for Reading
argumentative essay.
man, he worked as a printer and a journalist while writing • As you read the scene, underline words and phrases that are meant to
VISUAL PROMPT free-verse poetry. His collection of poems, Leaves MybeNotes
insults. My Notes
The perfect society may of Grass, first came out in 1855, and he revised and • Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words
mean different things to added to it several times over the years. During
ACADEMIC Rhetorical Appeals
by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
VOCABULARY
different people. How the Civil War, he worked in Washington, caring

does this image represent Illustration
for injured soldiers in hospitals. This poem is an explains how 1. Rhetorical appeals are an important part of creating a convincing and
one vision of an ideal example of an allegory. your solution or point of view persuasive
About argument. Read the definitions that follow to understand how
the Author
society? Is this similar or will result in something good writers or speakers use each type of appeal. Included are some examples of
different from what you for the audience. Little is known about the early life of William
rhetorical devices that fall under each category of rhetorical appeals.
Shakespeare (1564–1616), except that he
envision a perfect society Poetry
to be? An analogy is a comparison was born and grew up in Stratford-on-Avon in
England. As a young man, he went to London
O Captain !
between two things,
Appeal and became an actor and playwright. He wrote
Meaning
typically for the purpose of at least 37 plays (comedies, tragedies, and
ACTIVITY
Understanding Literature explanation or clarification.
Logos
histories) and is considered one of the greatest
• an appeal to reason; providing logical reasoning and evidence in
CircleMy Captain !
playwrights who ever lived. A Midsummer
3.3
An anecdote is a short Night’s the form of description, narration, and/or exposition
Discussions narrative of an interesting,
Dream was written around the same
as Romeo and Juliet and marks an increasing
time
THE CHALLENGE
• illustration (example or story that helps explain or justify a point)
amusing, or biographical depth and maturity in Shakespeare’s work.
by Walt Whitman • analogy (uses a more familiar concept to help explain an

incident.
OF UTOPIA O Captain! my Captain! our fearfulAtrip is done;is an informal or

debate unfamiliar one)
Drama
Learning Strategies The ship has weather’d every rack, the formal discussion in which
prize we sought is won;
A Midsummer
Learning Targets
The port is near, the bells I hear, theopposing arguments are put
people all exulting,
Pathos • an appeal to emotions; using descriptive, connotative, and
from
Diffusing • Analyze Literature forward. A debate usually figurative language for effect; providing an emotional anecdote;
While follow eyes the steadyCircle role
keel, the descriptions
vessel grim and demonstrate an
and daring:
T he year was 2081, and everyone was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before
Literature Circles understanding of one rolefocuses on aadebatable
by creating résumé of or
the skills needed to or developing tone
Night’s Dream
5 But O heart! heart! heart!
God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter thanQuestioning
anybody the Text perform it� controversial issue.
O the bleeding drops of red,
else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than
Summarizing • Read a narrative with the purpose of learning more about the Holocaust� Ethos
KNOWLEDGE • an appeal based on trust or character; demonstrating that you
anybody else. Where on the deck my Captain lies, QUEST understand the audience’s point of view; making the audience

Note-taking • Practice Literature Circle roles by participating in a collaborative Knowledge
Fallen cold and dead. Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 282–305
Question:
Discussion Groups
–from “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut discussion� believe that you are knowledgeable and trustworthy; showing
INDEPENDENT What kinds of ideals motivate by Williamthat
Shakespeare
you have researched your topic by supporting reasons with
heroes to act?
Preview READING LINK appropriate,
HERMIA: logical
Oh me! you evidence
juggler! and reasoning
you canker-blossom!
Read
In this activity, you will learn andthe
about Discuss
roles in a Literature Circle, describe You thief of love! What, have you come by night
My Notes Choose one essay
in a or speech about a Holocaust And stolen my love’s heart from him?
A Living System of Learning

one role in depth, and practice your role discussion rack: windy storm
narrative� from your Independent Reading 2. Create a HELENA:
visual of each type of appeal to help you remember its definition.
Fine, i’faith!
List that contains a compelling
285 Have you no modesty, no maiden shame,
claim or argument. What 91bashfulness? What, will you tear
Understanding Literature makes Circle Roles
the claim or argument
Unit 1 • The Challenge
IntroducingA of THeroism
C No the
I Vtouch
IT Y of
Getting
Strategy: Your Words Right: Revising and
Debate
effective? Share your ideas Editing 1.9
Unit 4 • The Challenge of Comedy 431
• SpringBoard puts you and your classmates
Read the following information about Literature Circle roles� For each role,The
thinkpurpose of a debate is to provide an opportunity to collect and orally
about the skills required and with a partner.
consider Compare
your personal strengths�
your examples, compiling a present evidence supporting the affirmative and negative arguments of a
proposition or issue. During a debate, participants follow a specific order
in charge of your learning to create a more Discussion Leader list of similarities, including Learning Strategies
strategies they both use to of events and often have a time limitLearning for making Targetstheir points. Participants
Your job is to develop a list of questions you think your group should discuss Collaborative Discussion
need to advocate their position using• rhetorical
Identify and apply effective techniques
appeals, like theand strategies
ones for writing groups�
listed
build a strong argument. As
about the reading selection� Use your knowledge of Levels of Questions to create Sharing and Responding
• Revise and edit a narrative draft through a collaborative writing group�
above, while employing eye contact, speaking rate, volume, enunciation, a
dynamic classroom experience. a class,
(Levelbuild a detailed
universallist
Summarizing
thought-provoking, interpretive 2), and (Level 3) questions Preview of language to communicate
that connect to understanding ofthe
ways an author
content
variety
createsofathe text� Try to create
and themes
of natural gestures,
Self-Editing/Peer- Editing and conventions
questions that encourage your compelling claim. Document
group to consider their ideas effectively. Listen to your teacher as he or she explains each of
many ideas� Help your group
In this activity, you will participate in a writing group to provide feedback
to your peers about their writing and revise your own work based on peer
to explore these important ideas yourand
response in your
share their Reader/
reactions� these
You are in charge of elements of good oral communication.
• With a flexible design and rich library of
feedback�
Writer Notebook.
facilitating the day’s discussion�
Writing Group Roles
Diction Detective
tools and resources, SpringBoard helps your
For groups to be effective, each member must participate to help achieve the goals
176
Your job is to carefully examine SpringBoard
the diction English
(word choice) Language
in the Arts Grade 8
reading selection�
® of the group� The purpose of writing groups is to:
• Provide an open-minded place to read, respond to, and revise writing�

Search for words, phrases, and lines or passages that are especially descriptive, • Provide meaningful feedback to improve writing based on specific criteria�
teacher personalize instruction for your class. powerful, funny, thought-provoking, surprising, or even confusing� List the words
or phrases and explain why you selected them� Then analyze the intended effect,
asking and answering questions such as the following: What is the author trying to
•
•
Create specific roles to solicit and manage sharing and responding�
Focus on posing open-ended questions for the writer to consider�
Writing group members have roles and responsibilities�
say? How does the diction help the author achieve his or her purpose? What tone
do the words indicate? Role Guidelines Discussion/Response Starters
The Reader: The Reader’s purpose is to share an Reader’s and Listeners’ compliments:
understanding of the Writer’s words�
Bridge Builder Reads the text
silently, then The Reader provides the writer with oral
• I liked the words you used, such as ��
• I like the way you described ��
Your job is to build bridges between the events of the text and other people, aloud� Begins the or written instructions on how to improve • This piece made me feel ��
conversation after their writing�
places, or events in school, the community, or your own life� Look for connections reading�
• This piece reminded me of ��
The Reader follows all listeners’
between the text, yourself, other texts, and the world� Also, when reading a guidelines as well�
• I noticed your use of from the Hero’s
Journey when you ��
narrative, make connections between what has happened before and what might
happen as the narrative continues� Look for the character’s internal and external The Listeners: The Listeners begin with positive Reader’s and Listeners’ comments and
Take notes and statements, using “I” statements to talk suggestions:
conflicts and the ways that these conflicts influence his or her actions� When
SAMPLE
prepare open- about the writing, not the Writer� • I really enjoyed the part where ��
reading poetry, make connections between the beginning and ending of the ended questions The Listeners use the writer’s checklist • What parts are you having trouble with?
poem� Is there a shift in the narrator’s attitude or perspective about the subject for the Writer or to produce thoughtful questions that will • What do you plan to do next?
make constructive help strengthen the writing�
of the poem? statements�
• I was confused when ��
The Writer: As his or her work is being read aloud Writer’s questions:
Listens to the by another, the Writer can get an overall • What do you want to know more about?
draft, takes notes, impression of the piece� • Which part does not make sense?
responds to The Writer follows oral or written • Which section of the text does not work?
questions, and instructions to improve the writing�
228 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8 asks questions for The Writer asks questions to get
• How can I improve this part?
clarification� feedback that will lead to effective
revision�
xiii
66 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
Bringing the Classroom to Life
When you enter a SpringBoard classroom you don’t hear a teacher talking in the front of the room. You
hear a buzz of excitement, with students working together and taking charge of how they learn. That’s
what the teachers who designed SpringBoard wanted for their classrooms, so they created a curriculum
and materials that are focused on real classroom needs, encouraging teacher and student involvement.
SpringBoard translates the expectations of state standards into engaging daily lessons. We believe
that reading, writing, speaking, and listening should all be learned together. You’ll see examples of our
integrated approach throughout our materials. And we put a special focus on close reading, giving you
strategies and structure for developing this key skill.
Our Approach to Reading
In SpringBoard ELA, we move right into compelling texts—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, visuals,
and film—and offer the tools, supports, and approaches that will help you get the most out of every
reading.
The Practice of Reading Closely

Texts take center stage in the SpringBoard ELA classroom, where you will prepare for close, critical
reading of a wide range of materials. With guidance from your teacher, you will develop the habits of
close reading that will serve you for a lifetime.
• S
etting a Purpose for Reading: You ask questions, make predictions, observe genre characteristics
and text structures, and prepare to annotate the text.
• First Reading: You read on your own, with a partner, in a group, or with the class. You annotate
the text as you begin to uncover its meaning.
• M
aking Observations: Your teacher guides you to pause during or right after the first reading to
observe the small details within a text in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of the whole.
• R
eturning to the Text: You continue to deepen your understanding of the text by responding to a
series of text-dependent questions. You will use text evidence, speak with new vocabulary words,
reflect on your classmates’ ideas, and make connections among texts, ideas, and experiences.

• W
orking from the Text: You use the text as a source as you move from reading and analysis to
productive work, including academic discussion and writing.
Reading Independently
As a SpringBoard student, you’ll practice good reading habits in class so that you can read challenging
texts in other classes and on your own. Independent reading is an integral part of every SpringBoard
English Language Arts unit. At the beginning of the year, you will learn how to make a plan for
independent reading. Independent Reading Lists for each unit give you a jump-start on selecting texts
by offering a list of suggested titles, including a number of Spanish-language titles, that connect to the
themes, genres, and concepts of the SpringBoard unit.
While you work your way through each unit, you will respond to Independent Reading Links
that lead you to make connections between the reading you’re doing on your own and the skills and
knowledge you’re developing in class. Twice per unit, Independent Reading Checkpoints give you
a chance to reflect on and synthesize your independent reading in an informal writing assignment or
discussion.
SAMPLE
xiv SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
Reading to Build Knowledge
SpringBoard units are designed so that you can delve deeply into an overarching topic, theme, or idea.
Each unit will pose essential questions that relate to the ideas and texts within the unit, and you will
return to these questions again and again, each time refining your responses with new understanding
and new evidence to support your point of view. You will also deepen your knowledge of key topics
by conducting both on-the-spot and extended research, asking and answering questions, evaluating
multiple sources, and synthesizing your findings.
Twice a unit you will go on a Knowledge Quest. Each Knowledge Quest begins with a Knowledge
Question and supporting questions to focus your reading. After reading several texts that explore a topic,
theme, or idea, you will get to return to the Knowledge Question and show your growing understanding
of the topic by responding to a writing prompt or engaging in a discussion.
At the end of a Knowledge Quest, you will be encouraged to continue building your knowledge of the
topic by going to Zinc Reading Labs and finding related texts to read. Zinc Reading Labs offers a variety
of informational and literary texts that you can choose based on your interests. Vocabulary sets for each
text let you learn new words and practice using them.
Your independent reading can also enhance your understanding of the topics you are studying in class
if you want it to. SpringBoard’s Independent Reading Lists include suggested books that relate to the
topics and themes from each unit. By choosing those books you can see a different side of the topic, learn
new words, and find other topics you want to learn more about.
Reading to Gain Perspectives

Gaining Perspectives features use a text as a jumping off point for examining an issue relevant to you.
You will be asked to consider the perspectives of others and to empathize with others who have different
points of view. You will also be asked to think about social and ethical norms and to recognize the family,
school, and community resources available to you. Each Gaining Perspectives feature concludes with a
writing task in which you will summarize the discussion you have with your classmates.
Our Approach to Writing
SpringBoard English Language Arts provides you with the support you need to write in all the major
modes, emphasizing argumentative, informational, and narrative. You will write often, and you will
learn to become a critical reviewer of your own and your peers’ work through frequent opportunities
for revision and editing. You will learn to plan with purpose, audience, topic, and context in mind;
develop drafts with engaging ideas, examples, facts and commentary; revise for clarity, development,
organization, style, and diction; and edit using the conventions of the English language.
SAMPLE
xv
The Craft of Writing
As you read texts by skilled authors, you will observe the many choices those authors make. You’ll tune
in to the ways authors purposefully use words, sentences, and structures to convey meaning. After
analyzing and critiquing others’ work, you will learn to apply your understanding of author’s craft to your
own writing. A few SpringBoard features help you do just that:
• W
riting prompts lead up to the Embedded Assessments and give you practice with writing texts in
multiple genres, including personal narratives, argumentative essays, letters, research papers, and
more. Writing to Sources writing prompts drive you back to texts you have read or viewed to mine
for evidence.
• F
ocus on the Sentence tasks help you process content while also practicing the craft of writing
powerful sentences.
• G
rammar & Usage features highlight interesting grammar or usage concepts that appear in a text,
both to improve your reading comprehension and to help you attend to these concepts as you craft
your own texts.
• Language & Writer’s Craft features address topics in writing such as style, word choice, and
sentence construction.
• Language Checkpoints offer in-depth practice with standard English conventions and guide you
to develop an editor’s checklist to use as a reference each time you check your own or a peer’s
written work.
Modes of Writing
SpringBoard helps you become a better academic writer by giving you authentic prompts that require
you to use sources, and showing you how to work through the writing process. Over the course of the
year you will have the chance to write narratives, arguments, and informational texts, and you will
develop a wide range of writing skills:
• Consider task, audience, and purpose when structuring and organizing your writing.
• Incorporate details, reasons, and textual evidence to support your ideas.

• G
enerate research questions, evaluate sources, gather relevant evidence, and report and cite your
findings accurately.
• Use research-based strategies that will guide you through the writing process.
SAMPLE
xvi SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
Writing with a Focus on the Sentence
SpringBoard English Language Arts leverages sentence writing strategies that were developed by The
Writing Revolution. These evidence-based strategies are part of the Hochman Method, the Writing
Revolution’s system for helping students learn to write across all content areas and grades. The Writing
Revolution emphasizes the importance of embedding writing and grammar instruction into content.
That’s why SpringBoard’s Focus on the Sentence tasks integrate sentence-level writing into the
curriculum. These tasks not only help you learn and practice important grammar concepts and sentence
forms, but they also provide a chance for you to process and demonstrate your understanding of texts,
images, class discussions, and other content.
Our Approach to Vocabulary
Vocabulary is threaded throughout each unit and developed over the course of the SpringBoard English
Language Arts year. You will have ample opportunities to read and hear new words, explore their
meanings, origins, and connotations, and use them in written and oral responses.
• I mportant academic and literary terms that you will need to actively participate in classroom
discussions are called out in your book.
• Challenging vocabulary terms found in reading passages are glossed at the point of use.
• Periodic Word Connections boxes guide you through the process of exploring a word with
multiple meanings and nuances, an interesting etymology, a telling root or affix, a helpful Spanish
cognate, a relationship to another word, or a connection to another content area.
Zinc Reading Labs

Zinc Reading Labs combines the best features of a typical vocabulary program with those of a typical
reading program and makes reading and learning new words a game. Zinc offers a variety of nonfiction
and fiction texts that you can choose from based on individual needs and interest. Each article has a
corresponding vocabulary set that pre-teaches challenging words through spaced repetition, to help you
genuinely learn and internalize the vocabulary. Additional vocabulary games focus on SAT/ACT power
words and foundational words for English language learners.
SAMPLE
xvii
Pre-AP Connections
SpringBoard shares Pre-AP’s core principles and encourages you to build skills that you will use in high
school and beyond. These principles are evident in every SpringBoard activity.
Close Observation and Analysis E

vidence-Based Writing
... to notice and consider ... with a focus on the sentence
When reading, your teacher will guide you to SpringBoard challenges you to write increasingly
pause to make observations and notice details complex, sophisticated, and precise sentences
in the text before analyzing or explaining. Only over the course of the year through regular
after you have noticed and enjoyed elements of practice with sentence-level writing. Instead
the text do you then return to the text for deeper of being isolated from reading, sentence-
analysis and inferential thinking. This close level grammar and writing exercises are
reading sequence helps you interact and engage integrated into the curriculum to enhance your
with the text in increasingly meaningful ways. comprehension and your ability to compose a
variety of texts.
H
igher-Order Questioning A
cademic Conversations
... to spark productive lingering ... to support peer-to-peer dialogue
Each unit opens with two essential questions that SpringBoard classrooms are places where
relate to the topics, themes, and texts within that students like you engage in collaborative
unit. You return to these questions throughout learning. You will participate in discussion
the unit and refine your answers as new evidence groups, writing groups, debates, Socratic
is presented. SpringBoard also encourages you to seminars, literature circles, and oral
craft your own questions, and to dig deeply into interpretations and performances. These
the texts you read. After each reading passage, you activities create an environment where you can
evaluate the meaning of the text and examine the share, compare, critique, debate, and build on

choices that the author made when writing it. others’ ideas to advance your learning.
PSAT/SAT Connections
We want students to be rewarded for the hard work you do in your English Language Arts courses,
including when you sit down to take important assessments. Therefore, SpringBoard English Language
Arts focuses on the same essential knowledge and skills that are the center of the Evidence-Based
Reading and Writing sections of the SAT Suite of Assessments (SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT™ 10, and
PSAT™ 8/9). To be sure of our alignment, we conducted a research study, the results of which showed
strong to exemplary alignment between the SpringBoard ELA courses and the corresponding SAT Suite
tests. This means that you are getting ready for the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT™ 10, and PSAT™ 8/9 in the
classroom every day.
SAMPLE
xviii SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
Tools and Supports
SpringBoard Digital
SpringBoard puts you in charge of what you learn and gives students and teachers the flexibility and
support they need. SpringBoard Digital is an interactive program that provides always-available online
content that’s accessible from any device—desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or interactive whiteboard.
The student edition allows you to interact with the text, respond to prompts, take assessments, and
engage with a suite of tools, all in the digital space. Teachers get access to a correlations viewer that
embeds correlations at point of use, a lesson planner, progress reports, grading, messaging, and more.
Zinc Reading Labs
All SpringBoard users have access to Zinc Reading Labs, where you can find a huge library of reading
material chosen specifically to align with the SpringBoard English Language Arts curriculum.
Zinc offers:
• Fresh and engaging nonfiction and fiction content for independent reading.
• Interactive games, quizzes, and tasks that build skills and confidence.
• Freedom of choice: Zinc’s massive and ever-growing library means that all students should find
texts they want to read.
Turnitin Revision Assistant
When you develop drafts of an available Embedded Assessment through SpringBoard Digital, you can
use a tool called Turnitin Revision Assistant. This online tool gives instant feedback to students as they
write so they can polish their drafts and practice their revision skills. The feedback model Revision
Assistant uses is based on scoring by SpringBoard teachers, and it’s trained to assess the same rubric
areas that they assess.
Revision Assistant offers:
• A template to help you create an outline.
• Actionable, instant feedback in specific areas such as structure, use of language, and ideas.
• Identification of strengths and weakness in your writing.
SAMPLE
xix
A Letter to the Student
Dear Student,
Welcome to the SpringBoard program! We created this program with you in mind: it puts you and
your classmates at the center of your learning and equips you with the skills and knowledge you need to
excel in middle school, high school, and beyond.
The energy and excitement you bring to class helps you and your classmates learn. You will explore
compelling themes through readings, classroom discussions, and projects. You will dive into fascinating
texts—some of which you’ll choose on your own—from different genres including myths, poems,
biographies, plays, and films. You will engage in lively discussions, debates, and performances so that
you become confident sharing and presenting your ideas. You will write frequently to sharpen your
ability to craft effective sentences, paragraphs, and longer texts. And you’ll start each unit with a clear
understanding of where you’re headed by unpacking the skills and knowledge you’ll need to do well on
the assessment at the end.
SpringBoard helps you make connections between the concepts you’re reading and writing about in
class and the real world. Instead of just memorizing how to do things, you’ll draw on your own and your
classmates’ experiences and knowledge to come to new and deeper understandings. When questions
arise from the materials you’re studying in class, you’ll learn how to do both quick and longer-term
research to find answers. Plus, you’ll have access to tools and resources that are built right into the
program, including powerful learning strategies, independent reading lists to help you select texts to
read outside of class, and digital tools that you can access any time from any device—desktop computer,
laptop, or tablet.
We want students to be rewarded for the hard work they do in their English Language Arts course.
That’s why the SpringBoard program focuses on the essential knowledge and skills that will prepare you
for the challenging work you’ll do in your high school classes, in AP courses, and in college.
Students from around the country are talking about how much they like the SpringBoard approach to
learning. We hope you enjoy learning with SpringBoard, too.

Sincerely,
The SpringBoard Team
SAMPLE
xx SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
UNIT
1
VISUAL PROMPT
What do you picture when you hear
the word hero? What words and
images immediately come to mind?
THE CHALLENGE
OF HEROISM
A s you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them;
you’ll never find things like that on your way
SAMPLE
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high ...
–from “Ithaka” by C. P. Cavafy
UNIT
1 The Challenge of Heroism
• To create and present ACTIVITY CONTENTS

GOALS
an original illustrated
narrative based on the 1.1 Previewing the Unit �� 4
Hero’s Journey archetype
• To analyze and synthesize 1.2 Understanding Challenges �� 5
a variety of texts to
develop an original 1.3 Understanding the Hero’s Journey Archetype �� 7
definition of hero
• To analyze and evaluate *Film: Big Hero 6, directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams
informational and
narrative texts for ideas, 1.4 Planning for Independent Reading �� 11
structure, and language
• To compose texts that 1.5 The Onset of Adventure �� 13
convey information about
a topic using strategies of
Poetry: “Ithaka,” by C. P. Cavafy
definition
1.6 The Departure �� 17
Short Story: “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” by
Ray Bradbury
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
concise 1.7 The Initiation �� 27

nuance
function Epic Poetry: excerpt from the Odyssey, by Homer
negation Visuals: About the encounter with a Cyclops
coherence
LITERARY 1.8 The Return �� 41
archetype Novel: excerpt from A Wrinkle in Time, by
pacing
mood
Madeleine L’Engle
point of view Graphic Novel: excerpt from A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic
epic Novel, adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson

mnemonic devices
tone Language & Writer’s Craft: Verbs and Mood
diction
denotation LC Language Checkpoint:
connotation Understanding Sentence Boundaries �� 62
allegory
1.9 Revising and Editing �� 66
Writing a Hero’s Journey Narrative �� 69
SAMPLE
CONTENTS

My Independent
ACTIVITY CONTENTS Reading List
1.11 The Nuance of Tone �� 72
1.12 Physical and Emotional Challenges �� 74
Poetry: “A Man,” by Nina Cassian
Article: “Soldier home after losing his leg in Afghanistan,”
by Gale Fiege
1.13 Definition Strategies �� 82

Article: “Where I Find My Heroes,” by Oliver Stone
Language & Writer’s Craft: Embedded Quotations
1.14 Historical Heroes: Examples �� 89

Sermon: excerpt from White House Funeral Sermon
for Abraham Lincoln, by Dr. Phineas D. Gurley
Poetry: “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman
Poetry: “Frederick Douglass,” by Robert Hayden
Autobiography: excerpt from The Narrative of the
Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,
by Frederick Douglass
1.15 Transitions and Quotations �� 102

1.16 Negation Strategy of Definition �� 106
Essay: “A Definition of a Gentleman,”
by John Henry Newman
1.17 Explanatory Writing Focus: Organization �� 109

Writing a Definition Essay �� 116
SAMPLE
Unit 1 • The Challenge of Heroism 3
ACTIVITY
1.1 Previewing the Unit
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Think-Pair-Share • Discuss the big ideas and vocabulary for the unit.
QHT
• Demonstrate an understanding of the skills and knowledge needed to
Close Reading complete Embedded Assessment 1 successfully.
Marking the Text
Paraphrasing Preview
Graphic Organizer In this activity, you will begin thinking about the skills and knowledge
Note-taking needed to write a Hero’s Journey narrative.
LITERARY Making Connections

VOCABULARY
An archetype is a character, This unit focuses on the challenge of heroism. Because this word is used every
symbol, story pattern, day—in television shows, movies, video games, books, the news, and school—we
or other element that rarely take time to actually think about what it means. You will be introduced to
is common to human the archetype of the Hero’s Journey and study various examples of heroes and
experience across cultures how their journeys fit the archetype. You will also have the opportunity to practice
and that occurs frequently informational writing and write a definition essay about heroism.
in literature, myth, and
folklore. Essential Questions
Based on your current thinking, how would you answer these questions?
1. What defines a hero?
My Notes 2. How does the Hero’s Journey archetype appear in stories throughout time?
Begin your vocabulary study by creating a chart to use the QHT strategy to sort the
terms on the Contents page. Use print or digital resources to learn more about the

terms you sorted into the “Q” and “H” columns. Keep in mind that there is more to
knowing a new word than just learning the definition. Truly knowing a word also
involves an understanding of its syllables, pronunciation, word origin, and part
of speech.

Closely read the assignment for Embedded Assessment 1: Writing a Hero’s
Journey Narrative.
Think about all the heroes you have encountered in fiction and in real
life. What type of hero appeals to you? Write and create an illustrated
narrative about an original hero. Use the Hero’s Journey archetype to
develop and structure your ideas. Orally present your narrative to your
classmates.
Find the Scoring Guide and work with your class to paraphrase the
expectations for the assignment. Create a graphic organizer to use as
a visual reminder of the required skills and concepts. Copy the graphic
SAMPLE
organizer into your Reader/Writer Notebook and revisit it after each activity
to check your progress.

ACTIVITY
Understanding Challenges 1.2

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze and collaborate to discuss quotes and identify connections Collaborative Discussion
between the concepts of challenges and heroism. Graphic Organizer
• Follow complex oral instructions to complete a group task. Note-taking
Preview
In this activity, you will work in groups to analyze a quote on the subject of My Notes
challenges and present your analysis to the class.
The Concept of Challenge

1. Quickwrite: When you hear the word challenges, what comes to mind? Is
the word positive or negative? Based on your prior experiences, how can
challenges be helpful to an individual? How can they be harmful?
2. Follow your teacher’s directions to form groups of four to analyze a quote

in the table that follows. As needed, ask your teacher or peers clarifying
questions to make sure that you understand the task.
Quotes
A. “The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort
and convenience, but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges.”
—Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (clergyman, activist)
B. “Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.”
—George S. Patton (U.S. Army officer)
C. “The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak
became a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong.” —Thomas Carlyle
(writer, essayist, historian)
D. “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they’re supposed

to help you discover who you are.” —Bernice Johnson Reagon (singer,
composer, scholar, activist)
SAMPLE
1.2
3. Circle the corresponding letter for the quote that your group is assigned. A B C D
Paraphrase Examples Challenge Category
4. Write your group’s summary sentence in the following space.
5. Assign speaking parts for the presentation.
Element of Presentation Speaker
(a) Fluently read the quote and explain the meaning.

(b) Provide specific examples from life or literature.
(c) Explain the group’s categorization of the quote.
(d) Explain how the quote connects to the concept of heroism.
6. Present using appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
7. As other groups present, listen to them, try to comprehend their main points, and take notes in
your Reader/Writer Notebook.
Check Your Understanding

Think about the content of all four quotes. How does the concept of challenge connect to the
concept of heroism?
SAMPLE
Understanding the Hero’s ACTIVITY
Journey Archetype 1.3

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Identify the archetype of the Hero’s Journey within the genre of the Metacognitive Markers
adventure story or myth. Close Reading
• Identify the stages of the Hero’s Journey within a film. Graphic Organizer
Note-taking
Preview Collaborative Discussion
In this activity, you will learn the stages of the Hero’s Journey. Then you
will watch a film and think about how it fits into the archetype of the
Hero’s Journey. WORD CONNECTIONS
Etymology
Genre Study: The Archetype of the Hero’s Journey Etymology is the study of
the origin of words. Many
In literature, an archetype is a character, symbol, story pattern, or other element English words come from other
that is common to human experience across cultures. It refers to a common plot languages, including Latin,
pattern or to a character type, such as the Innocent, the Mother Figure, or the Hero, German, and Greek. Knowing
or to images that occur in the literature of all cultures. a word’s etymology can help
The archetype of the Hero’s Journey describes a plot pattern that most often occurs you determine its meaning. The
Greek prefix arch- in archetype
within the genre of adventure story or myth. It shows the development of a hero.
means “first,” and the root type
Joseph Campbell, an American anthropologist, writer, and lecturer, studied the means “model.” When first
myths and stories of multiple cultures and began to notice common plot patterns. used in the 14th century, the
In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell defines common elements of the word meant “original pattern
Hero’s Journey. Campbell found that most journey myths have three parts: from which copies are made.”
Today it is used to denote a
Departure: The hero leaves home to venture into the unknown on some sort common story element or a
of quest. perfect example of something.
Initiation: The hero faces a series of problems. Knowing the meanings of
arch- and type can help you
Return: With the help of a friend, the hero returns home successfully.
determine the meanings
Although these elements may be referred to as the stages of the Hero’s Journey, of other words, such as
they are not presented in the exact same order, and some stories do not contain archbishop and prototype.
every element of the journey.
Setting a Purpose for Viewing

1. As you study the stages of the Hero’s Journey archetype in the graphic
organizer that follows, use metacognitive markers to indicate your level of
understanding and to guide future discussion:
? = questions, ! = connections, and * = comments.
After you review the stages of the Hero’s Journey archetype as a class, you will use
the last column of the graphic organizer to record details from the film that align to
each stage. For now, leave it blank.
SAMPLE
1.3
Hero’s Journey Archetype
Steps Explanation Example
Stage 1: Departure
1. The Call to Adventure The story’s exposition

The future hero is first given notice introduces the hero, and
that his or her life is going to soon the hero’s normal life is
change. disrupted. Something changes;
the hero faces a problem,
obstacle, or challenge.
2. Refusal of the Call At first the hero is reluctant to

The future hero often refuses to accept the change. Usually this
accept the Call to Adventure. The reluctance presents itself as
refusal may stem from a sense second thoughts or personal
of duty, an obligation, a fear, or doubt. Hesitation, whether brief
insecurity. or lengthy, humanizes the hero
for the reader.
3. The Beginning of the Adventure The hero finally accepts the call
The hero begins the adventure, and begins a physical, spiritual,
leaving the known limits of his and/or emotional journey to
or her world to venture into an achieve a boon, something that
unknown and dangerous realm is helpful or beneficial.
where the rules and limits are

unknown.
Stage 2: Initiation
4. The Road of Trials The story develops rising action

The hero experiences and is as the hero faces a series
transformed by a series of tests, of challenges that become
tasks, or challenges. The hero increasingly difficult as the story
usually fails one or more of these unfolds.
tests, which often occur in threes.
5. The Experience with This love often drives the hero

Unconditional Love to continue on the journey, even
During the Road of Trials, the hero when the hero doubts him/
experiences support (physical herself.
SAMPLE
and/or mental) from a friend,
family member, mentor, and so on.

1.3
Hero’s Journey Archetype
6. The Ultimate Boon The story reaches the climax as
The goal of the quest is achieved. the hero gains what he or she set
The boon can be a physical object out to achieve.
or an intangible item, such as The Call to Adventure (what
knowledge, courage, or love. the hero is asked to do), the
The Road of Trials makes the Beginning of the Adventure (what
hero strong enough to achieve the hero sets out to do), and the
this goal. Ultimate Boon (what the hero
achieves) must connect.
Stage 3: Return
7. Refusal of the Return The falling action begins as the
When the goal of the adventure is hero begins to think about the
accomplished, the hero may refuse Return. Sometimes the hero
to return with the boon or gift, does not want to look back after
either because the hero doubts the achieving the boon. Sometimes
return will bring change or because the hero likes the “new world”
the hero prefers to stay in a better better.
place rather than return to a normal This step is similar to the Refusal
life of pain and trouble. of the Call (in both cases, the hero
does not take action right away).
8. The Magic Flight For some heroes, the journey
The hero experiences adventure and “home” (psychological or
perhaps danger as he or she returns physical) can be just as
to life as it was before the Call to dangerous as the journey out.
Adventure. Forces (sometimes magical or
supernatural) may keep the hero
from returning.
This step is similar to the Road of
Trials.
9. Rescue from Without Just as it looks as if the hero
Just as the hero may need guides will not make it home with the
and assistance on the quest, boon, the hero is “rescued.” The
oftentimes he or she must have rescuer is sometimes the same
powerful guides and rescuers to person who provided love or
bring him or her back to everyday support throughout the journey.
life. Sometimes the hero does not
realize that it is time to return, that
he or she can return, or that others
are relying on him or her to return.
10. The Crossing or Return The final step is the story’s
Threshold resolution, when the hero returns
At this final point in the adventure, with the boon. The theme is
the hero must retain the wisdom typically revealed at this point.
gained on the quest, integrate that To determine theme, think
wisdom into his or her previous life, about the hero’s struggles,
and perhaps decide how to share transformation, and achievement.
the wisdom with the rest of the The reader is expected to learn
SAMPLE
world. a lesson about life through the
hero’s experience.

1.3
My Notes Working from the Film
Embedded Assessment 1 requires you to use the Hero’s Journey to sequence and
structure events in your narrative. You already know the basic elements of plot
development. All plot development includes:
Exposition: Events that set the context for the story; the setting (time and
place), characters, and central conflict are introduced.
Rising Action: Events that develop the plot and lead to the climax.
Climax: The main event; the turning point, or highest point of tension in the
story.
Falling Action: The events that lead to the resolution.
Resolution: Conflict is completely resolved, and the lesson has been learned.
2. Create a plot diagram in your Reader/Writer Notebook and label each step.
Then provide examples of each step from the film you just watched. Use your
notes from the film for guidance.
LITERARY
VOCABULARY
3. Discussion: One narrative technique that writers use is pacing. Notice how
Pacing is a narrative the plot diagram gives an idea of how rising action is paced in contrast to
technique that refers to the falling action. How does a writer effectively pace plot events?
amount of time a writer gives
to describing each event and 4. Discussion: Determining a story’s theme is important to understanding an
the amount of time a writer author’s message. Read the Literary Terms box to learn more about theme.
takes to develop each stage What is a theme of Big Hero 6? Review the labels you created for each stage
in the plot. Some events and of the plot diagram. How do each of these events show the development of
stages are shorter or longer the theme?
than others.
A theme is a main idea 5. In your Reader/Writer Notebook, write a summary of Big Hero 6, using
that runs through a text your completed plot diagram. Include the main theme of Big Hero 6 in your
or literary work. A writer summary. Use details you recorded from each stage to tell how events,
develops a theme through characters, setting, and plot help determine the main theme of the story.
events, characters, setting,

and plot. A text may have Focus on the Sentence
more than one theme,
Write “S” if the words form a complete sentence. Capitalize and punctuate
but usually there is one
the sentences. Write “F” if the words are a sentence fragment. Change the
underlying main theme that
fragments into complete sentences using what you learned about the Hero’s
drives the narrative.
Journey archetype.
the call to adventure
transformed by a series of tests, tasks, or challenges
the ultimate boon occurs when the goal of the quest is achieved
the falling action
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Planning for Independent Reading 1.4

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Select criteria for a reading text. Collaborative Discussion
• Set goals for an independent reading plan.
Preview
My Notes
In this activity, you will preview a self-selected book that contains a Hero’s
Journey and set goals for your independent reading.
Planning Independent Reading

The focus of this unit is the Hero’s Journey archetype. For Embedded
Assessment 1, you will be writing your own Hero’s Journey narrative with
accompanying visuals. In the previous activity, you were able to preview the
stages of the Hero’s Journey using a film. Now, in your Independent Reading,
you have the opportunity to read a full-length Hero’s Journey story. Reading a
full-length story will help you with creating your Embedded Assessment, and it
will expose you to how authors create a Hero’s Journey narrative. In the back of
your SpringBoard book, you’ll find a list of suggested Hero’s Journey narratives.
To help you choose the right book, use the following questions as a guide.
1. What have you enjoyed reading in the past? What is your favorite book
or favorite type of book? Who is your favorite author?
2. Preview the book you have selected. What do the front and back covers
show you? What type of visual is shown? What types of fonts and colors
are used? Are there awards or brags that tell you about the book?
3. Read the first few pages. Are they interesting? How does the author try
to hook you to keep reading? What can you tell about the characters and
setting (location and time) so far? Does this seem too hard, too easy, or
just right?
Reading Discussion Groups

Follow your teacher’s oral guidance through a book pass. Practice previewing each
book by looking at the covers and reading the first few pages.
1. In your Reader/Writer Notebook, record each book’s title and author, something
from your previewing that stands out to you, and your rating of the book.
2. After previewing each book and thinking about the goals of this unit, do
you want to continue reading the book you brought to the group or choose
something else?
3. Create an Independent Reading Plan to help you set personal reading goals.
Keep this plan in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
I have chosen to read
by (author)
because (reason from previewing)
SAMPLE
I will set aside time to read at (time, place)
I should finish this text by (date)

1.4
4. Record your daily reading progress in your Independent Reading Log. Write a brief daily report
in your log responding to what you have read. Include in your report questions, personal
connections, or inferences about what you have read.
5. As you identify new titles to read for your independent reading, add them to the My
Independent Reading List on the Table of Contents pages of this unit.
6. Use this graphic organizer to record each stage of the Hero’s Journey from your Independent
Reading book.
Text:
Stage 1: Departure
1. The Call to Adventure:
2. Refusal of the Call:
3. The Beginning of the Adventure:
Stage 2: Initiation
4. The Road of Trials:

(a)
(b)
(c)

5. The Experience with Unconditional Love:
6. The Ultimate Boon:
Stage 3: Return
7. Refusal of the Return:
8. The Magic Flight:
9. Rescue from Without:
10. The Crossing or Return Threshold:

(Theme Statement)
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
The Onset of Adventure 1.5

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze the imagery in a poem and describe how it achieves specific Marking the Text
ideas, themes, and moods. Discussion Groups
Rereading
Preview Summarizing
In this activity, you will explain the author’s message in a poem by analyzing Sketching
imagery and how it contributes to the mood. Visualizing
Setting a Purpose for Reading LITERARY
VOCABULARY
• As you read, underline figurative language and descriptive words and phrases Figurative language is
that help to create an image in your mind. language that is used to
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words convey meaning beyond
by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary. the literal definition of a
word. Examples of figurative
language are similes,
About the Author metaphors, allusions, and
personification.
Constantine P. Cavafy (1863–1933) was born to Greek
parents in 1863, in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. His
poetry was obscure throughout much of his life and
shared mostly with close friends. Much of his work
was personal, and most of his poems were not
published until after his death in 1933. His My Notes
“Ithaka” was inspired by the return of Odysseus
to his home island, as described by Homer in
the Odyssey.
Poem
Ithaka
by C. P. Cavafy
translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard
As you set out for Ithaka

hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
5 angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them;
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
SAMPLE
1.5
My Notes 10 Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
15 May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
20 mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
25 Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
30 wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn’t have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
35 And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
mother of pearl: the shiny

interior of some seashells, used
to make jewelry
amber: fossilized, transparent,
tree sap
ebony: a valuable black wood,
taken from various tropical trees
sensual: appealing to the
SAMPLE
physical senses

1.5
Making Observations LITERARY
VOCABULARY
• What captures your attention? Mood is the overall emotion
of a text, which is created by
• What emotions might someone feel while reading the poem? the author’s language and
• What do you notice about the journey described in the poem? tone and the subject matter.
Returning to the Text

• Return to the text as you respond to the following questions. Use text evidence
to support your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the poem in your Reader/
Writer Notebook.
1. Look at stanza 3. What are some synonyms for the word destined?
2. What is the mood of this poem? How do you feel after reading it? Explain how
the author’s use of language contributes to the mood.
3. Remember that personification is a technique that writers use when they give
human characteristics to something nonhuman. Reread lines 32–34 of the
poem, and explain how Cavafy is using this technique.
4. What might the journey to Ithaka be a metaphor for? Provide evidence from
the text to support your interpretation.
SAMPLE
1.5
5. Craft and Structure: Go back to the classical allusions to the Odyssey you
INDEPENDENT underlined in the poem. How does Cavafy’s use of the classical allusions
READING LINK impact the overall mood and tone of the poem?
Read and Connect
Examine the opening chapter
of your independent reading
book and write about how it
sets the context for the hero’s
challenges. What mood does
the author set in the opening
of your book? How is it similar
to or different from the mood Working from the Text
that is set in the poem in this
activity? Analyze the language 6. As you hear the poem read aloud, make mental visualizations of images
that the author uses to create created by the author’s word choice and use of figurative language.
the mood. 7. Make a list of images you pictured while you listened to the poem in the My
Notes alongside the poem.
8. Return to the poem. Highlight the parts of the text that inspired the images
My Notes you pictured.
9. Discussion Groups: Form small groups. Look at the words you highlighted
in the poem. Then look at the context of those words. What imagery is the
author using in that part of the poem to create mood? Draw a visual in the
margin to help illustrate your meaning.
10. Focus on the words you highlighted in “Ithaka” and think about the imagery
that the poet uses. What is the message about life that he is trying to tell his
readers? Write a statement about the poem’s theme in your Reader/Writer
Notebook.
Focus on the Sentence

Change the sentence fragments into complete sentences, using what you learned

about the poem, “Ithaka,” by Cavafy. Use correct capitalization and punctuation.
“ithaka” by cavafy uses
on your journey
imagery in the poem
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
The Departure 1.6

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze a story for structure and narrative techniques. Marking the Text
Close Reading
• Draft the opening for an original Hero’s Journey narrative.
Diffusing
Preview Rereading
Summarizing
In this activity, you will read a short story about a hero’s departure and
begin creating a hero of your own.
The Departure My Notes

Joseph Campbell describes the first stage of the Hero’s Journey as the hero’s
departure or separation. The Departure Stage consists of three steps: the Call to
Adventure, Refusal of the Call, and the Beginning of the Adventure.
Setting a Purpose for Reading

• As you read, underline and label events relating to a Hero’s Journey.
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words
About the Author

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) is remembered mostly
as a fantasy writer, although “The Drummer Boy
of Shiloh” is set firmly in the real world. His most
famous novel, Fahrenheit 451, was published in
1953. Other famous fantasy works include 1950’s
The Martian Chronicles and 1962’s Something
Wicked This Way Comes. “The Drummer Boy of
Shiloh” first appeared in Bradbury’s 1964 short
story collection, The Machineries of Joy.
Short Story
The D
rummer
Boy of Shiloh
by Ray Bradbury
1 In the April night, more than once, blossoms fell from the orchard trees
and lit with rustling taps on the drumskin. At midnight a peach stone left
miraculously on a branch through winter, flicked by a bird, fell swift and unseen,
struck once, like panic, which jerked the boy upright. In silence he listened ruffle: to flutter or move in a
SAMPLE
to his own heart ruffle away away—at last gone from his ears and back in his slow, wavy pattern
chest again.

1.6
My Notes 2 After that, he turned the drum on its side, where its great lunar face
peered at him whenever he opened his eyes.
3 His face, alert or at rest, was solemn. It was indeed a solemn night for a
boy just turned fourteen in the peach field near the Owl Creek not far from the
church at Shiloh.1
4 “ ... thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three ... ”
5 Unable to see, he stopped counting.
6 Beyond the thirty-three familiar shadows, forty thousand men, exhausted

by nervous expectation, unable to sleep for romantic dreams of battles yet
unfought, lay crazily askew in their uniforms. A mile yet farther on, another
army was strewn helter-skelter, turning slow, basting themselves with the
thought of what they would do when the time came: a leap, a yell, a blind
plunge their strategy, raw youth their protection and benediction.
7 Now and again the boy heard a vast wind come up, that gently stirred
the air. But he knew what it was—the army here, the army there, whispering
to itself in the dark. Some men talking to others, others murmuring to
themselves, and all so quiet it was like a natural element arisen from South or
North with the motion of the earth toward dawn.
8 What the men whispered the boy could only guess, and he guessed that it
was: “Me, I’m the one, I’m the one of all the rest who won’t die. I’ll live through
WORD CONNECTIONS
it. I’ll go home. The band will play. And I’ll be there to hear it.”
Etymology 9 Yes, thought the boy, that’s all very well for them, they can give as good as
In the past, people would they get!
test the quality of gold or
silver by rubbing a stone 10 For with the careless bones of the young men harvested by the night and
across it and analyzing the bindled around campfires were the similarly strewn steel bones of their rifles,
color of the streak it left. The

with bayonets fixed like eternal lightning lost in the orchard grass.
15th-century Middle English
word touch meant “to test,” 11 Me, thought the boy, I got only a drum, two sticks to beat it and no shield.
so this stone became known
as a touchstone. This term 12 There wasn’t a man-boy on the ground tonight who did not have a shield
is now a metaphor for any he cast, riveted or carved himself on his way to his first attack, compounded of
method used to test the remote but nonetheless firm and fiery family devotion, flag-blown patriotism and
quality or effectiveness of cocksure immortality strengthened by the touchstone of very real gunpowder;
something else.
ramrod, Minié ball2 and flint. But without these last the boy felt his family move
yet farther off away in the dark, as if one of those great prairie-burning trains
had chanted them away never to return—leaving him with this drum which was
romantic: fondly imaginary worse than a toy in the game to be played tomorrow or some day much too soon.
helter-skelter: in a confused or 13 The boy turned on his side. A moth brushed his face, but it was peach
disorderly way
blossom. A peach blossom flicked him, but it was a moth. Nothing stayed put.
benediction: a prayer or
Nothing had a name. Nothing was as it once was.
blessing
bindled: held together in a sack
immortality: the ability to live
SAMPLE
1 Shiloh is the site of a Civil War battle in 1862; now a national military park in southwest
forever Tennessee
2 Minié ball is a type of rifle bullet that became prominent during the Civil War

1.6
14 If he lay very still when the dawn came up and the soldiers put on their My Notes
bravery with their caps, perhaps they might go away, the war with them, and
not notice him lying small here, no more than a toy himself.
15 “Well … now,” said a voice.
16 The boy shut up his eyes to hide inside himself, but it was too late.
Someone, walking by in the night, stood over him.
17 “Well,” said the voice quietly, “here’s a soldier crying before the fight.
Good. Get it over. Won’t be time once it all starts.”
18 And the voice was about to move on when the boy, startled, touched the
drum at his elbow. The man above, hearing this, stopped. The boy could feel
his eyes, sense him slowly bending near. A hand must have come down out of
the night, for there was a little rat-tat as the fingernails brushed and the man’s
breath fanned his face.
19 “Why, it’s the drummer boy, isn’t it?”
20 The boy nodded not knowing if his nod was seen. “Sir, is that you?” he said.
21 “I assume it is.” The man’s knees cracked as he bent still closer.
22 He smelled as all fathers should smell, of salt sweat, ginger, tobacco, horse,
and boot leather, and the earth he walked upon. He had many eyes. No, not
eyes—brass buttons that watched the boy.
23 He could only be, and was, the general.
24 “What’s your name, boy?” he asked.
25 “Joby,” whispered the boy, starting to sit up.
26 “All right Joby, don’t stir.” A hand pressed his chest gently and the boy
relaxed. “How long you been with us, Joby?”
27 “Three weeks, sir.”
28 “Run off from home or joined legitimately, boy?”
29 Silence.
30 “ ... Fool question,” said the general. “Do you shave yet, boy? Even more of
a ... fool. There’s your cheek, fell right off the tree overhead. And the others here
not much older. Raw, raw, the lot of you. You ready for tomorrow or the next
day, Joby?”
31 “I think so, sir.”
32 “You want to cry some more, go on ahead. I did the same last night.”
33 “You, sir?”
34 “It’s the truth. Thinking of everything ahead. Both sides figuring the other
side will just give up, and soon, and the war done in weeks, and us all home.
SAMPLE
Well, that’s not how it’s going to be. And maybe that’s why I cried.”
35 “Yes, sir,” said Joby.

1.6
My Notes 36 The general must have taken out a cigar now, for the dark was suddenly
filled with the smell of tobacco unlit as yet, but chewed as the man thought
what next to say.
37 “It’s going to be a crazy time,” said the general. “Counting both sides,
there’s a hundred thousand men, give or take a few thousand out there tonight,
not one as can spit a sparrow off a tree, or knows a horse clod from a Minié
ball. Stand up, bare the breast, ask to be a target, thank them and sit down,
that’s us, that’s them. We should turn tail and train four months, they should
do the same. But here we are, taken with spring fever and thinking it blood
lust, taking our sulfur with cannons instead of with molasses, as it should be,
going to be a hero, going to live forever. And I can see all of them over there
nodding agreement, save the other way around. It’s wrong, boy, it’s wrong as
a head put on hindside front and a man marching backward through life…
More innocents will get shot out of pure … enthusiasm than ever got shot
before. Owl Creek was full of boys splashing around in the noonday sun just
a few hours ago. I fear it will be full of boys again, just floating, at sundown
tomorrow, not caring where the tide takes them.”
38 The general stopped and made a little pile of winter leaves and twigs in
the darkness, as if he might at any moment strike fire to them to see his way
through the coming days when the sun might not show its face because of what
was happening here and just beyond.
39 The boy watched the hand stirring the leaves and opened his lips to say
something, but did not say it. The general heard the boy’s breath and spoke
himself.
40 “Why am I telling you this? That’s what you wanted to ask, eh? Well,
when you got a bunch of wild horses on a loose rein somewhere somehow you
got to bring order, rein them in. These lads, fresh out of the milkshed, don’t

know what I know, and I can’t tell them: men actually die in war. So each is his
own army. I got to make one army of them. And for that, boy, I need you.
41 “Me!” The boy’s lips barely twitched.
42 “Now, boy,” said the general quietly, “you are the heart of the army. Think
of that. You’re the heart of the army. Listen, now.”
43 And, lying there, Joby listened. And the general spoke on.
44 If he, Joby, beat slow tomorrow, the heart would beat slow in the men.
They would lag by the wayside. They would drowse in the fields on their
muskets. They would sleep forever, after that, in those same fields—their hearts
slowed by a drummer boy and stopped by enemy lead.
45 But if he beat a sure, steady, ever faster rhythm, then, then their knees
would come up in a long line down over that hill, one knee after the other, like
a wave on the ocean shore! Had he seen the ocean ever? Seen the waves rolling
in like a well-ordered cavalry charge to the sand? Well, that was it that’s what he
SAMPLE
wanted, that’s what was needed! Joby was his right hand and his left. He gave
the orders, but Joby set the pace!

1.6
46 So bring the right knee up and the right foot out and the left knee up and My Notes
the left foot out. One following the other in good time, in brisk time. Move
the blood up the body and made the head proud and the spine stiff and the
jaw resolute. Focus the eye and set the teeth, flare the nostrils and tighten the
hands, put steel armor all over the men, for blood moving fast in them does
indeed make men feel as if they’d put on steel. He must keep at it, at it! Long
and steady, steady and long! The men, even though shot or torn, those wounds
got in hot blood—in blood he’d helped stir—would feel less pain. If their blood
was cold, it would be more than slaughter, it would be murderous nightmare
and pain best not told and no one to guess.
47 The general spoke and stopped, letting his breath slack off. Then after
a moment, he said, “So there you are, that’s it. Will you do that, boy? Do you
know now you’re general of the army when the general’s left behind?”
48 The boy nodded mutely.
49 “You’ll run them through for me then boy?”
50 “Yes, sir.”
51 “Good. And maybe, many nights from tonight, many years from now,
when you’re as old or far much older than me, when they ask you what you did
in this awful time, you will tell them—one part humble and one part proud—
‘I was the drummer boy at the battle of Owl Creek,’ or the Tennessee River, or
maybe they’ll just name it after the church there. ‘I was the drummer boy at
Shiloh.’ Who will ever hear those words and not know you, boy, or what you
thought this night, or what you’ll think tomorrow or the next day when we
must get up on our legs and move!”
52 The general stood up. “Well then ... Bless you, boy. Good night.”
53 “Good night, sir.” And tobacco, brass, boot polish, salt sweat and leather,
the man moved away through the grass.

54 Joby lay for a moment, staring but unable to see where the man had gone.
He swallowed. He wiped his eyes. He cleared his throat. He settled himself.
Then, at last, very slowly and firmly, he turned the drum so that it faced up
toward the sky.
55 He lay next to it, his arm around it, feeling the tremor, the touch, the
muted thunder as, all the rest of the April night in the year 1862, near the
Tennessee River, not far from the Owl Creek, very close to the church named
Shiloh, the peach blossoms fell on the drum.
Making Observations
• What characters do we meet in the story?
• Which events relate to a Hero’s Journey?
resolute: determined
SAMPLE
slack: to diminish or fade away

1.6
Use details from the story to complete the following sentences.
Joby is afraid of the imminent battle because
Joby is afraid of the imminent battle, so
Joby is afraid of the imminent battle, but

• Return to the text as you respond to the following questions. Use text evidence to support
your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the short story in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. What textual evidence in the beginning of the story shows that the boy is afraid?
2. The word harvested is used figuratively in paragraph 10. How do you know it is used
figuratively, and why did the author choose this word?

3. Consult reference materials to find the meanings of ramrod and flint. Relate these words to the
meaning of the first sentence in paragraph 12. How does the sentence convey the boy’s mood?
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1.6
4. How did Joby join the army? What is significant about that?
5. Consult reference materials to find the meaning of the word drowse. How does
that word create a contrast in paragraph 44?
6. What shift happens in paragraphs 44, 45, and 46? Use textual evidence in
your answer.
7. How does the general’s comment, “Do you know now you’re general of the
army when the general’s left behind?” prove to be a decisive moment in the
conversation between him and Joby? What theme is developed through their
interaction?
Working from the Text

8. Examine the first 10 paragraphs of “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh.” How does LITERARY
VOCABULARY
the author establish the story’s setting and point of view? Use evidence from
Point of view is the
the text to support your response. perspective from which a
story is told. In first-person
point of view, a character
tells the story from his
or her own perspective.
In third-person point of view,
a narrator (not a character)
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tells the story.

1.6
9. Return to the text and put a star next to parts of the story that show the stages of Joby’s
journey. Which stages of the Hero’s Journey has Joby passed through by the time the story
draws to a close?
10. Reread a chunk of the text to identify and evaluate the narrative elements listed in the graphic
organizer.
Structure: Exposition What descriptive detail does the What is the effect of the
author provide? description?
Setting
Character

Conflict
Point of View
11. Now that you have identified and evaluated the narrative elements of the story, determine its
SAMPLE
central idea. In your Reader/Writer Notebook, write a summary of the central idea, supporting
your interpretation using evidence from the text. Explain how the author communicates the
idea that Joby is now ready to start his journey.

1.6
12. Use your imagination to create an original hero. In your Reader/Writer Notebook, sketch your
image of a hero. Label unique characteristics and give him or her a meaningful name. In the
right column, use the prompting questions to brainstorm ideas for a story.
The Story Exposition

The Hero:
(name)
Use these questions to spark ideas. Setting: (In what kind of place does your hero live? Does he or she live
Is the hero male or female? Young or in the past, present, or future?)
old? Well liked or misunderstood?
Conspicuous (obvious) or nondescript
(ordinary)?
Character: (What are the hero’s strengths and weaknesses? Who are
the hero’s family and friends? What does the hero do every day? What
does the hero want in life? What do others want from the hero?)
Conflicts: (What challenges might the hero experience? How might the
hero transform into someone stronger?)
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1.6
My Notes The Hook
Nobody wants to read a dull story or one that goes on for several paragraphs
before it starts becoming interesting. That’s what makes the hook important.
A hook is the opening sentence or sentences that capture the reader’s interest.
Hooks come in many forms. In a narrative, hooks often introduce a character
or setting.
Introducing a Character: “Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother
decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a
lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted
quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.” (Green, The Fault in
Our Stars) or “I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid.” (Palacio, Wonder)
Introducing a Setting: “In the April night, more than once, blossoms fell from
the orchard trees and lit with rustling taps on the drumskin.” (“The Drummer
Boy of Shiloh”) or “It was one of those super-duper-cold Saturdays.” (Curtis,
The Watsons Go to Birmingham)
Think about possible hooks for your Hero’s Journey narrative as you proceed.
Drafting the Embedded Assessment

Now, think about the hero you just envisioned. What might the hero
experience in the Departure Stage of his or her journey? Draft the beginning
of a narrative using the three steps in this stage (The Call, The Refusal, and
The Beginning) to guide your structure and development. Be sure to:
• Begin with a hook that helps establish a context and point of view (first-
person or third-person).
• Use narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, and description to
develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
• Make use of complete complex and compound-complex sentences.
• Use details and imagery to create mood.

INDEPENDENT
READING LINK
Read and Recommend
Prepare a short persuasive
written presentation. In it,
describe a text you have
independently read or are
reading that incorporates
the Hero’s Journey
archetype. Include an active
recommendation of the text
and provide clear reasons for
that recommendation. Include
relevant vocabulary from your
SAMPLE
activities so far. Present your
presentation orally.

ACTIVITY
The Initiation 1.7

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Demonstrate understanding of the Hero’s Journey archetype by drafting Marking the Text
and illustrating an event in a hero’s Road of Trials. Note-taking
• Analyze how characters’ motivations and behaviors influence events and Shared Reading
resolution of the conflict. Close Reading
• Analyze how punctuation and line length influence a poem’s meaning. Diffusing
Skimming/Scanning
• Integrate ideas from multiple texts to build knowledge and vocabulary
about a theme. Visualizing
Preview
WORD CONNECTIONS
In this activity, you will read and analyze an excerpt from an epic poem as
well as various images of these scenes. Cognates
The English word initiation has
at its root init, which comes
Genre Study: Epic Poetry from the Latin word initialis,
An epic poem is a very long poetic work that usually tells a story (often about a meaning “beginning.” Its
journey) of a hero’s incredible adventures. Epic poetry is distinguished from other Spanish cognate is iniciación,
types of poetry by its length (from tens of thousands of words to over a million), as which derives from iniciar,
well as its descriptive narration of myth-like adventures. meaning “to begin.”
Before the development of writing, the oldest epic poetry was passed along orally,
with several individuals responsible for remembering different parts of a work.
Breaking an epic poem into episodes made it easier for individuals to remember. LITERARY
VOCABULARY
So did breaking episodes into stanzas and poetically crafted lines that include
An epic is a long narrative
mnemonic devices. An epithet is an example of a mnemonic device used by poets about the deeds of heroes
to help performers remember the poem. An epithet is a term or phrase used to or gods. Mnemonic devices
characterize the nature of a character, an object, or an event. For example, “rosy- are techniques a person can
fingered” is an epithet often used to describe the dawn in the Odyssey, the epic use to help them remember
you are about to read. something. They are often
found in epic poetry because
Look out for epithets and other characteristics of this genre while you read.
Additionally, when you read, you’ll see that the first six books of the Odyssey have these poems were recited
been translated into prose, and the final book is a poetic translation. Consider how aloud by memory to an
audience.
each translation depicts the initiation stage in Odysseus’ heroic journey.

• As you read, underline evidence of Odysseus’ actions or words that influence INDEPENDENT
key events. READING LINK
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words Read and Discuss
by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary. In groups of four, discuss
the books you have read
independently. Compare the
heroes of your texts. List the
things that make them heroic,
and compare the steps they
have taken on their Hero’s
Journeys. Explore the traits
that the hero in your book has
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in common with the heroes in
your classmates’ books.

1.7
My Notes About the Author
Homer was an ancient Greek poet, but beyond that
little is known about him. He is thought to have lived
sometime between the 12th and 8th centuries BCE.
Most scholars believe that he authored two famous
epic poems: the Iliad and the Odyssey. Both illustrate
the Hero’s Journey archetype. The excerpt from the
Odyssey that you will read in this activity tells the tale
of Odysseus’ return home to Ithaca after the Trojan
War. Odysseus meets many obstacles on his voyage.
Epic Poetry
The Odyssey
KNOWLEDGE from
QUEST
Knowledge Question:
What are some outstanding by Homer
ways heroes overcome
prose translation by Tony Kline, poetic translation by Allen Mandelbaum
challenges?
You have been reading about
heroes in literature. In Activity
Book IX: 152–192
1.7, you will read about Odysseus Tells His Tale: The Cyclops’s Cave
challenges faced by a classical
1 Looking across to the land of the neighboring Cyclops,1 we could see
heroic figure, Odysseus. While
you read, build knowledge smoke and hear their voices, and the sound of their sheep and goats. Sun set
about the theme of heroes and darkness fell, and we settled to our rest on the shore.
overcoming challenges, and
2 As soon as rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, I gathered my men together,
think about your answer to the

Knowledge Question. saying: “The rest of you loyal friends stay here, while I and my crew take ship
and try and find out who these men are, whether they are cruel, savage and
lawless, or good to strangers, and in their hearts fear the gods.”
3 With this I went aboard and ordered my crew to follow and loose the
cables. They boarded swiftly and took their place on the benches then sitting
in their rows struck the grey water with their oars. When we had reached
the nearby shore, we saw a deep cave overhung with laurels at the cliff ’s edge
close to the sea. Large herds of sheep and goats were penned there at night
and round it was a raised yard walled by deep-set stones, tall pines and high-
crowned oaks. There a giant spent the night, one that grazed his herds far off,
alone, and keeping clear of others, lived in lawless solitude. He was born a
monster and a wonder, not like any ordinary human, but like some wooded
peak of the high mountains, that stands there isolated to our gaze.
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1 Cyclops: one-eyed giants

1.7
Book IX: 193–255 WORD CONNECTIONS
Odysseus Tells His Tale: Polyphemus Returns
Etymology
4 Then I ordered the rest of my loyal friends to stay there and guard the
The English word bouquet
ship, while I selected the twelve best men and went forward. I took with me comes from a French word of
a goatskin filled with dark sweet wine that Maron, son of Euanthes, priest of the same spelling meaning
Apollo, guardian god of Ismarus, had given me, because out of respect we “little wood.” The term derives
protected him, his wife and child. He offered me splendid gifts, seven talents of from the Medieval Latin word
well-wrought gold, and a silver mixing-bowl: and wine, twelve jars in all, sweet boscus, which means “grove.”
unmixed wine, a divine draught. None of his serving-men and maids knew of
this store, only he and his loyal wife, and one housekeeper. When they drank
that honeyed red wine, he would pour a full cup into twenty of water, and the My Notes
bouquet that rose from the mixing bowl was wonderfully sweet: in truth no
one could hold back. I filled a large goatskin with the wine, and took it along,
with some food in a bag, since my instincts told me the giant would come at us
quickly, a savage being with huge strength, knowing nothing of right or law.
5 Soon we came to the cave, and found him absent; he was grazing his well-
fed flocks in the fields. So we went inside and marveled at its contents. There
were baskets full of cheeses, and pens crowded with lambs and kids, each flock
with its firstlings, later ones, and newborn separated. The pails and bowls for
milking, all solidly made, were swimming with whey. At first my men begged
me to take some cheeses and go, then to drive the lambs and kids from the
pens down to the swift ship and set sail. But I would not listen, though it would
have been best, wishing to see the giant himself, and test his hospitality. When
he did appear he proved no joy to my men.
6 So we lit a fire and made an offering, and helped ourselves to the cheese,
and sat in the cave eating, waiting for him to return, shepherding his flocks.
He arrived bearing a huge weight of dry wood to burn at suppertime, and he
flung it down inside the cave with a crash. Gripped by terror we shrank back
into a deep corner. He drove his well-fed flocks into the wide cave, the ones he
milked, leaving the rams and he-goats outside in the broad courtyard. Then
he lifted his door, a huge stone, and set it in place. Twenty-two four-wheeled
wagons could not have carried it, yet such was the great rocky mass he used for
a door. Then he sat and milked the ewes, and bleating goats in order, putting
her young to each. Next he curdled half of the white milk, and stored the
whey in wicker baskets, leaving the rest in pails for him to drink for his supper.
When he had busied himself at his tasks, and kindled a fire, he suddenly saw
us, and said: “Strangers, who are you? Where do you sail from over the sea-
roads? Are you on business, or do you roam at random, like pirates who chance
their lives to bring evil to others?”
talents: ancient coins
Book IX: 256–306 draught: a liquid that one
Odysseus Tells His Tale: Trapped drinks
7 Our spirits fell at his words, in terror at his loud voice and monstrous whey: the watery part of milk
size. Nevertheless I answered him, saying: “We are Achaeans, returning from curdled: separated the solid
SAMPLE
parts out of milk
Troy, driven over the ocean depths by every wind that blows. Heading for home

1.7
My Notes we were forced to take another route, a different course, as Zeus,2 I suppose,
intended. We are followers of Agamemnon, Atreus’ son, whose fame spreads
widest on earth, so great was that city he sacked and host he slew. But we,
for our part, come as suppliants to your knees, hoping for hospitality, and the
kindness that is due to strangers. Good sir, do not refuse us: respect the gods.
We are suppliants and Zeus protects visitors and suppliants, Zeus the god of
guests, who follows the steps of sacred travelers.”
8 His answer was devoid of pity. “Stranger, you are a foreigner or a fool,
telling me to fear and revere the gods, since the Cyclopes care nothing for
aegis-bearing Zeus: we are greater than they. I would spare neither you nor
your friends, to evade Zeus’ anger, but only as my own heart prompted. But
tell me, now, where you moored your fine ship, when you landed. Was it
somewhere nearby, or further off? I’d like to know.”
9 His words were designed to fool me, but failed. I was too wise for that,
and answered him with cunning words: “Poseidon,3 Earth-Shaker, smashed
my ship to pieces, wrecking her on the rocks that edge your island, driving her
close to the headland so the wind threw her onshore. But I and my men here
escaped destruction.”
10 Devoid of pity, he was silent in response, but leaping up laid hands on my
crew. Two he seized and dashed to the ground like whelps, and their brains ran
out and stained the earth. He tore them limb from limb for his supper, eating
the flesh and entrails, bone and marrow, like a mountain lion, leaving nothing.
Helplessly we watched these cruel acts, raising our hands to heaven and
weeping. When the Cyclops had filled his huge stomach with human flesh, and
had drunk pure milk, he lay down in the cave, stretched out among his flocks.
Then I formed a courageous plan to steal up to him, draw my sharp sword, and
feeling for the place where the midriff supports the liver, stab him there. But
the next thought checked me. Trapped in the cave we would certainly die, since

we’d have no way to move the great stone from the wide entrance. So, sighing,
we waited for bright day.
Book IX: 307–359

Odysseus Tells His Tale: Offering the Cyclops Wine
11 As soon as rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Cyclops relit the fire. Then
he milked the ewes, and bleating goats in order, putting her young to each.
sacked: attacked a city and stole When he had busied himself at his tasks, he again seized two of my men and
from it began to eat them. When he had finished he drove his well-fed flocks from
slew: killed the cave, effortlessly lifting the huge door stone, and replacing it again like
suppliants: people who beg the cap on a quiver. Then whistling loudly he turned his flocks out on to the
devoid: absent mountain slopes, leaving me with murder in my heart searching for a way to
revere: to regard with devotion take vengeance on him, if Athene4 would grant me inspiration. The best plan
and awe seemed to be this:
aegis: protection
whelps: young children or
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2 Zeus: the king of the gods
animals 3 Poseidon: god of the sea and of earthquakes
4 Athene: goddess of wisdom, the arts, and war

1.7
12 The Cyclops’ huge club, a trunk of green olive wood he had cut to take with My Notes
him as soon as it was seasoned, lay next to a sheep pen. It was so large and thick
that it looked to us like the mast of a twenty-oared black ship, a broad-beamed
merchant vessel that sails the deep ocean. Approaching it, I cut off a six-foot
length, gave it to my men and told them to smooth the wood. Then standing by
it I sharpened the end to a point, and hardened the point in the blazing fire, after
which I hid it carefully in a one of the heaps of dung that lay around the cave. I
ordered the men to cast lots as to which of them should dare to help me raise the
stake and twist it into the Cyclops’ eye when sweet sleep took him. The lot fell on
the very ones I would have chosen, four of them, with myself making a fifth.
13 He returned at evening, shepherding his well-fed flocks. He herded
them swiftly, every one, into the deep cave, leaving none in the broad yard,
commanded to do so by a god, or because of some premonition. Then he
lifted the huge door stone and set it in place, and sat down to milk the ewes
and bleating goats in order, putting her young to each. But when he had busied
himself at his tasks, he again seized two of my men and began to eat them. That
was when I went up to him, holding an ivy-wood bowl full of dark wine, and
said: “Here, Cyclops, have some wine to follow your meal of human flesh, so
you can taste the sort of drink we carried in our ship. I was bringing the drink
to you as a gift, hoping you might pity me and help me on my homeward path:
but your savagery is past bearing. Cruel man, why would anyone on earth ever
visit you again, when you behave so badly?”
14 At this, he took the cup and drained it, and found the sweet drink so
delightful he asked for another draught: “Give me more, freely, then quickly tell
me your name so I may give you a guest gift, one that will please you. Among
us Cyclopes the fertile earth produces rich grape clusters, and Zeus’ rain swells
them: but this is a taste from a stream of ambrosia and nectar.”
Book IX: 360–412

Odysseus Tells His Tale: Blinding the Cyclops
15 As he finished speaking I handed him the bright wine. Three times I
poured and gave it to him, and three times, foolishly, he drained it. When the
wine had fuddled his wits I tried him with subtle words: “Cyclops, you asked
my name, and I will tell it: give me afterwards a guest gift as you promised. My
name is Nobody. Nobody, my father, mother, and friends call me.”
16 Those were my words, and this his cruel answer: “Then, my gift is this. I
will eat Nobody last of all his company, and all the others before him.” cast lots: to throw a set of
objects in order to impartially
17 As he spoke, he reeled and toppled over on his back, his thick neck
decide something
twisted to one side, and all-conquering sleep overpowered him. In his drunken
premonition: a vision of the
slumber he vomited wine and pieces of human flesh. Then I thrust the stake future
into the depth of the ashes to heat it, and inspired my men with encouraging ambrosia and nectar: the food
words, so none would hang back from fear. When the olivewood stake was and drink of the gods
glowing hot, and ready to catch fire despite its greenness, I drew it from the fuddled: made confusing
SAMPLE
coals, then my men stood round me, and a god breathed courage into us. They subtle: not obvious
held the sharpened olivewood stake, and thrust it into his eye, while I threw my

1.7
My Notes weight on the end, and twisted it round and round, as a man bores the timbers
of a ship with a drill that others twirl lower down with a strap held at both
ends, and so keep the drill continuously moving. We took the red-hot stake
and twisted it round and round like that in his eye, and the blood poured out
despite the heat. His lids and brows were scorched by flame from the burning
eyeball, and its roots crackled with fire. As a great axe or adze causes a vast
hissing when the smith dips it in cool water to temper it, strengthening the
iron, so his eye hissed against the olivewood stake. Then he screamed, terribly,
and the rock echoed. Seized by terror we shrank back, as he wrenched the
stake, wet with blood, from his eye. He flung it away in frenzy, and called to the
Cyclopes, his neighbors who lived in caves on the windy heights. They heard
his cry, and crowding in from every side they stood by the cave mouth and
asked what was wrong: “Polyphemus, what terrible pain is this that makes you
call through deathless night, and wake us? Is a mortal stealing your flocks, or
trying to kill you by violence or treachery?”
18 Out of the cave came mighty Polyphemus’ voice: “Nobody, my friends, is
trying to kill me by violence or treachery.”
19 To this they replied with winged words: “If you are alone, and nobody
does you violence, it’s an inescapable sickness that comes from Zeus: pray to
the Lord Poseidon, our father.”
Book IX: 413–479
Odysseus Tells His Tale: Escape
20 Off they went, while I laughed to myself at how the name and the clever
scheme had deceived him. Meanwhile the Cyclops, groaning and in pain, groped
around and labored to lift the stone from the door. Then he sat in the entrance,
arms outstretched, to catch anyone stealing past among his sheep. That was
how foolish he must have thought I was. I considered the best way of escaping,

and saving myself, and my men from death. I dreamed up all sorts of tricks and
schemes, as a man will in a life or death matter: it was an evil situation. This was
the plan that seemed best. The rams were fat with thick fleeces, fine large beasts
with deep black wool. These I silently tied together in threes, with twists of
willow on which that lawless monster, Polyphemus, slept. The middle one was to
carry one of my men, with the other two on either side to protect him. So there
was a man to every three sheep. As for me I took the pick of the flock, and curled
below his shaggy belly, gripped his back and lay there face upwards, patiently
gripping his fine fleece tight in my hands. Then, sighing, we waited for the light.
21 As soon as rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, the males rushed out to graze,
while the un-milked females udders bursting bleated in the pens. Their master,
tormented by agonies of pain, felt the backs of the sheep as they passed him,
but foolishly failed to see my men tied under the rams’ bellies. My ram went
last, burdened by the weight of his fleece, and me and my teeming thoughts.
treachery: a betrayal of trust And as he felt its back, mighty Polyphemus spoke to him:
fleeces: the coats of wool on 22 “My fine ram, why leave the cave like this last of the flock? You have
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sheep
never lagged behind before, always the first to step out proudly and graze
on the tender grass shoots, always first to reach the flowing river, and first to

1.7
show your wish to return at evening to the fold. Today you are last of all. You My Notes
must surely be grieving over your master’s eye, blinded by an evil man and his
wicked friends, when my wits were fuddled with wine: Nobody, I say, has not
yet escaped death. If you only had senses like me, and the power of speech to
tell me where he hides himself from my anger, then I’d strike him down, his
brains would be sprinkled all over the floor of the cave, and my heart would be
eased of the pain that nothing, Nobody, has brought me.”
23 With this he drove the ram away from him out of doors, and I loosed
myself when the ram was a little way from the cave, then untied my men.
Swiftly, keeping an eye behind us, we shepherded those long-limbed sheep,
rich and fat, down to the ship. And a welcome sight, indeed, to our dear friends
were we, escapees from death, though they wept and sighed for the others we
lost. I would not let them weep though, but stopped them all with a nod and
a frown. I told them to haul the host of fine-fleeced sheep on board and put to
sea. They boarded swiftly and took their place on the benches then sitting in
their rows struck the grey water with their oars. When we were almost out of
earshot, I shouted to the Cyclops, mocking him:
24 “‘Cyclops, the men you snatched with brutal force
and ate within your cave were surely not
the comrades of a coward. You have caused
much grief; and it returns to haunt you now;
you did not hesitate; hard heart, you ate
your guests within your house; therefore lord Zeus
has joined with other gods to batter you.’
25 “My words incensed him more. He ripped the top
of a huge peak, then hurled a chunk at us;
that mass fell just beyond our ship’s dark prow.
The sea surged as the mass dropped; and the wash
thrust our ship backward, closer to the coast.

But grabbing a long pole, I pushed us off
and signaled with my head: I spurred my men
to fall hard on the oars, to fend against
shipwreck; and they rowed hard—they strained, they bent.
When we were twice as distant as we’d been,
I shouted to the Cyclops, though my men
on all sides curbed me with these cautious words:
26 “‘Why must you goad that savage so? Just now,
that mass that monster cast into the sea
drove back our ship to shore: we thought we’d reached
our end. And if he’d heard us breathe or speak
even the slightest word, he would have hurled
one more rough rock and smashed our heads and hull.
That brute has force to spare: he can throw far.’
SAMPLE
27 “These were their words. But my firm heart was not
Convinced. Again my anger had to taunt:

1.7
‘Cyclops, if any mortal man should ask
about the shameful blinding of your eye,
then tell him that the man who gouged you was
Odysseus, ravager of cities: one
who lives in Ithaca—Laértës’ son.’
As Odysseus and his men escape on their ship, Polyphemus reveals that long ago he heard
prophecy that one day Odysseus would blind him. He tries to coerce Odysseus and his men to
return, promising that Poseidon will safely see Odysseus home, but Odysseus rebukes Polyphemus
and continues on his way.
Knowledge Quest
• What classic traits of a hero does Odysseus possess?
• What challenges did Odysseus face?
• How did Odysseus overcome the challenges he faced?

your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the epic poem in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. What motivates Odysseus to go to the land of the Cyclops? What evidence in the first two
paragraphs tells you this?

2. What does the following quote from paragraph 5 reveal about Odysseus’ character? “But I
would not listen, though it would have been best, wishing to see the giant himself, and test his
hospitality. When he did appear he proved no joy to my men.” How does Odysseus’ behavior
influence the events that follow?
3. Based on the words and actions of the Cyclops, how would you describe his character? How
does this influence the events that follow?
SAMPLE
1.7
4. KQ In paragraph 9, Odysseus says he “answered [the Cyclops] with cunning words.”
What does the word cunning tell you about Odysseus’ special abilities?
5. List the verbs used in the blinding of the Cyclops. What effect do these verbs have on the
pacing of this event?
6. Summarize paragraphs 21 and 22, maintaining meaning and logical order. How do Odysseus
and his men escape? What makes paragraph 22 dramatic? How does Odysseus’ behavior
influence the resolution to the conflict?
7. Why do some lines in the poetic translation of the Odyssey end with a period and others with a
comma? What is different about what those two graphical elements convey?
8. The adventure on the Road of Trials concludes with Odysseus having the last word of dialogue.
Is this an effective way to end? Why or why not?
9. KQ Why is Odysseus’ success so remarkable? What does his defeat of the Cyclops tell you
about heroes?
SAMPLE
1.7
10. Return to the epic poem and make observations and inferences about Odysseus’ character.
Use the My Notes to annotate descriptions of his own words, actions, motivations, and
behaviors. Also note how others react to him.
11. Use the evidence you gathered to express your understanding about Odysseus’ character. In
one or two sentences, describe Odysseus.
12. Use the following chart to organize your notes about Odysseus. Fill in the description column
with your notes, and then analyze what this information means about Odysseus and how his
character affects the plot, meaning the events and resolution of the conflict.
Character Analysis of Odysseus
Character Description
Effect on the Plot
Development
Words
Actions

Motivations
Behaviors
Others’ Reactions
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13. Quickwrite: Write an explanation of how Odysseus’ character influences the
events and resolution of the Odyssey excerpt. Include at least two examples
of text evidence to support your response.

Reread paragraph 21 and write a statement explaining a heroic trait demonstrated
by Odysseus and his men. Refer directly to the content of the paragraph.
14. Analyze the structure of the narrative and summarize the events.
Then map out the sequence of events on a plot diagram in your Reader/
Writer Notebook.
Setting a Purpose for Viewing KNOWLEDGE

• As you look at the pictures, think about the mood the artist was trying to create. QUEST
• Think about this question: Why are the images effective? What are some outstanding
ways heroes overcome
challenges?
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1. The Cyclops lies sleeping. Illustration by comic book artist Gino

D’Antonio, published in the 20th Century in The Wanderings of Ulysses.

2. Odysseus cunningly escapes the cave.
Illustration by Charles Edmund Brock,
published in The Children’s Hour: Stories from
the Classics, 1907.
Knowledge Quest
• What emotions do you feel or sense
while looking at the pictures?
• How did Odysseus face the challenges
3. Polyphemus tosses rocks at the fleeing Odysseus and his crew.
Illustration by Louis Frédéric Schützenberger, 1887. depicted in each image?
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Returning to the Images
• Return to the images as you respond to the following questions. Use evidence
to support your answers.
• Write any additional questions you have about the images in your Reader/
Writer Notebook.
15. KQ Image 2 shows how “Odysseus cunningly escapes the cave.” Why does
the caption use the word cunningly to describe the escape?
16. Choose one image. How does the depiction of the event in your chosen picture
compare with the description in the text?
17. KQ How do the three images help you understand Odysseus’ ingenious plan
to defeat the Cyclops?
Knowledge Quest INDEPENDENT

Use what you have learned so far about heroes and your knowledge from
READING LINK
reading the Odyssey about the ways that Odysseus overcame challenges. You can continue to build your
Write an informational essay that responds to the question: What are some knowledge about this theme
outstanding ways heroes overcome challenges? by reading related poetry and
fiction at ZINC Reading Labs.
Be sure to: Select the poetry and fiction
• Clearly introduce the topic. filters and type keywords such
as heroes or challenges in the
• Develop the topic with well-chosen evidence from the text. Search all ZINC articles field.
• Provide a conclusion that supports the information.
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Working from the Images
18. Use the graphic organizer to analyze the mood each image creates. First, locate the text
evidence used to illustrate the scene depicted in the image. Then, analyze the artist’s
interpretation. How does the image represent the text? Does the image accurately reflect the
text? Did the artist take any liberties? Finally note the mood created in the image.
Image Text Evidence Artist’s Interpretation Mood
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Drafting the Embedded Assessment © 2021 College Board. All rights reserved.
Think about the hero you created in the previous activity. What might the hero experience
in the Initiation Stage of his or her journey? Draft an event using your understanding of the
Road of Trials to guide your structure and development. Be sure to:
• Use narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, and description and develop
experiences, events, and/or characters.
• Use diction, detail, and imagery to create tone and mood.
• Sequence the event logically and naturally and use transitions to connect ideas.
Think about the shapes, shading, and expressions used in the visual depictions of the
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Odyssey and how the artist uses these devices to evoke a certain mood. What scene from
your narrative would make a good visual?

ACTIVITY
The Return 1.8

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze a novel excerpt for archetype and narrative techniques. Marking the Text
Close Reading
• Draft and illustrate the final event in a narrative.
Diffusing
Preview Skimming/Scanning
Drafting
In this activity, you will see how the Return stage of the Hero’s Journey
archetype is presented in a novel excerpt. Visualizing
The Return WORD CONNECTIONS

While some stories end after the hero has achieved the Ultimate Boon (the goal he Roots and Affixes
or she set out to achieve), most stories continue into the final stage: The Return.
The prefix re-, as in return,
is a very common and useful
Using Evidence to Support Understanding Latin prefix that means “again”
To understand how Meg’s journey is an example of a Hero’s Journey archetype, or “back.” You can use it to
you will need to read closely and make inferences about the characters and the determine the meaning of many
conflict. You will need to keep track of evidence in the text that supports your English words, such as replay,
understanding of events and characters, and then you connect this evidence with rewrite, replace, regenerate,
what you know about the Hero’s Journey archetype to make an inference. These reproduce, recall, recreate, and
inferences will help you come to a greater understanding about the text as a so on.
whole. One strategy for keeping track of evidence is annotation. Use the Setting
a Purpose for Reading instructions to help you annotate the text and gather
evidence.
My Notes
• As you read, underline and label evidence of a Hero’s Journey.
About the Author

Madeleine L’Engle (1918–2007) submitted
her best-known work, A Wrinkle in Time, to 27
publishers before it was accepted and published.
It went on to win the 1963 Newbery Award for
best children’s book. A Wrinkle in Time is the
first book in a series that follows the lives of Meg
Murry, her youngest brother Charles Wallace,
their friend Calvin O’Keefe, and twin brothers
Sandy and Dennys. Beginning with A Wrinkle
in Time, each novel features the characters
encountering otherworldly beings and evil forces
they have to defeat in order to save the world.
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GRAMMAR & USAGE Novel
Prepositions and
A Wrinkle in Time
Prepositional Phrases from
Writers use prepositions
and prepositional phrases
to add details. Prepositional by Madeleine L’Engle
phrases show relationships
of time, direction, or location. excerpt from Chapter 12, “The Foolish and the Weak”
Prepositional phrases function
as adjectives or adverbs. Look This excerpt comes near the end of Meg Murry’s journey. She has found her father
at paragraph 1 in the excerpt with the help of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which. They have escaped
from A Wrinkle in Time. In Camazotz, but they were forced to leave behind her younger brother Charles
the first sentence, the author Wallace in the grip of the “Black Thing.” Now Meg must return to Camazotz to get
uses three prepositional
her brother.
phrases beginning with the
preposition into: into darkness, 1 Immediately Meg was swept into darkness, into nothingness, and then
into nothingness, and into into the icy devouring cold of the Black Thing. Mrs Which won’t let it get me,
the icy devouring cold. These
three prepositional phrases
she thought over and over while the cold of the Black Thing seemed to crunch
function as adverbs, describing at her bones.
where Meg went. In that same 2 Then they were through it, and she was standing breathlessly on her feet
sentence, the author uses the
prepositional phrase of the
on the same hill on which they had first landed on Camazotz. She was cold and
Black Thing as an adjective, a little numb, but no worse than she had often been in the winter in the country
describing the noun cold. when she had spent an afternoon skating on the pond. She looked around. She
Notice how the author’s use was completely alone. Her heart began to pound.
of these prepositional phrases
adds vivid details to describe 3 Then, seeming to echo from all around her, came Mrs Which’s
what is happening to Meg. unforgettable voice, “I hhave nnott ggivenn yyou mmyy ggifftt. Yyou hhave
As you read A Wrinkle in Time, ssomethinngg thatt ITT hhass nnott. Thiss ssomethinngg iss yyourr onlly
pay attention to how the author wweapponn. Bbutt yyou mmusstt ffinndd itt fforr yyourrssellff.” Then the voice
uses prepositional phrases to ceased, and Meg knew that she was alone.

paint a more vivid picture for
readers. 4 She walked slowly down the hill, her heart thumping painfully against
her ribs. There below her was the same row of identical houses they had seen
before, and beyond these the linear buildings of the city. She walked along the
quiet street. It was dark and the street was deserted. No children playing ball or
skipping rope. No mother figures at the doors. No father figures returning from
work. In the same window of each house was a light, and as Meg walked down
the street all the lights were extinguished simultaneously. Was it because of her
presence, or was it simply that it was time for lights out?
5 She felt numb, beyond rage or disappointment or even fear. She put one
foot ahead of the other with precise regularity, not allowing her pace to lag.
She was not thinking; she was not planning; she was simply walking slowly but
steadily toward the city and the domed building where IT lay.
6 Now she approached the outlying buildings of the city. In each of them
was a vertical line of light, but it was a dim, eerie light, not the warm light of
stairways in cities at home. And there were no isolated brightly lit windows
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eerie: spooky; inspiring fear
where someone was working late, or an office was being cleaned. Out of each

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building came one man, perhaps a watchman, and each man started walking
the width of the building. They appeared not to see her. At any rate they paid My Notes
no attention to her whatsoever, and she went on past them.
7 What have I got that IT hasn’t got? she thought suddenly. What have I
possibly got?
8 Now she was walking by the tallest of the business buildings. More dim
vertical lines of light. The walls glowed slightly to give a faint illumination to
the streets. CENTRAL Central Intelligence was ahead of her. Was the man
with red eyes still sitting there? Or was he allowed to go to bed? But this was
not where she must go, though the man with red eyes seemed the kind old
gentleman he claimed to be when compared with IT. But he was no longer of
any consequence in the search for Charles Wallace. She must go directly to IT.
9 IT isn’t used to being resisted. Father said that’s how he managed, and
how Calvin and I managed as long as we did. Father saved me then. There’s
nobody here to save me now. I have to do it myself. I have to resist IT by
myself. Is that what I have that IT hasn’t got? No, I’m sure IT can resist. IT just
isn’t used to having other people resist.
10 CENTRAL Central Intelligence blocked with its huge rectangle the end
of the square. She turned to walk around it, and almost imperceptibly her
steps slowed.
11 It was not far to the great dome which housed IT.
12 I’m going to Charles Wallace. That’s what’s important. That’s what I have
to think of. I wish I could feel numb again the way I did at first. Suppose IT has
him somewhere else? Suppose he isn’t there?
13 I have to go there first, anyhow. That’s the only way I can find out.
14 Her steps got slower and slower as she passed the great bronzed doors,
the huge slabs of the CENTRAL Central Intelligence building, as she finally
saw ahead of her the strange, light, pulsing dome of IT.
15 Father said it was all right for me to be afraid. He said to go ahead and be
afraid. And Mrs Who said—I don’t understand what she said but I think it was
meant to make me not hate being only me, and me being the way I am. And
Mrs Whatsit said to remember that she loves me. That’s what I have to think
about. Not about being afraid. Or not as smart as IT. Mrs Whatsit loves me.
That’s quite something, to be loved by someone like Mrs Whatsit.
16 She was there.
17 No matter how slowly her feet had taken her at the end, they had taken
her there.
18 Directly ahead of her was the circular building, its walls glowing with consequence: importance
violet flame, its silvery roof pulsing with a light that seemed to Meg to be imperceptibly: in a manner that
insane. Again she could feel the light, neither warm nor cold, but reaching out is hardly noticeable
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to touch her, pulling her toward IT. violet: a purplish-blue color

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19 There was a sudden sucking, and she was within.
WORD CONNECTIONS
20 It was as though the wind had been knocked out of her. She gasped for
Roots and Affixes
breath, for breath in her own rhythm, not the permeating pulsing of IT. She
In the word inexorable, the
could feel the inexorable beat within her body, controlling her heart, her lungs.
prefix in- means “not.” It has
the same meaning in 21 But not herself. Not Meg. It did not quite have her.
ineffective and inexperienced.
The suffix -able means 22 She blinked her eyes rapidly and against the rhythm until the redness
“capable or worthy of,” as in before them cleared and she could see. There was the brain, there was IT, lying
debatable and laughable. The pulsing and quivering on the dais, soft and exposed and nauseating. Charles
root exor comes from Latin and Wallace was crouched beside IT, his eyes still slowly twirling, his jaw still slack,
means “to plead for.” as she had seen him before, with a tic in his forehead reiterating the revolting
rhythm of IT.
23 As she saw him it was again as though she had been punched in the
stomach, for she had to realize afresh that she was seeing Charles, and yet it was
not Charles at all. Where was Charles Wallace, her own beloved Charles Wallace?
24 What is it I have got that IT hasn’t got?
25 “You have nothing that IT hasn’t got,” Charles Wallace said coldly. “How
nice to have you back, dear sister. We have been waiting for you. We knew that
Mrs Whatsit would send you. She is our friend, you know.”
26 For an appalling moment Meg believed, and in that moment she felt her
brain being gathered up into IT.
27 “No!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “No! You lie!”
28 For a moment she was free from ITs clutches again.
29 As long as I can stay angry enough IT can’t get me.
WORD CONNECTIONS 30 Is that what I have that IT doesn’t have?

31 “Nonsense,” Charles Wallace said. “You have nothing that IT
Etymology
doesn’t have.”
The word miasma appeared
in the 1660s as a Modern 32 “You’re lying,” she replied, and she felt only anger toward this boy who
Latin word meaning “noxious was not Charles Wallace at all. No, it was not anger, it was loathing; it was
vapors.” It derives from the
hatred, sheer and unadulterated, and as she became lost in hatred she also
same Greek word that means
“stain” or “pollution.” Now it began to be lost in IT. The red miasma swam before her eyes; her stomach
is used to mean a poisonous churned in ITs rhythm. Her body trembled with the strength of her hatred and
atmosphere. the strength of IT.
33 With the last vestige of consciousness she jerked her mind and body.
Hate was nothing that IT didn’t have. IT knew all about hate.
permeating: spreading 34 “You are lying about that, and you were lying about Mrs Whatsit!”
everywhere
she screamed.
nauseating: making feel ill
reiterating: repeating 35 “Mrs Whatsit hates you,” Charles Wallace said.
vestige: a bit or trace of
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something

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36 And that was where IT made ITs fatal mistake, for as Meg said, My Notes
automatically, “Mrs Whatsit loves me; that’s what she told me, that she loves
me,” suddenly she knew.
37 She knew!
38 Love.
39 That was what she had that IT did not have.
40 She had Mrs Whatsit’s love, and her father’s, and her mother’s, and the
real Charles Wallace’s love, and the twins’, and Aunt Beast’s.
41 And she had her love for them.
42 But how could she use it? What was she meant to do?
43 If she could give love to IT perhaps it would shrivel up and die, for she
was sure that IT could not withstand love. But she, in all her weakness and
foolishness and baseness and nothingness, was incapable of loving IT. Perhaps
it was not too much to ask of her, but she could not do it.
44 But she could love Charles Wallace.
45 She could stand there and she could love Charles Wallace.
46 Her own Charles Wallace, the real Charles Wallace, the child for whom
she had come back to Camazotz, to IT, the baby who was so much more than
she was, and who was yet so utterly vulnerable.
47 She could love Charles Wallace.
48 Charles. Charles, I love you. My baby brother who always takes care of
me. Come back to me, Charles Wallace, come away from IT, come back, come
home. I love you, Charles. Oh, Charles Wallace, I love you.
49 Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she was unaware of them.
50 Now she was even able to look at him, at this animated thing that was not
her own Charles Wallace at all. She was able to look and love.
51 I love you. Charles Wallace, you are my darling and my dear and the light
of my life and the treasure of my heart, I love you. I love you. I love you.
52 Slowly his mouth closed. Slowly his eyes stopped their twirling. The tic in
the forehead ceased its revolting twitch. Slowly he advanced toward her.
53 “I love you!” she cried. “I love you, Charles! I love you!”
54 Then suddenly he was running, pelting, he was in her arms, he was

shrieking with sobs. “Meg! Meg! Meg!”
55 “I love you, Charles!” she cried again, her sobs almost as loud as his, her
tears mingling with his. “I love you! I love you! I love you!”
vulnerable: susceptible to
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danger

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My Notes 56 A whirl of darkness. An icy cold blast. An angry, resentful howl that
seemed to tear through her. Darkness again. Through the darkness to save her
came a sense of Mrs Whatsit’s presence, so that she knew it could not be IT
who now had her in its clutches.
57 And then the feel of earth beneath her, of something in her arms, and she
was rolling over on the sweet-smelling autumnal earth, and Charles Wallace
was crying out, “Meg! Oh, Meg!”
58 Now she was hugging him close to her, and his little arms were clasped
tightly about her neck. “Meg, you saved me! You saved me!” he said over and
over.
59 “Meg!” came a call, and there were her father and Calvin hurrying
through the darkness toward them.
60 Still holding Charles she struggled to stand up and look around. “Father!
Cal! Where are we?”
61 Charles Wallace, holding her hand tightly, was looking around, too, and
suddenly he laughed, his own, sweet, contagious laugh. “In the twins’ vegetable
garden! And we landed in the broccoli!”
62 Meg began to laugh, too, at the same time that she was trying to hug her
father, to hug Calvin, and not to let go of Charles Wallace for one second.
63 “Meg, you did it!” Calvin shouted. “You saved Charles!”
64 “I’m very proud of you, my daughter.” Mr. Murry kissed her gravely, then
turned toward the house. “Now I must go in to Mother.” Meg could tell that he
was trying to control his anxiety and eagerness.
65 “Look!” she pointed to the house, and there were the twins and Mrs.
Murry walking toward them through the long, wet grass.

66 “First thing tomorrow I must get some new glasses,” Mr. Murry said,
WORD CONNECTIONS
squinting in the moonlight, and then starting to run toward his wife.
Cognates 67 Dennys’s voice came crossly over the lawn. “Hey, Meg, it’s bedtime.”
The English word tangible
(in paragraph 72) is spelled 68 Sandy suddenly yelled, “Father!”
the same as, but pronounced 69 Mr. Murry was running across the lawn, Mrs. Murry running toward
differently than, its Spanish
him, and they were in each other’s arms, and then there was a tremendous
cognate with the same
meaning. The Spanish word happy jumble of arms and legs and hugging, the older Murrys and Meg and
catapultar is a cognate of Charles Wallace and the twins, and Calvin grinning by them until Meg reached
the English verb catapult (in out and pulled him in and Mrs. Murry gave him a special hug all of his own.
paragraph 69). They were talking and laughing all at once, when they were startled by a crash,
and Fortinbras, who could bear being left out of the happiness not one second
longer, catapulted his sleek black body right through the screened door to the
kitchen. He dashed across the lawn to join in the joy, and almost knocked them
autumnal: related to autumn
all over with the exuberance of his greeting.
contagious: passed from one
person to another 70 Meg knew all at once that Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which must
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gravely: seriously be near, because all through her she felt a flooding of joy and of love that was
even greater and deeper than the joy and love which were already there.

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71 She stopped laughing and listened, and Charles listened, too. “Hush.”
72 Then there was a whirring, and Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which were standing in
front of them, and the joy and love were so tangible that Meg felt that if she only knew where to
reach she could touch it with her bare hands.
73 Mrs Whatsit said breathlessly, “Oh, my darlings, I’m sorry we don’t have time to say
good-by to you properly. You see, we have to—”
74 But they never learned what it was that Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which had to
do, for there was a gust of wind, and they were gone.
Making Observations
• Who do we meet in the excerpt?
• What is a detail you noticed that someone else might miss?

your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the novel excerpt in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. The word “devouring” is used in paragraph 1. What is the effect of this word choice on the
mood of the opening?
2. Why does the author use mathematical terms such as “linear” and “vertical” to describe
the scene?
3. What can you infer about IT as a character in the novel? Provide textual evidence to support
your inferences.
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4. Throughout the story, how do others assist Meg in her quest to rescue her brother?
5. Use context clues to determine the meaning of the word “loathing” in paragraph 32. What
other word(s) helped you?
6. What is the power of “the Black Thing,” of IT, that Meg must battle against? Choose a line that
best expresses IT’s power and explain your choice.
7. How does Meg use “the Ultimate Boon” to conquer the power of IT?

8. What is the meaning of the word “animated” in paragraph 50? Use context clues to help you,
and cite textual evidence in your response.

9. Use the following graphic organizer to analyze how A Wrinkle in Time demonstrates the Return
Stage of a Hero’s Journey. Return to the text to find evidence to fill in the graphic organizer.
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Return Stages Evidence from the Text
The Magic Flight (the

adventure “home”)
Rescue from Without (the

guide)
The Crossing or Return

Threshold—The Theme
Statement (integrating
wisdom into previous life)

Write 3–4 sentences explaining how Meg represents the Hero in the Hero’s Journey archetype.
Use text evidence from the excerpt to support your claim.
LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Verbs and Mood

Writers form and use verbs in the correct mood. The list below shows the moods of English
verbs.
Indicative Mood: verbs that indicate a fact or opinion
I am too ill to go to school today.
Imperative Mood: verbs that express a command or request
Go to school. Please get up and get dressed.

Interrogative Mood: verbs that ask a question
Are you going to school? Do you feel ill?
Conditional Mood: verbs that express something that hasn’t happened or something that can
happen if a certain condition is met
I would have gone to school yesterday if I had felt well.
Your teacher might want you to complete the assignments you missed.
Subjunctive Mood: Verbs that describe a state that is uncertain or contrary to fact; when
using the verb “to be” in the subjunctive, always use were rather than was.
I wish my cold were better today.
If you were to go to school, what would you learn?
PRACTICE Look over the excerpt from A Wrinkle in Time again. Find an example of a sentence
to illustrate each of the moods above. Write and label these examples in your Reader/Writer
Notebook. If you have time, create a few more examples on your own and add those to your
Reader/Writer Notebook.
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My Notes Reading Graphic Novels
To continue thinking about how to illustrate your narrative, you will take a look
at a graphic novel adaptation of the A Wrinkle in Time excerpt that you just read.
Graphic novels use a combination of images and words to tell real or fictional
stories. As you explore the graphic novel, you should note the distinct graphic
features that characterize this type of storytelling. Following is a list of graphic
features and their uses. These terms can help you speak and write about graphic
novels with precision.
Panel—squares or rectangles that contain a single image
Gutter—space between panels
Dialogue Balloon—circular shape that contains communication between/among
characters
Thought Bubbles—shape that contains a character’s thoughts shared only with
the reader
Caption—box that provides background information about the scene or character
Sound Effect—visual clue about sounds in the scene
Long Shot—image that shows a character or object from the distance so you can
see its entirety
Extreme Long Shot—image that shows objects or characters in very small scale,
often showing a landscape or crowd of characters
Close-up—image that is shown in a large view taking up at least 80 percent of
the panel
Extreme Close-up—image that is shown in very large view, often focusing on a
small portion of a larger object or character

• As you read, underline and label evidence of a Hero’s Journey.

by using the images, context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
About the Author

Hope Larson (b. 1982) is the New York Times best-selling
author of six graphic novels. In 2007 she won an Eisner
Award, the highest honor for a comic artist, for her
adapted and illustrated edition of A Wrinkle in Time:
The Graphic Novel. Some of her other graphic
novels include Who is AC?, Mercury, and Chiggers.
Currently, she writes DC Comics’ Batgirl series and
lives in Los Angeles.
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Graphic Novel My Notes
A Wrinkle in Time:
from
The Graphic Novel

adapted and illustrated by Hope Larsen
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10. Return to the graphic novel. Use the graphic organizer that follows to tell where each Return
Stage of a Hero’s Journey of A Wrinkle in Time is illustrated in the graphic novel. In the second
column, list the visual effects the illustrator uses to communicate the ideas of each stage. In
the third column, tell what mood is created by the use of these effects.
Return Stages Visual Effects Mood Created
The Magic Flight (the adventure

“home”)
Rescue from Without (the guide)
The Crossing or Return

Threshold—The Theme Statement
(integrating wisdom into previous
life)
11. By using illustrations, what did the graphic novel help you to understand about the story that
the text did not?
12. Explain why the illustrator might have wanted to create a visual version of A Wrinkle in Time.

Revisit your hero narrative. What might your hero learn by the end of the Return Stage in his
or her journey? Draft an ending to your narrative using your understanding of the Crossing/
Return Threshold to guide your development. Be sure to:
• Make sure the ending to your story follows the previous events logically and naturally.
• Include some reflection in the ending and answer the question: What does the hero learn?
• Use narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, and description.
SAMPLE
• Incorporate sentences that use the different verb moods you have learned about in
this lesson.

Language Checkpoint:
LC 1.8 Understanding Sentence Boundaries
Learning Targets
• Understand complete sentences, sentence fragments, and run-on sentences, including
comma splices.
• Revise writing to correct sentence fragments and run-on sentences.
Preview
In this activity, you will learn to recognize complete sentences and to revise your writing to
correct sentence fragments and run-on sentences.Understanding Sentence Boundaries
Skilled writers use complete sentences to express complete thoughts. A sentence fragment is less
than a complete sentence; that is, it is missing one or more elements that make it complete. A run-
on is more than a complete sentence; that is, it runs two or more complete sentences together as if
they were one.
Recognizing Complete Sentences and Sentence Fragments

Knowing the differences between complete sentences and sentence fragments is an important part
of becoming a strong writer and self-editor.
A sentence includes at least one independent clause. An independent clause includes a subject
and a verb and expresses a complete thought.
Look at these sentences from A Wrinkle in Time:
She looked around. She was completely alone. Her heart began to pound.
Each one has a subject (underlined) and a verb (circled). Each one expresses a complete thought.
A sentence fragment may be missing a subject and/or a verb, or it may not express a
complete thought.
Fragment (missing a subject): Beginning to pound.
Fragment (missing a verb): Her heart in her throat.

Fragment (not a complete thought): When she realized her situation.
Writers usually use complete sentences to express their meaning. Sometimes, though, a writer
chooses to use sentence fragments to produce a specific effect in his or her writing.
This excerpt from A Wrinkle in Time includes two fragments:
Mrs. Whatsit said to remember that she loves me. That’s what I have to think about. Not about
being afraid. Or not as smart as IT.
1. Which two word groups above are complete sentences? Which two are fragments?
2. Explain how you identified the fragments.
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LC 1.8
3. Quickwrite: Why might Madeleine L’Engle have chosen to use sentence fragments? What effect
do the fragments create?
Recognizing Run-on Sentences

Sometimes two or more complete sentences run together as if they are a single sentence. This
creates a run-on sentence. Like sentence fragments, run-ons are usually avoided, though some
writers may use them for effect. For example, using run-ons can show rambling dialogue.
Run-ons can be confusing because they make it a hard to see where one thought ends and another
begins. Alternatively, the connection between the sentences might not be clear.
Look at this run-on:
Madeleine L’Engle wrote many acclaimed books for children and adults her best-known work,
A Wrinkle in Time, won the 1963 Newbery Medal.
This word group contains two whole sentences (independent clauses) and two whole complete
thoughts. With no punctuation between them, the sentences are not clear.
A run-on can be revised in several ways.
It can be made into two separate sentences:
Madeleine L’Engle wrote many acclaimed books for children and adults. Her best-known work,
A comma and coordinating conjunction (such as and, but, or, so, or yet) can be added, making a
compound sentence:
Madeleine L’Engle wrote many acclaimed books for children and adults, and her best-known
work, A Wrinkle in Time, won the 1963 Newbery Medal.
In some cases, the clauses can be joined by a semicolon—if the clauses are closely connected in
meaning.
Madeleine L’Engle wrote many acclaimed books for children and adults; her best-known work,
Run-ons can also be reworded so that one of the independent clauses becomes a phrase or
dependent clause.
Madeleine L’Engle wrote many acclaimed books for children and adults, including her best-known
work, A Wrinkle in Time, which won the 1963 Newbery Medal.
Recognizing Comma Splices

One specific kind of run-on sentence is called a comma splice. A comma splice occurs when two
sentences are run together with only a comma between them:
Madeleine L’Engle wrote many acclaimed books for children and adults, her best-known work,
A comma splice can be corrected by breaking the run-on into two separate sentences, adding a
conjunction after the comma, or replacing the comma with a semicolon.
SAMPLE
LC 1.8
Read the following paragraph:

L’Engle submitted her manuscript for A Wrinkle in Time to many different publishers, twenty-six
of them rejected it. The twenty-seventh agreed to publish it. L’Engle’s work also includes plays and
poetry, as well as her autobiography. A Wrinkle in Time is part of a series, other books in the series
are A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time.
4. In the above paragraph. Underline each complete, correct sentence.
5. In the paragraph above, draw brackets around any run-on sentence(s).
6. If a run-on is a comma splice, circle the comma that incorrectly “splices” the
sentences together.
Revising Sentences, Fragments, and Run-ons

7. Decide whether each word group below is a sentence (S), fragment (F), or run-on (R). Circle the
corresponding letter. Rewrite the sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation. Revise
the fragments and run-on sentences to make it a complete, correct sentence.
a. meg murry’s journey, a long and difficult one S/F/R
b. she has found her father, and they have escaped camazotz S/F/R
c. they were forced to leave behind charles wallace, he is her younger brother S/F/R
d. charles wallace is in the grip of the “black thing” S/F/R
e. now meg, on her way to camazotz to get him S/F/R

f. meg feels afraid, she persists in her mission S/F/R
8. Rewrite the following paragraph, correcting fragments and run-ons.
A Wrinkle in Time first published in 1962. It is the first book in Madeleine L’Engle’s Time
Quintet. Which is a series of five books that involve travel in time. The book includes ideas from
quantum physics, one of those ideas is the tesseract. Supernatural beings use the tesseract to
transport Meg Murry and other characters across the universe.
SAMPLE
LC 1.8

What questions can you ask yourself, when editing your work, to check for sentence fragments?
How can you tell whether a fragment is used for effect?
What questions can you ask yourself to check for run-on sentences and comma splices in
your work?
Add the questions to your Editor’s Checklist.
Practice
With a partner, exchange drafts of your hero narrative and examine the writing specifically for
correct use of complete sentences with correct punctuation. Put an exclamation point next to any
sentence fragments or run-on sentences. Evaluate any fragments to determine whether they are
unintentional or are used for effect. If they are unintentional, work with your partner to revise them.
Also revise any run-ons or comma splices.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
1.9 Revising and Editing
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Collaborative Discussion • Identify and apply effective techniques and strategies for writing groups.
Sharing and Responding
• Revise and edit a narrative draft through a collaborative writing group.
Summarizing
Self-Editing/Peer- Editing Preview
In this activity, you will participate in a writing group to provide feedback
to your peers about their writing and revise your own work based on peer
feedback.
Writing Group Roles

For groups to be effective, each member must participate to help achieve the goals
of the group. The purpose of writing groups is to:
• Provide an open-minded place to read, respond to, and revise writing.
• Provide meaningful feedback to improve writing based on specific criteria.
• Create specific roles to solicit and manage sharing and responding.
• Focus on posing open-ended questions for the writer to consider.
Writing group members have roles and responsibilities.
Role Guidelines Discussion/Response Starters

The Reader: The Reader’s purpose is to share an Reader’s and Listeners’ compliments:
Reads the text understanding of the Writer’s words. • I liked the words you used, such as ...
silently, then The Reader provides the writer with oral • I like the way you described ...
aloud. Begins the or written instructions on how to improve • This piece made me feel ...
conversation after their writing.
• This piece reminded me of ...
reading. The Reader follows all listeners’
• I noticed your use of from the Hero’s
guidelines as well.

Journey when you ...
The Listeners: The Listeners begin with positive Reader’s and Listeners’ comments and
Take notes and statements, using “I” statements to talk suggestions:
prepare open- about the writing, not the Writer. • I really enjoyed the part where ...
ended questions The Listeners use the writer’s checklist • What parts are you having trouble with?
for the Writer or to produce thoughtful questions that will • What do you plan to do next?
make constructive help strengthen the writing.
• I was confused when ...
statements.
The Writer: As his or her work is being read aloud Writer’s questions:
Listens to the by another, the Writer can get an overall • What do you want to know more about?
draft, takes notes, impression of the piece. • Which part does not make sense?
responds to The Writer follows oral or written • Which section of the text does not work?
questions, and instructions to improve the writing.
• How can I improve this part?
asks questions for The Writer asks questions to get
clarification. feedback that will lead to effective
revision.
SAMPLE
1.9
1. Summarize the purpose and process of working in a successful writing group.
The Revision Process

Very few people are able to write a perfect first draft, so revising is a typical part of the writing
process—even for famous writers. In an interview done for The Paris Review in 1956, the
interviewer asked Ernest Hemingway about his writing.
Interviewer: How much rewriting do you do?
Hemingway: It depends. I rewrote the ending of Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, 39
times before I was satisfied.
Interviewer: Was there some technical problem there? What was it that had stumped you?
Hemingway: Getting the words right.
(from Ernest Hemingway, “The Art of Fiction,” The Paris Review Interview, 1956)
2. Writing groups can help you revise and get your words right. Throughout this unit, you have
started a narrative about a hero. As you think about revising your draft, what are some guiding
questions you might ask? You might use the Embedded Assessment 1 Scoring Guide to
prompt your questions to focus on clarity, development, organization, style, word choice, and
sentence variety.

Editing your writing is a part of the writing process (self-editing). This strategy can be used
with a partner (peer-editing) to examine a draft closely to identify areas that may need to be
corrected for structure, ideas, language, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, or spelling.
Peer editors need to provide clear oral or written instructions for how the writer can improve
the writing.
3. In addition to asking questions, having a writer’s checklist can help you revise. Next, you will
work with members of your writing group to create, on separate paper, a writer’s checklist
for your Hero’s Journey narrative. This checklist should reflect your group’s input about
the following:
• Ideas: Think of the purpose and development of the writing, the topic, and the details.
• Structure: Think of the type of writing and its purpose, as well as the organization and
clarity of the writing. Revisit your hook and decide whether it is adequate or needs revision.
SAMPLE
• Use of language: Think about style, clarity, figurative language, descriptive details,
transitions, word choice, sentence variety, and so on.

1.9
4. After completing your writer’s checklist, your writing group will read and discuss each
member’s draft of the Hero’s Journey narrative. Group members should trade roles of Reader,
Listener, and Writer as they proceed through each draft, following the information in the chart
at the beginning of Activity 1.9.
Using Resources and References to Revise

How does a writer improve a text through revision? Deep revision takes time and effort. Skilled
writers do the following:
• Add ideas and language to improve the development of ideas.
• Delete irrelevant, unclear, and repetitive ideas and language to improve pacing, clarity, and effect.
• Rearrange ideas to improve organization.
• Substitute ideas and language for effect such as improving sentence variety, tailoring style, or
refining word choice to be more precise.
5. Have students number and label the sequence of events in their narratives to check how
naturally and effectively the events unfold. Then have them summarize the sequences with
partners to verify that they make sense.
6. Use the writer’s checklist you created, the feedback from your peers, and the revision
strategies above to guide your revision. Share one of your revisions with the class by
explaining specifically what you revised and how it improved your writing.
Editing a Draft
7. New writers sometimes confuse revision with editing or proofreading. Both are extremely
important in creating a polished piece of writing, but they are different and separate
processes.
• Revision focuses on ideas, organization, and language and involves adding, deleting,
rearranging, and substituting words, sentences, and entire paragraphs.
• Editing focuses on conventions of standard English. It involves close proofreading and
consulting reference sources to correct errors in grammar and usage, capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling.
• After drafting a text, students often either revise or edit rather than doing both. Skipping
either step in the writing process greatly affects the quality of your final draft.
8. It is essential that writers take the time to edit drafts to correct errors in grammar and usage,
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Return to your draft and self-edit and peer-edit to
strengthen the grammar and language conventions in your draft. Be sure to create a new
writer’s checklist that contains specific areas of concern.

Use a combination of self-editing and peer-editing to strengthen the language and grammar in
your draft, and correct errors in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Use online tools , such as
spelling and grammar checkers and online dictionaries, to verify your writing when you are unsure.
Independent Reading Checkpoint

What accomplishments did the protagonist in your independent reading text achieve? What vivid
language did the author use to describe these accomplishments? Explain why you think these
accomplishments do or do not make this character a hero. Describe any personal connections that
SAMPLE
you have made to this text. Use complex and compound-complex sentences in your explanation,
and include correctly punctuated dialogue from the excerpt.

EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
Writing a Hero’s Journey Narrative 1
ASSIGNMENT
Think about all the heroes you have encountered in fiction and real life. What type of hero
appeals to you? Write and create an illustrated narrative about an original hero. Use the
Hero’s Journey archetype to develop and structure your ideas. Orally present your narrative
to your classmates.
Planning and Prewriting: ■■ What characteristics will your hero possess, and what setting will you choose?
Take time to make a plan for ■■ What are the essential elements of a narrative that you will need to include?
your narrative. ■■ What prewriting strategies will you use to plan the organization?
Drafting: Create a draft that ■■ How will you introduce characters, context, and setting and establish a
includes the elements of an point of view?
effective narrative. ■■ How will you use dialogue, details, and description to create an original,
believable hero?
■■ How will you sequence events logically and naturally using steps of the
Hero’s Journey archetype?
■■ How will you provide a conclusion or resolution that follows from and
reflects on the events of the narrative?
■■ How will you find or create illustrations to capture key imagery,
emphasize ideas, or add interest?
Evaluating and Revising: ■■ When will you share your work with your writing group?
Create opportunities to ■■ What is your plan to incorporate suggestions and ideas for revisions into
review and revise your work. your draft?
■■ How can you improve connotative diction and imagery to create tone
and mood?
■■ How can the Scoring Guide help you evaluate how well your draft meets
the requirements of the assignment?
Checking and Editing: ■■ How will you proofread and edit your draft to demonstrate command of
Confirm that your final draft the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, spelling,
is ready for publication. grammar, and usage?
■■ How will you create a title and assemble your illustrations in an appealing
manner?
■■ How will you prepare a final draft for publication and presentation?
Reflection
accomplishing this task and respond to the following:
• How did your understanding of the Hero’s Journey archetype help you create an original
SAMPLE
narrative?

EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
1
SCORING GUIDE
Scoring
Exemplary Proficient Emerging Incomplete
Criteria
Ideas The narrative The narrative The narrative The narrative

• creates a complex, • creates a believable, • creates an unoriginal • lacks a protagonist
original protagonist original protagonist or undeveloped • does not establish
• establishes a clear • establishes point of protagonist point of view, setting,
point of view, setting, view, setting, and • establishes a weak or conflict
and conflict conflict point of view, setting, • uses minimal
• uses precise and • uses adequate or conflict narrative techniques
engaging details, details, dialogue, • uses inadequate • includes few or no
dialogue, imagery, imagery, and narrative techniques visuals.
and description description • includes insufficient,
• includes a variety of • includes sufficient unrelated, or
enhancing visuals. visuals. inappropriate visuals.
Structure The narrative The narrative The narrative The narrative

• engages and orients • orients the reader • provides weak or • lacks exposition
the reader with with adequate vague exposition • has minimal plot
detailed exposition exposition • sequences events with no apparent
• sequences events in • sequences events unevenly, including connection to the
the plot effectively, in the plot logically, minimal or unclear Hero’s Journey
including a variety of including some steps steps of the Hero’s archetype
steps from the Hero’s of the Hero’s Journey Journey archetype • uses few or no
Journey archetype archetype • uses inconsistent, transitional strategies
• uses a variety of • uses transitional repetitive, or basic • lacks a resolution.
transitional strategies words, phrases, and transitional words,
effectively and clauses to link events phrases, and clauses
purposefully and signal shifts • provides a weak

• provides a thoughtful • provides a logical or disconnected
resolution. resolution. resolution.
Use of The narrative The narrative The narrative The narrative

Language • is presented using • is presented using • is presented with • is presented with
effective volume, appropriate volume, some attention to eye little attention to eye
clarity, and eye pronunciation, and contact, volume, and contact, volume, and
contact eye contact pace of delivery pacing
• demonstrates • demonstrates • demonstrates partial • lacks command of
command of the adequate command or inconsistent the conventions of
conventions of of the conventions command of the standard English
standard English of standard English conventions of capitalization,
capitalization, capitalization, standard English punctuation, spelling,
punctuation, spelling, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, grammar, and usage;
grammar, and usage grammar, and usage punctuation, spelling, frequent errors
(including appropriate (including appropriate grammar, and usage. obscure meaning.
use of a variety of use of moods).
SAMPLE
moods).

ACTIVITY
Unpacking Embedded Assessment 2 1.10

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Reflect on previous learning and make connections to new learning. QHT
Close Reading
• Identify and analyze the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful
in completing Embedded Assessment 2. Paraphrasing
Graphic Organizer
Preview
In this activity, you will begin thinking about how to write a definition essay
about heroism.
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
It is important to be precise
and concise in writing and
Making Connections speaking. To be concise is
In the first part of this unit, you learned about the archetype of the Hero’s Journey, to be brief and to the point.
and you wrote your own illustrated narrative depicting a protagonist who makes Conciseness is expressing
a heroic journey. In this half of the unit, you will continue thinking about heroism a great deal in just a few
and what makes a hero; your work will culminate in an essay in which you create words.
your definition of a hero.
Essential Questions
Reflect on your understanding of Essential Question 1: How has your
understanding of the concept of a hero changed over the course of this unit? Then
respond to Essential Question 2, which will be the focus of the rest of the unit:
How does the Hero’s Journey archetype appear in stories throughout time?
Re-sort the vocabulary from the first half of the unit, using the QHT strategy.
Compare the new sort with your original QHT sort. In a concise statement, describe
how your understanding has changed.
Use a dictionary to find the origin for each term. Group the words by their origins
(Latin, Greek, French, Middle English, and so on). Then study the words in each
category and describe anything you notice about each group. Compare your list
with a partner’s list.

Read the assignment for Embedded Assessment 2 closely to identify and
analyze the components of the assignment.
Think about people who deserve status as a hero from the past, from
the present, from life, and from literature. What defines a hero? Write a INDEPENDENT
multi-paragraph essay that develops your definition of heroism. Be sure READING LINK
to use strategies of definition (function, example, and negation) to guide Reading Plan
your writing. Continue your exploration of
Using the assignment and the Scoring Guide, work with your class to analyze heroism by choosing a fiction
the prompt and create a graphic organizer to use as a visual reminder of or nonfiction text about a
the required concepts (what you need to know) and skills (what you need to historical or modern hero for
do). Copy the graphic organizer in your Reader/Writer Notebook. your independent reading.
Research the author of the
After each activity, use this graphic to guide reflection about what you have text to find out why they might
SAMPLE
learned and what you still need to learn in order to be successful on the have chosen to write about this
Embedded Assessment. particular hero.

ACTIVITY
1.11 The Nuance of Tone
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Note-taking • Differentiate between denotation and connotation.
Graphic Organizer
• Analyze how connotation creates tone.
Discussion Groups
Preview
In this activity, you will think about how an author creates tone
LITERARY using diction.
VOCABULARY
Tone is a writer’s or
speaker’s attitude toward a
subject. Understanding Tone
Diction is a writer’s or In literature, being able to recognize the tone of a story or poem or essay is an
speaker’s choice of words.
important skill in understanding the author’s purpose. An author who is trying to
Denotation is the direct
create a comedy skit needs to choose content and language that communicates
meaning of a word or
humor rather than sadness. Writers purposefully select diction to create an
expression, as distinguished
from the ideas or meanings
appropriate tone.
associated with it or 1. What is the connection between tone and diction? Many words have a similar
suggested by it. denotation, but one must learn to distinguish among the connotations of
Connotation is the implied these words in order to accurately identify meaning and tone. Careful readers
associations, meanings, or
and writers understand nuances in word meanings. This means that they
emotions associated with
recognize that words have varying levels of meaning.
a word.
ACADEMIC Examples: House, home, abode, estate, shack, mansion, and hut all describe
or denotate a place to live, but each has a different connotation that
Nuance refers to a subtle
determines meaning and tone.
difference or distinction in
meaning. 2. Create examples like the one above illustrating ranges of words that have
the same denotation but different connotations. Independently, write your
examples below and then pair with another student to share your words.
My Notes

3. Use one of the examples you just created to discuss how connotation
connects to tone.
Identifying Nuances in Diction

4. On the following page are some common tone words and their synonyms. Use
a print or digital dictionary to determine or clarify each synonym’s precise
meaning. After taking notes on the denotation of each word, number the
words to indicate the various levels of meaning, from least intense to most
intense (1 = least intense). If your group feels that two words have the same
connotation and level of meaning, give them the same ranking.
SAMPLE
1.11
Angry: upset, enraged, irritated, sharp, vexed, livid, infuriated, incensed
Happy: mirthful, joyful, jovial, ecstatic, lighthearted, exultant, jubilant, giddy
Sad: poignant, despondent, sentimental, lugubrious, morose, woeful, mournful, desolate
Honest: sincere, candid, outspoken, forthright, frank, unbiased, blunt
Calm: placid, still, bored, composed, peaceful, tranquil, serene, soothing
Nervous: anxious, apprehensive, hesitant, fretful, agitated, jittery, afraid
Smart: wise, perceptive, quick-witted, clever, sagacious, intellectual, brainy, bright, sharp
5. Prepare to present your findings to the class. Use the outline below to prepare for your
presentation.
Our group studied words that have the same denotation as .
The most intense word is , which means .
One would feel if / when [specific situation].
The least intense word is , which means .
Our favorite word is , which means .
6. While other groups present, listen to comprehend, and take notes. You will be responsible for
applying this vocabulary in future activities.

Read the sentences and identify the tone using words from the list above. Explain how word choice
changes the connotation of each sentence.

Jack skipped out of the house.
Jack stormed out of the house.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
1.12 Physical and Emotional Challenges
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
TP-CASTT • Analyze and compare text structures across genres.
Diffusing
• Make connections between elements in different genres.
Paraphrasing
Summarizing Preview
Close Reading
In this activity, you will read a poem and an informational text on similar
Marking the Text subjects and compare them.
Freewriting

• As you read, underline and label evidence of a Hero’s Journey so that you can
My Notes compare it with and contrast it to other texts.
About the Author

Nina Cassian (1924–2014) was a prominent writer
in Romania until she was exiled for her poems
satirizing the Romanian president’s regime. She
sought refuge in the United States and lived in
New York City for many years. Cassian wrote
more than 50 volumes of work, including poetry,
fiction, and books for children. Cassian was
also a journalist, film critic, and composer of
classical music.
SAMPLE
1.12
Poetry My Notes
A Man
by Nina Cassian
While fighting for his country, he lost an arm

And was suddenly afraid:
“From now on, I shall only be able to do things by halves.
I shall reap half a harvest.
5 I shall be able to play either the tune
or the accompaniment on the piano,
but never both parts together.
I shall be able to bang with only one fist
on doors, and worst of all
10 I shall only be able to half hold
my love close to me.
There will be things I cannot do at all,
applaud for example,
at shows where everyone applauds.”
15 From that moment on, he set himself to do
everything with twice as much enthusiasm.
And where the arm had been torn away
a wing grew.
Making Observations
• What emotions do you feel while reading the poem?

• What lines from the poem seem to be the most powerful?
SAMPLE
1.12
your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the poem in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. What kinds of things is the man afraid of not being able to do? What do these worries tell you
about his character?
2. Is the last sentence of this poem meant to be understood literally or figuratively? How does the
connotation of “wing” help create the mood of the poem?

This reading strategy is used to analyze a poetic text by identifying and discussing each topic
in the acronym: Title, Paraphrase, Connotation, Attitude, Shift, Title again, and Theme. The
strategy is a guide designed to lead you in an analysis of a literary text. It is most effective

if you begin at the top and work your way down the elements. However, you will find that as
you study one element, you will naturally begin to explore others. For example, a study of
connotation often leads to a discussion of tone and shifts. Revisiting the title often leads to a
discussion of the theme, or author’s message.
3. Use the TP-CASTT strategy to analyze the poem. Record your responses in the graphic
organizer that follows. Read the poem several times, each time analyzing more deeply
aspects of the TP-CASTT strategy and recording your responses.
4. After reading the poem several times, return to the TP-CASTT graphic organizer, and write a
brief paragraph to summarize the poem and explain the author’s message.
SAMPLE
1.12
Strategy Response/Analysis
Title: Analysis:
After reading the text, think about why the author
chose the title.
Paraphrase: Poem Summary:

After diffusing the text, translate the most
challenging lines of the poem into your own words
(you may need to reread the text several times).
Then briefly summarize the poem in such a way
that the meaning is maintained.
Connotation: Pattern: (+/–)

Mark the text by highlighting the diction (words
and phrases) used for positive effect (color 1)
and/or negative effect (color 2). Then study
the diction to determine a pattern (e.g., mostly
negative, begins negatively but ends positively)
and record your analysis.
Attitude (Tone): Tone Summary:
Determine how the speaker feels about the subject
of the poem. (There might be more than one tone.)
Highlight words that convey tone. Be sure to use
precise tone words (e.g., mournful, not sad). Finally,
summarize the tone.
Shift: Shifts:
Identify shifts, such as in the speaker, setting,

subject, tone, or images. After marking the text
with a star and numbering each, study and explain
the shifts.
Title: Deeper Meaning:

Examine the title to determine the deeper
meaning. Look beyond the literal, even if the title
is simple (e.g. “Choices”). Record ideas.
Theme: Theme Statement(s):

Determine the author’s message about life
implied in the poem. After you identify a subject
(e.g., friendship), write a statement about the
subject that sounds like a piece of advice (e.g., For
SAMPLE
a friendship to survive, one must be selfless, not
selfish). Record your theme statement(s).

1.12
My Notes Setting a Purpose for Reading
• As you read, underline and label evidence of a Hero’s Journey so that you can
compare it with and contrast it to other texts.
About the Author

Inspired by the work of Washington Post journalists
during the Watergate era, Gale Fiege longed to be a
newspaper reporter. She served as editor of the campus
newspaper at Western Washington University in the late
1970s. Since then, she has been a reporter on a number
of newspapers in Washington state, including the Everett
Daily Herald. The skill Fiege thinks is most important to
her job is the ability to listen well.
Article
GRAMMAR & USAGE Soldier home after losing

Nonrestrictive Phrases &
Clauses
his leg in Afghanistan
A nonrestrictive phrase or by Gale Fiege
clause is a group of words that
gives extra information about 1 LAKE STEVENS—It started out as just another day in the Zabul
a noun in the sentence. It is set Province of southern Afghanistan.
off by commas to show that the
information is not necessary to 2 On Sept. 18, 2010, Army Pfc. Tristan Eugene Segers, a 2002 graduate
understand what the sentence of Lake Stevens High School, was driving his armored patrol vehicle when a

is about. homemade bomb exploded in the road underneath Segers’ floorboard.
In paragraph 2 of the article,
the writer uses a nonrestrictive 3 One of the vehicle’s 800-pound tires was found a half-mile away.
phrase to explain who Tristan
4 Just below his knee, Segers’ right leg was gone. He had shrapnel sticking
Eugene Segers is: “ ... Eugene
Segers, a 2002 graduate of out of his eyeballs, face and arms.
Lake Stevens High School, was 5 After nearly two years of surgeries and rehabilitation in Texas, Segers, a
driving ... ” The phrase “a 2002
handsome 28-year-old, moved back to Snohomish County last week in time to
graduate of Lake Stevens High
School” is extra information celebrate Independence Day with his folks in the home where he grew up.
that is not necessary to the 6 Segers is married now to his high school girlfriend, Lindsay Blanchard.
understanding of the sentence.
Locate several more examples
They are expecting a baby boy in October. He plans to return to culinary arts
of nonrestrictive phrases in the school this fall and they are about to move into an apartment in the Bothell
article and share with a partner. area.
7 Until his official Army retirement date on Aug. 21, he is Cpl. Segers, the
owner of a Purple Heart.1
shrapnel: small fragments of a
bomb after it explodes
SAMPLE
1 The Purple Heart is a medal given to U.S. military personnel who are injured in the line of duty

1.12
8 Segers wears shorts in the warm summer weather, not even pretending to My Notes
hide his prosthetic leg. He has run a marathon. A specially designed gas pedal
is on the left side of his slate-gray Toyota Tacoma truck.
9 Nothing is stopping him.
10 “Everybody’s injury is different and everybody handles it in their own

way. There is no way to measure it, whether it’s physical or mental,” Segers said.
“I just kept telling the doctors that I didn’t want my life to be different than it
was before. Of course, the loss of a leg changed me. But it doesn’t define me or
the rest of my life.”
11 Segers was enjoying a promising start to a career as a chef when the
economic recession forced him to consider joining the Army. He figured he
would serve in the family tradition set by his father and grandfather.
12 After grueling training in the hot Georgia sun, he landed a spot in the
Army’s 101st Airborne Pathfinder Division, an elite infantry unit, and was sent
to Afghanistan in February 2010 to work on personnel recovery missions.
13 After the explosion, Segers was stabilized and flown to the Army hospital
in Landstuhl, Germany.
14 “My eyes were completely bandaged and I was in a lot of pain. The
stretchers were on bunks in the airplane, so when I woke up it felt like I was in grueling: physically demanding
a coffin,” Segers said. “I was so glad to hear the voice of my buddy, Andrew elite: made of the best and most
Leonard, a guy from Boston who had been injured earlier.” able
15 Tristan Segers can’t say enough good things about the surgeons, rigorous: full of difficulty
psychiatrists, physical therapists and other staff at the Army hospital, as well complacent: satisfied
as the numerous charitable organizations such as
the Fisher House Foundation that help wounded
veterans.
16 “I was truly cared for,” he said. “The

rehabilitation was rigorous and I pushed it,
building back my muscles and learning to use the
prosthetic leg.
17 “But they never told me I was doing a good
job for fear that I might get complacent. There
were many guys there who had given up on life.”
18 “Most of the time when people see my
leg, they think I’ve been in a car accident or
something. But sometimes an old veteran will
stop me and thank me for my service,” Segers
said. “I didn’t do anything special, but if the
progress I have made motivates another wounded
veteran to keep going, then that’s great.”
SAMPLE
1.12
Making Observations
• What was most surprising about the article?
• What connections do you see between the article and the poem?

• Reread the article to answer these text-dependent questions.
• Write any additional questions you have about the article in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
5. What kind of person is Segers? Include details from the article that support your answer.
6. The author uses the word “folks” in paragraph 5 to mean “family.” What effect does this word
choice have?
7. Choose a statement made by Segers that expresses the central idea driving Segers’s life now.
What facts in the story support this idea?

8. Notice how the language shifts as it describes Segers’s Army assignment. What is an “elite”
infantry unit? What are “personnel recovery missions”?

9. Return to the poem “A Man.” What effect do the short line lengths have on the beginning of
the poem? How does that shift in the last stanza?
SAMPLE
1.12
10. Explain the author’s purpose for writing the article about Segers. Then, analyze how the text
structure contributes to the purpose.
11. How is the structure of the article different from the poem?
12. What message does each text reveal about the concept of heroism? Write a summary that
supports your interpretation using evidence from both the poem and the article.

In your Reader/Writer Notebook, compare how the characters in the poem and the article exemplify
the concept of a hero. How are these heroes similar and different? Include evidence from each text
in your response.

The freewriting strategy allows writers to write freely without pressure to be correct or
complete. A freewrite gives a writer the freedom to write in an informal style and get ideas on
paper in preparation for a more complete and formal writing assignment. This strategy helps
writers refine and clarify thoughts, spark new ideas, and/or generate content during drafting
or revision.
13. Before you complete the writing prompt, use the freewriting strategy to prepare.
Informational Writing Prompt

Write an essay about a challenge you have faced that includes examples of specific things
you did to overcome adversity. Be sure to:
• Clearly explain the challenge you faced.
• Cite specific examples and experiences that helped you overcome your challenge.
• Summarize your outcome clearly.
• Use appositives to add additional information to sentences in your essay. Edit your work
SAMPLE
to make sure that you use commas correctly to set off nonrestrictive phrases and clauses.

ACTIVITY
1.13 Definition Strategies
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Brainstorming • Analyze characteristics and structural elements of informational texts.
Manipulatives
• Synthesize information to create a deeper understanding of heroism.
Graphic Organizer
Prewriting Preview
In this activity, you will analyze a model definition essay and explain how it
uses the definition strategies.
My Notes
Preparing for Informational Writing
1. How are informational and narrative writing similar? How are they different?
Consider both characteristics and structural elements such as theses,
features, and organizational patterns in your analysis. List ideas below, and
then create a graphic organizer on a separate paper to show your thinking.
Similarities Differences
2. You are often asked to define vocabulary terms and to explain your
understanding of what something means. Abstract concepts, such as heroism,
can also be defined. Practice thinking about how to define an abstract concept
by working in a small group or with a partner to develop a list of words that
describe each of the concepts below.
• freedom
• responsibility
SAMPLE
• sacrifice
• friendship

1.13
Check Your Understanding My Notes
Working with the same partner or group, write a few sentences defining one of the
abstract concepts you discussed.
Writing to Define
For Embedded Assessment 2, you will be writing a definition essay to share your
personal understanding of the concept of heroism. To write this definition of
heroism, you will need various strategies and knowledge to create an expanded
definition of the concept. First, you can expand your collection of words that
describe heroes and heroism.
3. Defining heroes: Generate a list of

• Adjectives that could describe what a hero is:
A hero is (adjective) brave,
• Nouns that could define what a hero shows:
A hero shows (noun) courage,
• Verbs that could define what a hero does:
A hero (verb) fights,
4. After sharing and consulting print and digital resources, such as a thesaurus,
group synonyms by part of speech and sort them by their nuances (subtle
differences in meanings). Record these terms in your Reader/Writer Notebook
for future reference. Your teacher will provide you with oral instructions on
how to create a Word Wall card with your terms and their parts of speech.
Defining a Concept
Part of defining any concept is finding ways to describe the concept to make it clear
to others. The logical structure of an informational definition essay consists of an
introduction, a body, and a conclusion. To clarify, develop, and organize ideas, body
paragraphs often use three definition strategies: function, example, and negation.
• Definition by function: Paragraphs using the function strategy explain how the
concept functions or operates in the real world.
• Definition by example: Paragraphs using the example strategy use specific
examples of the concept from texts or life.
• Definition by negation: Paragraphs using the negation strategy explain what
something is by describing what it is not. For example, an author may state,
“Although tomatoes are often included in vegetable salads, a tomato is a fruit, ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
not a vegetable.” In this example, the negation is saying what a tomato is not,
Describing the function of
as well as what a tomato is.
something is telling how
5. Read the following passages of definition and decide whether they contain something is used. The verb
definition by function, example, and/or negation. Be able to explain why you to function means “to act as
categorized ideas as you did. First, highlight the topic being defined. Then, or to operate as.”
decide the type of definition being used. Just as a negative answer
would be a no, to negate is
• “But just for the purposes of this discussion, let us say: one’s family are
to deny or make ineffective.
those toward whom one feels loyalty and obligation, and/or from whom
The noun negation means
one derives identity, and/or to whom one gives identity, and/or with “showing what something
whom one shares habits, tastes, stories, customs, memories.” (Marilynn
SAMPLE
is not in order to prove what
Robinson, “Family.” The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought. it is.”
Houghton Mifflin, 1998)

1.13
My Notes • “It’s always seemed odd to me that nonfiction is defined, not by what it is,
but by what it is not. It is not fiction. But then again, it is also not poetry, or
technical writing or libretto. It’s like defining classical music as nonjazz.”
(Philip Gerard, Creative Nonfiction. Story Press, 1996)
• “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or
rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does
not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (The
Bible, I Corinthians 13:4–8a)

• As you read, highlight the author’s definition of heroism and underline evidence
that he gives to support his definition.
About the Author

After serving in the Vietnam War, Oliver Stone became
a movie director. He is best known for his controver-
sial retellings of historical events. Stone’s films have
explored historical subjects, such as the Vietnam War
and President Kennedy’s assassination. Stone has
won two Academy Awards for Best Director for the
films Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. He also
won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay Writing
for Midnight Express.
Article

Where I Find
My Heroes
by Oliver Stone
from McCall’s Magazine, November 1992
1 It’s not true that there are no heroes anymore—but it is true that my
own concept of heroism has changed radically over time. When I was young
and I read the Random House biographies, my heroes were always people like
George Washington and General Custer and Abraham Lincoln and Teddy
Roosevelt. Men, generally, and doers. Women—with the exception of Clara
Barton, Florence Nightingale, and Joan of Arc—got short shrift. Most history
SAMPLE
short shrift: little attention was oriented toward male heroes.

1.13
2 But as I’ve gotten older, and since I’ve been to war, I’ve been forced
WORD CONNECTIONS
to reexamine the nature of life and of heroism. What is true? Where are
the myths? Etymology
The English word advocate was
3 The simple acts of heroism are often overlooked—that’s very clear to me
first used in the mid-1300s to
not only in war but in peace. I’m not debunking all of history: Crossing the refer to someone who argues
Delaware was a magnificent action. But I am saying that I think the meaning of a case in court. It was derived
heroism has a lot to do with evolving into a higher human being. I came into from the French word avocar,
contact with it when I worked with Ron Kovic, the paraplegic Vietnam vet, on meaning “spokesman,” which
Born on the Fourth of July. I was impressed by his life change, from a patriotic was itself derived from the
Latin advocatus, meaning
and strong-willed athlete to someone who had to deal with the total surrender
“one called to aid.” The word
of his body, who grew into a nonviolent and peaceful advocate of change in the advocate was first used as a
Martin Luther King, Jr., and Gandhi tradition. So heroism is tied to an verb in the 1640s.
evolution of consciousness....
4 Since the war, I’ve had children, and I’m wrestling now with
the everyday problems of trying to share my knowledge
with them without overwhelming them. It’s difficult to
be a father, to be a mother, and I think that to be a
kind and loving parent is an act of heroism. So
there you go—heroes are everyday, common
people. Most of what they do goes unheralded,
unappreciated. And that, ironically, is
heroism: not to be recognized.
5 Who is heroic? Scientists who spend
years of their lives trying to find cures
for diseases. The teenager who says no to
crack. The inner-city kid who works at
McDonald’s instead of selling drugs. The kid
who stands alone instead of joining a gang,
which would give him an instant identity.

The celebrity who remains modest and treats
others with respect, or who uses his position
to help society. The student who defers the
immediate pleasure of making money and finishes
college or high school. People who take risks despite
fears. People in wheelchairs who don’t give up. ...
6 We have a lot of corruption in our society. But we mustn’t
assume that everything is always basely motivated. We should allow for the
heroic impulse—which is to be greater than oneself, to try to find another
debunking: proving false
version of oneself, to grow. That’s where virtue comes from. And we must allow
paraplegic: someone who
our young generation to strive for virtue, instead of ridiculing it. cannot move their legs
unheralded: overlooked
corruption: fraud
strive: to work hard for
SAMPLE
ridiculing: making fun of

1.13
6. Reread the essay, paying close attention to the author’s definition of heroism, the strategies
he uses to support this definition, and his final clarification of his definition. Work with a
partner to analyze what each paragraph of the essay says and does by completing the graphic
organizer. Then write a paragraph in your Reader/Writer Notebook analyzing how the structure
of the essay contributes to the author’s purpose of defining heroism.
Paragraph What It Says What It Does

1

5
SAMPLE
1.13
7. The heroes mentioned by Oliver Stone are listed below. You will participate
in an informal inquiry task to find information about one of these traditional INDEPENDENT
heroes. First, follow along as your teacher models how to generate a list of READING LINK
questions about George Washington for informal inquiry. Then, choose one of Read and Discuss
the other heroes listed and create your own set of questions. Use the Internet, Think about the historical or
a classmate, and your teacher’s guidance to help you locate information. modern hero you are reading
Working in small groups, discuss what makes this person a hero. about independently. How is
• George Washington • Clara Barton he/she an example of a heroic
type? Would this person fit
• General Custer • Florence Nightingale Oliver Stone’s definition of a
• Abraham Lincoln • Joan of Arc hero? Explain your answer.
• Teddy Roosevelt • Ron Kovic Present your ideas orally.
• Martin Luther King, Jr. • Mohandas Gandhi
Beginning a Definition of Hero

8. After reading and thinking about definition strategies and heroes, use the
graphic organizer that follows to begin organizing your definition of a hero
according to the three different strategies for definition: function, example,
and negation.
How does it function? What are some examples?
Heroism
What is it not?
SAMPLE
Quickwrite: Describe a person you know or have read about who is a “hero.”

1.13
LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Embedded Quotations
Use quotation marks to show that you are using someone else’s exact words. When you
use the author’s exact words in a sentence, it is called an embedded quotation. To introduce
the quote, use a signal word or phrase from the box below, followed by a comma. Then
use quotation marks to frame the quotation. Remember to capitalize the first word of
the quotation.
Use this formula to ensure that you are punctuating quotations properly:
author’s name + signal word + comma + quotation marks + author’s words
+ quotation marks
Common Signal Words & Phrases

according to notes
argues proposes
claims says
concludes states
explains writes
In his article, Olive Stone says, “It is not true that there are no heroes anymore—but it is true
that my own concept of heroism has changed radically over time.”
Notice how there are quotation marks on both ends of the quotation so the reader knows
where it starts and stops.
PRACTICE Add punctuation as needed to correct the embedded quotations.
1. According to Oliver Stone the simple acts of heroism are often overlooked.
2. In his article, Stone says to be a kind and loving parent is an act of heroism.

3. Svetlana Fedorov argues the American diet relies too heavily on processed foods.

Think about how to define a hero by how he or she functions or acts. Draft a paragraph that
establishes the function of a hero. Cite examples from texts you have read throughout this
unit. Remember that the function strategy explains how an idea or concept operates in the
world. Be sure to:
• Begin with a topic sentence that states how a hero functions in the world.
• Provide supporting examples (paraphrased and directly quoted) from life and from the
texts you have read and provide commentary to develop ideas.
• Punctuate embedded quotations correctly.
SAMPLE
• Use transitions to create coherence.

ACTIVITY
Historical Heroes: Examples 1.14

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Compare texts across genres to analyze how structure contributes to TP-CASTT
meaning. Diffusing
• Use examples to develop an engaging written response. Close Reading
Marking the Text
about a theme. Paraphrasing
Summarizing
Preview Rereading
In this activity, you will read a set of paired passages and work in expert
groups to compare the features that appear in both genres.

• As you read, underline sentences or phrases that develop the key concept.
About the Author

Dr. Phineas D. Gurley (1816–1868) was the pastor of the
New York Avenue Presbyterian Church (in Washington,
DC), which Abraham Lincoln attended during his
presidency. Gurley was also Chaplain of the United
States Senate. Gurley preached this funeral sermon in
the White House East Room on April 19, 1865, four days
after Lincoln’s assassination. KNOWLEDGE
QUEST
Knowledge Question:
What kinds of ideals motivate
Sermon heroes to act?

from
White House Funeral Sermon In Activity 1.14, you will
read two texts about a hero:
for Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln or Frederick
Douglass. While you read,
by Dr. Phineas D. Gurley build knowledge about the
theme relating to the ideals
He is dead; but the God in whom he trusted lives, and He can guide and that motivate heroes, and
strengthen his successor, as He guided and strengthened him. He is dead; but think about your answer to the
Knowledge Question.
the memory of his virtues, of his wise and patriotic counsels and labors, of his
calm and steady faith in God lives, is precious, and will be a power for good
5 in the country quite down to the end of time. He is dead; but the cause he so
ardently loved, so ably, patiently, faithfully represented and defended—not for ardently: passionately
himself only, not for us only, but for all people in all their coming generations, athwart: across or against
till time shall be no more—that cause survives his fall, and will survive it. The providences: guardianship
light of its brightening prospects flashes cheeringly to-day athwart the gloom exercised by a deity
10 occasioned by his death, and the language of God’s united providences is immortal: living forever
SAMPLE
telling us that, though the friends of Liberty die, Liberty itself is immortal. quench: to put an end to
There is no assassin strong enough and no weapon deadly enough to quench

1.14
its inextinguishable life, or arrest its onward march to the conquest and
empire of the world. This is our confidence, and this is our consolation, as we
15 weep and mourn to-day. Though our beloved President is slain, our beloved
country is saved. And so we sing of mercy as well as of judgment. Tears of
gratitude mingle with those of sorrow. While there is darkness, there is also
the dawning of a brighter, happier day upon our stricken and weary land.
God be praised that our fallen Chief lived long enough to see the day dawn
20 and the daystar of joy and peace arise upon the nation. He saw it, and he was
glad. Alas! alas! He only saw the dawn. When the sun has risen, full-orbed and
glorious, and a happy reunited people are rejoicing in its light—alas! alas! it
consecrated: dedicated to a will shine upon his grave. But that grave will be a precious and a consecrated
sacred purpose spot. The friends of Liberty and of the Union will repair to it in years and ages
repair: to come together 25 to come, to pronounce the memory of its occupant blessed, and, gathering
incentives: rewards from his very ashes, and from the rehearsal of his deeds and virtues, fresh
fidelity: loyalty incentives to patriotism, they will there renew their vows of fidelity to their
country and their God.
SAMPLE
Abraham Lincoln on his deathbed, surrounded by family members and members of his cabinet. April 15, 1865/
The Nation’s Martyr.

1.14
Knowledge Quest LITERARY
VOCABULARY
• What ideals seemed to motivate Lincoln? An allegory is a literary
technique of extending
• What additional knowledge about heroes, and Lincoln as a hero a metaphor through an
specifically, did you gain from reading this sermon? entire poem or story so that
objects, persons, and actions
in the text are equated with
About the Author meanings that lie outside the
text.
Walt Whitman (1819–1892) is now considered one of
America’s greatest poets, but his untraditional poetry
was not well received during his lifetime. As a young
man, he worked as a printer and a journalist while writing
free-verse poetry. His collection of poems, Leaves My Notes
of Grass, first came out in 1855, and he revised and
added to it several times over the years. During
the Civil War, he worked in Washington, caring
for injured soldiers in hospitals. This poem is an
example of an allegory.
Poetry
O Captain !
My Captain !
by Walt Whitman
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;

The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
5 But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
KNOWLEDGE
Where on the deck my Captain lies, QUEST
Fallen cold and dead. Knowledge Question:
What kinds of ideals motivate
heroes to act?
SAMPLE
rack: windy storm

1.14
My Notes O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
10 Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
15 It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
20 From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won:
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
Knowledge Quest
• According to Whitman what motivated Lincoln as a hero?
• How does Whitman’s knowledge of Lincoln compare with Gurley’s
knowledge of Lincoln?
SAMPLE
mournful: sad

1.14
• Return to the texts as you respond to the following questions. Use text evidence to support
your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the sermon and the poem in your Reader/Writer
Notebook.
White House Funeral Sermon for Abraham Lincoln

1. What effect does the quote, “... though the friends of Liberty die, Liberty is immortal” have on
the reader?
2. How do Dr. Gurley’s contrasting statements about grief and hope create a structure that aptly
describes that moment in history?
O Captain! My Captain!
3. What is the effect of the short lines that conclude each stanza in Whitman’s poem? How do
they contrast with the longer lines?
4. As an allegory representing the death of Abraham Lincoln, who does the Captain represent?
What does the ship represent? What does the trip or voyage represent?
5. How does Whitman establish the same mood of sorrow and hope in his poem as Dr. Gurley
does in his sermon? Explain by choosing a line that represents the mood.
SAMPLE
1.14
My Notes 6. KQ Dr. Gurley capitalizes the word “liberty” in his sermon. Why might he
have done that?
7. KQ Based on Dr. Gurley’s sermon and Whitman’s poem, what can you infer
Lincoln was fighting for most?

• As you read, underline the sentences that develop the main idea.
About the Author

Robert Hayden (1913–1980) was born in Detroit,
Michigan. He had a lifelong love of literature and
became a teacher and writer. Through his work for
the Federal Writers’ Project in the 1930s, he studied
African American history and folk life, both of which
became inspirations for his works of poetry. Slavery
and emancipation were recurring themes in his work.

Poetry
Frederick Douglass
KNOWLEDGE
QUEST
Knowledge Question:
What kinds of ideals motivate by Robert Hayden
heroes to act?
When it is finally ours, this freedom, this liberty, this beautiful
and terrible thing, needful to man as air,
usable as earth; when it belongs at last to all,
diastole: the act of the heart
filling with blood when it is truly instinct, brain matter, diastole, systole,
systole: the act of the heart 5 reflex action; when it is finally won; when it is more
pumping blood
than the gaudy mumbo jumbo of politicians:
gaudy: showy in a tasteless way
exiled: forced to leave one’s
this man, this Douglass, this former slave, this Negro
SAMPLE
native land beaten to his knees, exiled, visioning a world
where none is lonely, none hunted, alien,

1.14
10 this man, superb in love and logic, this man My Notes
shall be remembered. Oh, not with statues’ rhetoric,
not with legends and poems and wreaths of bronze alone,
but with the lives grown out of his life, the lives
fleshing his dream of the beautiful, needful thing.
Knowledge Quest
• What knowledge about Frederick Douglass did you gain from reading
the poem?
• According to Hayden, what motivated Douglass?
About the Author

Frederick Douglass (1818?–1895) was born into slavery
in Maryland. He learned to read as a house servant in
Baltimore. In 1838, Douglass escaped from his plantation
and settled in Massachusetts. After spending two years
abroad, he published an antislavery newspaper and
was an adviser to President Lincoln during the Civil
War. He was later appointed to positions in the
U.S. government never before achieved by an
African American, including U.S. Marshal and
Minister to Haiti.
Autobiography
from
The Narrative of the Life of
Fredrick Douglass,
an American Slave
by Frederick Douglass
1 I felt assured that if I failed in this attempt, my case would be a hopeless

one—it would seal my fate as a slave forever. I could not hope to get off with KNOWLEDGE
anything less than the severest punishment and being placed beyond the means QUEST
of escape. It required no very vivid imagination to depict the most frightful Knowledge Question:
scenes through which I should have to pass in case I failed. The wretchedness What kinds of ideals motivate
of slavery, and the blessedness of freedom, were perpetually before me. It was heroes to act?
life and death with me. But I remained firm, and, according to my resolution,
on the third day of September, 1838, I left my chains, and succeeded in
reaching New York without the slightest interruption of any kind. How I did
SAMPLE
so—what means I adopted—what direction I travelled, and by what mode of rhetoric: language or speech
conveyance—I must leave unexplained, for the reasons before mentioned.

1.14
My Notes 2 I have been frequently asked how I felt when I found myself in a free
State. I have never been able to answer the question with any satisfaction
to myself. It was a moment of the highest excitement I ever experienced. I
suppose I felt as one may imagine the unarmed mariner to feel when he is
rescued by a friendly man-of-war from the pursuit of a pirate. In writing to
a dear friend, immediately after my arrival at New York, I said I felt like one
who had escaped a den of hungry lions. This state of mind, however very
soon subsided; and I was again seized with a feeling of great insecurity and
loneliness. I was yet liable to be taken and subjected to all the tortures of
slavery. This in itself was enough to damp the ardor of my enthusiasm. But
the loneliness overcame me. There I was in the midst of thousands, and yet a
perfect stranger; without home and without friends, in the midst of thousands
of my own brethren—children of a common Father, and yet I dared not to
unfold to any one of them my sad condition. I was afraid to speak to any one
for fear of speaking to the wrong one, and thereby falling into the hands of
money-loving kidnappers, whose business it was to lie in wait for the panting
fugitive, as the ferocious beasts of the forest lie in wait for their prey. [I]n the
midst of plenty, yet suffering the terrible gnawing of hunger—in the midst
of houses, yet having no home—among fellow–men, yet feeling as if in the
midst of wild beasts, whose greediness to swallow up the trembling and half-
WORD CONNECTIONS famished fugitive is only equalled by that with which the monsters of the deep
swallow up the trembling and half-famished fish upon which they subsist—I
Roots & Affixes
say let him be placed in this most trying situation—the situation in which I was
In the word sympathy, the Greek
placed—then, and not till then, will he fully appreciate the hardships of, and
root path means “feeling.”
Someone who sympathizes know how to sympathize with, the toil-worn and whip-scarred fugitive slave.
with a person facing a painful . . .
struggle is able to feel that
person’s sorrow. The root has 3 In about four months after I went to New Bedford, there came a young
the same meaning in words such man to me, and inquired if I did not wish to take the “Liberator.” I told him

as apathy (“lack of feeling”) and I did; but just having made my escape from slavery, I remarked that I was
empathy (“identifying with the
unable to pay for it then. I, however, finally became a subscriber to it. The
feelings of others”).
paper came, and I read it from week to week with such feelings as it would be
quite idle for me to attempt to describe. The paper became my meat and my
drink. My soul was set all on fire. Its sympathy for my brethren in bonds—its
mariner: one who works on scathing denunciations of slaveholders—its faithful exposures of slavery—and
a ship its powerful attacks upon the upholders of the institution—sent a thrill of joy
damp: lessen through my soul, such as I had never felt before!
ardor: strong devotion
4 I had not long been a reader of the “Liberator,” before I got a pretty
fugitive: one who flees
correct idea of the principles, measures and spirit of the anti-slavery reform.
brethren: people sharing in a
similar situation
I did with a joyful heart, and never felt happier than when in an anti-slavery
bonds: ties used to keep one
meeting. I seldom had much to say at the meetings, because what I wanted
in place to say was said so much better by others. But, while attending an anti-slavery
scathing: harshly critical convention at Nantucket, on the 11th of August, 1841, I felt strongly moved
denunciations: formal to speak, and was at the same time much urged to do so by Mr. William C.
accusations of wrongful Collin, a gentleman who had heard me speak in the colored people’s meeting
SAMPLE
activities at New Bedford. It was a severe cross, and I took it up reluctantly. The truth
was, I felt myself a slave, and the idea of speaking to white people weighed me

1.14
down. I spoke but a few moments, when I felt a degree of freedom, and said what I desired with
considerable ease. From that time until now, I have been engaged in pleading the cause of my
brethren—with what success, and with what devotion, I leave those acquainted with my labors
to decide.
Knowledge Quest
• What motivated Frederick Douglass to become a hero?
• What heroic ideals does Douglass represent?

• Return to the texts as you respond to the following questions. Use text evidence to support
your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the poem and autobiography excerpt in your
Frederick Douglass
8. In the first six lines, circle all the uses of the words “it” and “thing.” What is “it”? How is it
described?
9. Review the tribute to Douglass. What cause did he champion? What impact did he have on
others?
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

10. What images in paragraph 2 does Douglass use to describe his first feelings of freedom and
his fear of capture?
SAMPLE
1.14
11. What did the “Liberator” write about? Why did it send “a thrill of joy” through
Douglass’s soul?
12. What kind of mental, emotional, and physical courage did Douglass convey in
this excerpt from his autobiography?
13. KQ In paragraph 2, how does Douglass’s use of the word “fugitive” help you
understand what motivated him to act? What part of a Hero’s Journey is being
a fugitive like?
14. KQ How does Lincoln’s motivation to fight for freedom compare with
Douglass’s? What does this say about each man?

INDEPENDENT Knowledge Quest
READING LINK Use your knowledge of Lincoln or Douglass to discuss with a small group
Read and Recommend your understanding of what motivates heroes to act. Be sure to:
You can continue to build
your knowledge about heroes • Provide evidence from the text that supports your thinking.
by reading other articles at • Ask and answer questions that connect the ideas of group members.
ZINC Reading Labs. Search for
keywords such as heroes or
activists.
SAMPLE
1.14
15. Study paragraph 3 from the excerpt of Frederick Douglass’s autobiography. Underline the
key elements of a paragraph: topic sentence; supporting details; and commentary. Analyze
whether you think the paragraph succeeds as a well-developed paragraph or not. Tell why.
16. Use the following table to record details about your assigned hero’s character expressed in
each of the texts you just read. Then in your Reader/Writer Notebook, write about the structure
of paragraph 2 in the excerpt from Frederick Douglass’s autobiography.
Text 1: _____________________________________________ Text 2: _____________________________________________
Quality: Quality:
Evidence: Evidence:
Quality: Quality:
Evidence: Evidence:
Quality: Quality:
Evidence: Evidence:

Write a topic sentence that compares the two texts you read. How are they similar? How are
they different?
Gaining Perspectives
Think about how heroes such as Lincoln and Douglass fought for rights that are in the United
States Constitution. What would they think about how voting rights have changed? With
a group, role-play a conversation between Lincoln and Douglass. Assign roles for Lincoln,
Douglass, and a person living today in the 21st century. What do you think they could teach
SAMPLE
you about using the power to vote to be a hero? When you are finished, summarize in your
Reader/Writer Notebook the conversation that your group developed.

1.14
Different types of sentences can be used for different purposes. Review these four sentence types.
A statement tells someone information. A question asks others for a response and ends with a
question mark. An exclamation expresses emotion and typically ends with an exclamation point. A
command tells another person to do something. A command may not have a subject, because it is
understood that the subject is the person or thing being addressed. Read these sample sentences
about heroism.
Everyday people can become heroes.

Statement:
Who is your hero?
Question:
The woman who saved me is a hero!
Exclamation:
Strive to be heroic.
Command:
Study the image below and its caption. Write four different sentences about Abraham Lincoln and
Frederick Douglass.
Color Lithograph by William Edouard Scott depicts Frederick Douglass appealing to President
Lincoln and his cabinet to enlist black soldiers in the Civil War, 1943
SAMPLE
1.14
Statement:
Question:
Exclamation:
Command:
17. Review the elements of a well-developed explanatory body paragraph before responding to
the Writing Prompt.
• Topic Sentence: Paragraphs begin with a sentence that includes a subject and an
interpretation. The two main functions of a topic sentence are to make a point that supports
the thesis of the essay and to indicate the central idea of the paragraph.
• Support: Specific and relevant facts, details, examples, and quotations are used to support
the topic sentence and thesis and to develop ideas.
• Commentary: Commentary explains the significance of the supporting detail in relation to
the thesis and further develops ideas. It also brings a sense of closure to the paragraph.

In your Reader/Writer Notebook, make a brainstorming web for Abraham Lincoln and a second
one for Frederick Douglass. On each web, write 5–10 facts about the hero.
Writing to Sources: Informational Text

Think about the four texts in this activity. Explain how Abraham Lincoln and Frederick
Douglass were heroic. Draft a definition paragraph using the elements of a well-developed
explanatory body paragraph. Be sure to:
• Begin with a topic sentence that answers the prompt.
• Provide supporting details and commentary to develop ideas.
• Use domain-specific vocabulary and precise language for the purpose and audience.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
1.15 Transitions and Quotations
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Marking the Draft • Examine and appropriately apply transitions and embedded quotations
Adding to create coherence in writing.
Substituting
Preview
In this activity, you will learn how to use transitions and embed quotations
ACADEMIC in your writing.
VOCABULARY
Coherence is the clear and

orderly presentation of ideas
in a paragraph or essay. Reviewing and Extending Transitions
Using transitional words You have learned that transitions connect ideas. Writers use transitional words
or phrases both within and and phrases to create coherence and to help readers move smoothly through the
across paragraphs can help essay. In formal writing, transitions establish relationships between one thought
to create coherence in a and the next, both within and across body paragraphs.
multi-paragraph essay.
Transitions are used for different purposes:
To offer evidence: To introduce an interpretation: To compare and contrast:
Most important, Therefore, Although __________,

For example, For these reasons, Even though _______,
For instance, Consequently, Instead,
According to _____________, Furthermore, On the other hand,
To illustrate, In addition, On the contrary,
In this case, Moreover, Rather,
Thus, Yet,/But,/However,
Still,
Nevertheless,

In contrast,
Similarly,
Likewise,
In the same way,
To add information: To clarify: To conclude:
Additionally, In other words, As a result,

In addition, For instance, Therefore,
For example, That is, Thus,
For instance, Put another way, Finally,
Likewise,
Finally,
Equally important,
Again,
SAMPLE
1.15
1. The following sample paragraph is based on a folklore story from China about My Notes
a girl, Mulan, who chooses to go to war in place of her ill father. Mark the draft
to indicate where transitions could be added to create coherence.
Mulan is courageous because she has the ability to disregard fear for a
greater good. Mulan takes her father’s place in the Chinese army because
she knows that he is hurt. It is a crime punishable by death to impersonate
a man and a soldier. Mulan has the strength and the nerve to stand up for
her father and protect him. She gathers all of her courage and leaves before
anyone can stop her, which is what courage is all about. Her pluck allows
her to face the impossible and not think about the outcome, the fear or the
danger, until she is far enough to be ready for it. The heroes that we look
up to are everyday heroes, ordinary, average people who have conquered
huge challenges by finding the strength and the courage within themselves
to continue on. “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength
to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles” (Christopher
Reeve). Mulan is an ordinary young person who finds courage and
strength to continue training and fighting in battles, even though she may
be frightened. It is impossible to endure and overcome fearful obstacles
when you have fear of them. Courage is what gives heroes the drive to
move forward. The heroes that have the courage and the will to move
on are the heroes that we all know and admire, the ones that we strive to
be like.
SAMPLE
1.15
Providing Support
Supporting details can be paraphrased or directly quoted, depending on the writer’s purpose and
intended effect. Examine the difference between a paraphrase and an embedded quotation.
Paraphrase: Early in the story, Mulan reveals that she knows she will hurt her family if she is true
to herself (Mulan).
Embedded Quotation: Early in the story, Mulan reveals her fears when she sings, “Now I see, that if
I were truly to be myself, I would break my family’s heart” (Mulan 5).
Note that an embedded quotation shows a more detailed and precise knowledge of the text.
A direct quotation should not: A direct quotation should:
contain a simple idea that a writer could easily contain a complex idea that is thought-
paraphrase provoking
repeat an idea that has already been said add another layer of depth to the writing
stand alone be smoothly embedded into the writing; begin

with a transition and lead-in
be lengthy be no more than three lines
Use the acronym TLQC to help you remember how to embed a quotation smoothly. The letters
stand for Transition, Lead-in, Quote, Citation.
Element Definition/Purpose Example
Transition Use as a bridge to link ideas and strengthen Early in the story, Mulan reveals her fears when
cohesion and fluency. she sings, “Now I see, that if I were truly to be

myself, I would break my family’s heart.”
Lead-in Use to set the context for the information in the Early in the story, Mulan reveals her fears when
quote (complex sentences work well). she sings, “Now I see, that if I were truly to be
myself, I would break my family’s heart.”
Quote Use ideas from a credible source to strengthen Early in the story, Mulan reveals her fears when
your ideas, illustrate a point, and/or support she sings, “Now I see, that if I were truly to be
your controlling idea. myself, I would break my family’s heart.”
Citation Include author’s last name or the title of the Early in the story, Mulan reveals her fears
work, if the author is unknown, and page number when she sings, “Now I see, that if I were truly
to give credit to the author and to make your to be myself, I would break my family’s heart”
writing credible to the reader. (Mulan 5).
SAMPLE
Note: If you are citing a different type of source, such as a website, provide the first piece of
information listed in a source citation.

1.15
2. Return to the sample paragraph and revise the writer’s ideas about Mulan My Notes
by smoothly embedding Christopher Reeve’s quote (already there, but not
carefully embedded) and by adding the following quotation from the film:
Mulan: “It’s going to take a miracle to get me into the army.”

Return to the paragraph you wrote about Lincoln and Douglass as historical
heroes. Mark your draft to indicate missing or ineffective transitions. Then, revise
the organization by adding or substituting transitional words and phrases to
create coherence both within and across paragraphs. Next, find a significant quote
in two of the texts you have read and add those ideas into your paragraph by
smoothly embedding the quotes and adding academic citations.
Reflection: What types of transitions did you add during your revision? Why?
How do the direct quotations strengthen your ideas?
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
1.16 Negation Strategy of Definition
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Quickwrite • Understand the negation strategy of definition.
Marking the Text
• Develop an engaging idea using the negation strategy.
Drafting
Substituting Preview
In this activity, you will read a definition essay about the concept of a
“gentleman” and evaluate how the author used the negation strategy.
My Notes
Review of the Negation Strategy
1. Review the negation definition strategy:
Paragraphs using the negation strategy explain what something is by showing
what it is not. Pointing out what the subject is not can make what it is clearer to
the reader. For example, here is an excerpt from a definition of a horse that uses
the negation strategy:
A horse, a zebra, and a mule, though alike in many ways, have significant
differences. A horse, unlike a zebra, can be tamed and trained. And unlike a
mule, which is a sterile beast of burden, a horse is a valued breeder of future
generations of racing champions and hardworking ranch animals.

• As you read, underline examples of the negation strategy.
About the Author

John Henry Newman (1801–1890) was a

scholar and clergyman who became an
influential figure at Oxford College. Newman
was a pioneer of the Oxford Movement,
which sought to inject more Catholic
teachings and traditions into the Protestant-
leaning Church of England. Some of his
works, including the seminal Parochial
and Plain Sermons, helped influence the
ideals of the Oxford Movement. In 1845,
he converted to Roman Catholicism. Then in
2010, Pope Benedict XVI beatified Newman,
meaning Newman was officially bestowed
as someone in the church to be glorified
and exalted.
SAMPLE
1.16
Essay My Notes
A Definition of a
Gentleman
by John Henry Newman
1 The true gentleman in like manner carefully avoids whatever may

cause a jar or a jolt in the minds of those with whom he is cast;—all clashing
of opinion, or collision of feeling, all restraint, or suspicion, or gloom, or
resentment; his great concern being to
make everyone at their ease and at home.
(2) He has his eyes on all his company;
he is tender towards the bashful, gentle
towards the distant, and merciful towards
the absurd; he can recollect to whom he is
speaking; he guards against unseasonable
allusions, or topics which may irritate; he
is seldom prominent in conversation, and
never wearisome. (3) He makes light of
favours while he does them, and seems
to be receiving when he is conferring. (4)
He never speaks of himself except when
compelled, never defends himself by a
mere retort, he has no ears for slander or
gossip, is scrupulous in imputing motives
to those who interfere with him, and
interprets everything for the best. (5) He
is never mean or little in his disputes,

never takes unfair advantage, never
mistakes personalities or sharp sayings for
arguments, or insinuates evil which he
dare not say out. (6) From a long-sighted
prudence, he observes the maxim of the
ancient sage, that we should ever conduct
ourselves towards our enemy as if he were
one day to be our friend.
from The Idea of a University, by John Henry
absurd: ridiculous
Newman, originally delivered as a series of
lectures in 1852 wearisome: tiring
slander: spoken lies about
someone
insinuates: implies
maxim: truthful adage
SAMPLE
sage: wise person

1.16
INDEPENDENT
2. In your Reader/Writer Notebook, make a T-chart. Label one side
READING LINK
“A Gentleman” and label the other side “NOT a Gentleman.” Fill in
Read and Connect the T-chart accordingly.
Your independent reading
choice can be used as a source
in your definition essay. Write
about how the protagonist Writing to Sources: Informational Text
of your reading faced and
overcame obstacles and Write about what heroism is not. Use the negation strategy to distinguish
challenges. Then discuss with what heroism is from what it is not. Be sure to:
a classmate why you think this • Begin with a topic sentence that answers the prompt.
text will be valuable in writing
• Provide supporting details and commentary to develop ideas.
your definition essay. Be sure
to provide clear reasons for • Cite examples from the texts you have read.
your recommendation. • Use transitions to create coherence.

My Notes
Exchange your draft with a partner. List your partner’s ideas of what heroism is
not. Check to see if his or her ideas make sense. Make notes where the draft can
be improved. To prompt more ideas, list what heroism is, then list the opposite to
tell what heroism is not.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Explanatory Writing Focus: Organization 1.17

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Identify and evaluate the effectiveness of the structural elements of a Close Reading
definition essay. Marking the Text
• Draft a thesis and outline ideas for a definition essay. Note-taking
Collaborative Discussion
Preview
In this activity, you will learn techniques to plan, draft, and revise your
definition essay. My Notes
Planning a Definition Essay

1. Review the Scoring Criteria for Embedded Assessment 2. What defines a
proficient definition essay? List required skills and concepts for each category.
Ideas
Organization
Use of
Language
Introduction
The introduction to an essay has three main parts (listed in the order in which they
should appear):
I. The Hook: If the opening lines are dull or confusing, the reader loses interest
right away. Therefore, you must write an opening that grabs the reader’s
attention. Lure your readers into the piece with a hook—an anecdote,
compelling question, quote, or intriguing statement (AQQS)—to grab them so
firmly that they will want to read on.
• Anecdote: Begin with a brief anecdote (a story from real life) that relates to
the point of your essay.
• Question: Ask a thought-provoking universal question relating to the
SAMPLE
concept of your thesis. You will answer this question in your essay. Don’t
ask simplistic questions such as “How would you feel if . . .?” or “What
would you do if . . .?”

1.17
• Quote: Find a quote to state an ordinary idea in an extraordinary or
WORD CONNECTIONS
provocative way or state a provocative idea in an ordinary way. Either will
Etymology grab the reader’s interest. This quote can come from any source: someone
you know, someone famous, or a song.
The Latin root voc in
provocative comes from a Latin • Intriguing statement: Knock down a commonly held assumption or define
word meaning “to call.” This a word in a new and startling way.
root appears in words related II. The Bridge: This writing represents the content between the hook and the
to a calling, such as vocation thesis (the controlling idea of the essay). The purpose of the bridge is to make
and advocate. The Latin prefix a clear and concise connection between these two parts. The bridge is also
pro- means “forth,” “before,”
the place where a writer provides necessary background information to set
or “forward.”
the context for the ideas in the essay.
III. The Thesis: Your thesis is your response to the writing prompt, and it includes
information about both the topic and your interpretation of it. The thesis is the
My Notes single most important part of the essay in establishing focus and coherence;
all parts of the essay should work to support this idea. Your thesis should be a
clear and precise assertion. It should not be an announcement of your intent,
nor should it include the first person (I/my).
A thesis should show a level of sophistication and complexity of thought. You
may want to try to create a complex sentence as your thesis statement. Complex
sentences contain a dependent clause that begins with a dependent marker, such
as because, before, since, while, although, if, until, when, after, as, or as if.
Evaluating and Revising Introductions

2. Read the following introductions. For each one, identify, label, and evaluate
the three parts of the introduction: hook, bridge, and thesis.
Sample 1
ristotle said, “The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears
A
with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he
does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.”

When people go through calamity with poise, it is not because they
don’t feel anything; it is because they are of a heroic nature. Heroism is
being brave and helping other people before yourself, but it does not
always have a happy ending.
Sample 2
“A hero is no braver than an ordinary person, but is braver five minutes
longer.” When heroes keep on going and keep battling a challenge or
problem, it makes them that much more heroic. Anyone could just give
up, but heroes keep going. Instead of stressing over satisfying everyone,
heroes know that their best is good enough and focus on doing the
right thing. Heroism is putting others before yourself and directly
facing challenges, but not always saving or satisfying everyone.
SAMPLE
1.17
3. Now reread each introductory paragraph, evaluate its effectiveness, and mark My Notes
it for revision. Use these questions to aid your evaluation:
• Is the hook engaging?
• If the hook is a quote, is it integrated smoothly?
• Is there a bridge that effectively links the hook to the thesis?
• Is the thesis a clear and precise interpretation of the topic?
• Is the use of language formal or informal?
• Is the language effective? Where can it be made clearer, or where can ideas
be stated more smoothly?

Revise one of the two sample paragraphs on the previous page based on your
evaluation and discussion of how it could benefit by additional content, reworking
sentences, and using more precise or formal diction.
Revising Thesis Statements

Examine the following model thesis statement, and then see how the statement
has been revised to have a complex sentence structure with a beginning
dependent clause.
• Model thesis statement: Heroism involves selflessness and dedication to a
challenge. It means helping others without desire for recognition or stardom.
• Revised model: Because heroism involves selflessness, it requires dedication
to a challenge and helping others without desire for recognition or stardom.
4. What is the value of combining the two sentences in this way? How does it
improve the clarity of ideas in the thesis statement?
5. Now follow the model to revise the remaining thesis statements on the next
page. Create a complex sentence structure by using a dependent marker to
create a dependent clause at the beginning of the sentence. Revise other
elements as needed for smooth expression while still keeping the same ideas.
SAMPLE
1.17
My Notes • Thesis statement: Heroism means taking action when you are needed, showing
dedication to your quest, and not giving up even when the odds are against
you.
Revised thesis statement:
• Thesis statement: Heroism means putting others before oneself and directly
facing challenges, but not always saving or satisfying everyone.
• Thesis statement: Heroism is being brave and helping other people before
yourself, but it does not always guarantee a happy ending.

Writing a Concluding Paragraph
The concluding paragraph in an essay is the last thing your reader takes from
your essay. Try to make the reader think in a new way, feel emotional, or feel
WORD CONNECTIONS enlightened. Choose the ending carefully. Avoid clichés or something stale, such
as “The end,” “That is all I have to say,” or “That’s my definition of heroism.”
Etymology
Make your readers feel that they have arrived somewhere by sharing with them
The word cliché means what you have learned, discovered, or realized.
“something that is overused.”
It derives from the French word The following are some possible ways to conclude your essay.
clicher, meaning “to click,”
• Be genuine. Explain why this topic is important to you and/or important in life.
which resembled a sound made
when using printing plates. One • If you used a quote as your hook, refer back to it. If you didn’t use a quote, use
method of creating printing one to guide your conclusion.
plates was called stereotype, • You may finish by reviewing the paper’s main point, but with new insight.
and this method could produce • Direct the readers into the future. How does an understanding of this topic
the same image repetitively.
relate to future thought or action? What will or should happen in the months or
SAMPLE
The word stereotype is now
years ahead?
used as a synonym of cliché.

1.17
Evaluating and Revising Conclusions My Notes
6. As you read examples of a conclusion, identify which technique the writer
used and how effective the conclusion is.
Sample 1
e best heroes out there are those that put others before themselves.
Th
How do we know when someone is a hero? When they face challenges
with pure determination, but don’t save or satisfy everyone in the end.
It blows us away every time a hero can fix sticky situations, but it is
more important to know that a hero is doing what they’re doing for the
protection of everyone else. Making mistakes is what makes everything
else that they do even more spectacular.
Sample 2
eroes often look like the normal people we see walking down the
H
street and they might be the plainest form of normal there is. Behind
that normal appearance there have been struggle and challenge
that have turned into wisdom. Heroes have to not only overcome
challenges, but have done it with dignity. Heroes have grown from
their experiences and now put a different value on life itself. Heroes are
absolutely essential to life, for without heroes we would have no one to
admire or set our goals to their standards.

Revise one of the two paragraphs above based on your evaluation and discussion
of how it could benefit by additional content, reworking sentences, and using more
precise or formal diction.
Writing Body Paragraphs WORD CONNECTIONS

Body paragraphs are the meat of your essay. Outlined by the thesis, they include
the reasons, plus the details and examples, that provide the support for your Cognates
thesis. Part of the strength of your support is synthesizing, or pulling together, The English word synthesizing
facts, examples, and details from your experiences and from texts and resources has the same meaning as its
you have read or studied. As you write body paragraphs, be sure to include Spanish cognate sintetizar.
the following:
• A topic sentence that introduces the focus of the paragraph
• A concluding sentence that follows from the information and explanations
presented
• Facts, details, and examples relevant and sufficient to make your point
• Commentary that explains why these details and examples are significant
• Paraphrases and embedded quotations conveying important details
and examples
• Transitions to show your understanding of the content by showing the
connections among ideas
SAMPLE
1.17
My Notes Evaluating and Revising Body Paragraphs
7. Read the following body paragraph and evaluate its effectiveness. Look at the
transitions, facts, details, examples, and commentary, as well as the skill with
which paraphrases and embedded quotations are handled.
eroism is trying your hardest, no matter the obstacles, to go beyond
H
the needs of yourself to help others. A son writes about how his
mother, Ana, has an obstacle, but does all that she can to fight it, and
does not complain. He says that she fights cancer with a smile and
“hasn’t let it slow her down, either” (Gandara). This shows that even
though she could complain and give up fighting the disease, she tries
her hardest, which inspires her loved ones. In addition, in the movie
Mulan, the main character wants to help her father by enlisting in the
army, which is impossible according to Chinese law because she is a
girl. Instead of giving up on this, Mulan decides to pretend to be a man
and goes to extremes to keep up her charade. This is heroic because
her father, being the only male in his family, had to enlist in the army,
yet he was too sick to fight and would have undoubtedly died in the
conflict. Facing illness or danger with courage for the sake of another is
inspiring and heroic.

Return to the texts you have read and studied in this unit. Begin to think about
which ones you can use to help support your definition of heroism. Make a list of
the texts, the heroes, and the events you may be able to use in your essay. Begin
to categorize them as you think of each definition strategy: function, example,
and negation.

Publishing for Your Intended Audience
8. Once you have written, revised, and edited your definition essay, you will
need to publish it. Think about your intended audience. Is it your teacher?
Classmates? Parents? School newspaper readers? Should the final product
be hand-written, typed, or online? What should you include, if anything, in
the header or footer? Follow the Embedded Assessment checklist and the
instructions from your teacher to publish the final product in a way that is
suitable for your audience.
SAMPLE
1.17

Think about people who deserve status as a hero from the past, from the present, from
life, and from literature. What defines a hero? Draft an insightful thesis statement using a
complex sentence structure. Then outline ideas for your essay. Remember to return to your
work in Activity 1.13 on defining a hero.
Hero Definition Essay Outline
I. INTRODUCTION
Hook: (What would make an effective hook?)
Bridge: (background information and connections)
Thesis: (state your original definition)
II. BODY PARAGRAPH 1 (Function/Example/Negation)

Topic Sentence: (connect to thesis)
Supporting Detail: (list source)
Paraphrase, quotations, examples with commentary
III. BODY PARAGRAPH 2 (Function/Example/Negation)

IV. BODY PARAGRAPH 3 (Function/Example/Negation)


V. CONCLUSION
(What would make an effective conclusion?)

Look back at the article about Tristan Segers in Activity 1.12. Compare how his life and the life of
the hero in your independent reading text fit into the hero’s archetype that you have learned about
in this unit.
SAMPLE
EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
2 Writing a Definition Essay
ASSIGNMENT
Think about people who deserve status as heroes—from the past, from the present, from
life, and from literature. What defines a hero? Write a multi-paragraph essay that develops
your definition of heroism. Be sure to use strategies of definition (function, example, and
negation) to guide your writing.
Planning and Prewriting: ■■ Which activities and texts have you collected that will help you refine and
Take time to make a plan for expand your definition of a hero?
your essay. ■■ What prewriting strategies (such as freewriting, outlining, or using
graphic organizers) could help you brainstorm ideas and organize your
examples?
Drafting: Write a multi- ■■ How will you provide a hook, a bridge, and a thesis in the introduction?
paragraph essay that ■■ How will you use the strategies of definition (function, example, negation)
effectively organizes your in your support paragraphs?
ideas. ■■ How will your conclusion demonstrate the significance of heroism and
encourage readers to accept your definition?
Evaluating and Revising: ■■ During the process of writing, when can you pause to share with and
Create opportunities to respond to others?
review and revise your work. ■■ What is your plan to include suggestions and revision ideas in your draft?
■■ How can the Scoring Guide help you evaluate how well your draft meets
Checking and Editing for ■■ How will you proofread and edit your draft to demonstrate command of
Publication: Confirm that the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, spelling,
your final draft is ready for grammar, and usage?

publication. ■■ How will you create a title and assemble your illustrations in an appealing
manner?
■■ How will you publish your final draft in a way that is appropriate for the
audience?
Reflection
• Explain how the activities in this unit helped prepare you for success in the Embedded
Assessment.
• Which activities were especially helpful, and why?
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EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
2
SCORING GUIDE
Scoring
Criteria
Ideas The essay The essay The essay The essay

• uses all three • uses strategies of • uses insufficient • does not define a
strategies of definition (function, strategies of hero using strategies
definition effectively example, negation) to definition to define a of definition
to define a hero define a hero hero • has no discernible
• maintains a precise • maintains a clear • has an unclear or thesis
and original thesis thesis unfocused thesis • lacks supporting
• integrates relevant • includes adequate • includes inadequate details, citations,
supporting details supporting details supporting details and/or commentary.
and evidence (quotes and evidence (quotes and evidence; may
and paraphrases) and paraphrases) have inconsistent
with citations and with citations and citations and/or weak
commentary. commentary. commentary.
Structure The essay The essay The essay The essay

• introduces the central • introduces the topic • includes an ineffective • lacks an introduction
idea with an engaging with a hook, bridge, or partial introduction • has minimal, absent,
hook, bridge, and and thesis • has unrelated, or flawed support
thesis • organizes ideas into undeveloped, or paragraphs
• organizes ideas into support paragraphs insufficient support • uses few or no
focused support that progress logically paragraphs transitions and topic
paragraphs that • creates coherence • uses transitions sentences
progress smoothly with the use of and topic sentences • lacks a conclusion.
• creates coherence transitions and topic ineffectively or
with the purposeful sentences inconsistently
use of a variety of • provides a conclusion • provides a weak,
transitions and topic that follows from the illogical, or repetitive

sentences ideas presented. conclusion.
• provides an insightful
conclusion.
Use of The essay The essay The essay The essay

Language • uses consistent • uses diction and • uses diction or a • uses flawed diction
diction and style style that is generally style that is basic or • lacks command of
appropriate for an appropriate for an inappropriate to an the conventions of
academic audience academic audience academic audience standard English
• demonstrates • demonstrates • demonstrates partial capitalization,
command of the adequate command or inconsistent punctuation, spelling,
conventions of of the conventions command of the grammar, and usage;
standard English of standard English conventions of frequent errors
capitalization, capitalization, standard English obscure meaning.
punctuation, spelling, punctuation, spelling, capitalization,
grammar, and usage grammar, and usage punctuation, spelling,
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(including complex (including complex grammar, and usage.
sentences). sentences).

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UNIT
2
VISUAL PROMPT
The perfect society may
mean different things to
different people. How
does this image represent
one vision of an ideal
society? Is this similar or
different from what you
envision a perfect society
to be?
THE CHALLENGE
OF UTOPIA
T he year was 2081, and everyone was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before
God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody
else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than
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anybody else.
–from “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
UNIT
2 The Challenge of Utopia
• To analyze a novel for ACTIVITY CONTENTS

GOALS
thematic development
• To recognize and analyze 2.1 Previewing the Unit �� 122
literary elements in a novel
2.2 Informational Writing: Compare/Contrast �� 123
• To analyze characteristics
GOALS
of argumentative and Essay: “In a Dreadfully Perfect World,”

informational texts by Benjamin Obler
by evaluating ideas,
structure, and language Language & Writer’s Craft: Verb Moods
• To develop informative/ 2.3 Utopian Ideals and Dystopian Reality �� 133
explanatory texts using
the compare/contrast Short Story: “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut
organizational structure Visuals: About a Utopia and a Dystopia
• To develop effective
arguments using logical LC Language Checkpoint:
reasoning, relevant Using Subject-Verb Agreement �� 146
evidence, and persuasive
appeals for effect 2.4 Previewing the Novel �� 148
*Novel: The Giver, by Lois Lowry, or Fahrenheit 451,
by Ray Bradbury
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
perspective 2.5 Contemplating Conflicting Perspectives �� 151

Socratic *Novel: The Giver, by Lois Lowry, or Fahrenheit 451,
seminar
argument
by Ray Bradbury
illustration Language & Writer’s Craft: Subject-Verb Agreement and
analogy Prepositions
anecdote
debate 2.6 Questioning Society �� 154
controversial
research *Novel: The Giver, by Lois Lowry, or Fahrenheit 451,
by Ray Bradbury

LITERARY
science fiction
Article: “Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom
protagonist to Read,” from the American Library Association
antagonist Introducing the Strategy: Socratic Seminar
flashback
foreshadowing Introducing the Strategy: Fishbowl
2.7 A Shift in Perspective:
Beginning the Adventure �� 160
by Ray Bradbury
2.8 Navigating the Road of Trials �� 163
by Ray Bradbury
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CONTENTS
ACTIVITY CONTENTS
My Independent
Reading List
2.9 The End of the Journey �� 165
by Ray Bradbury
Language & Writer’s Craft: Active vs. Passive Voice
Writing an Informational Essay �� 169

2.11 Understanding Elements of Argumentation �� 172
Essay: “Private Eyes,” by Brooke Chorlton
2.12 Don’t Hate—Debate! �� 176

Article: “Representative Urges Action on the Media”
2.13 Highlighting Logos �� 179

Essay: “The Promise of a Post-Driver Life,”
by Edward Humes
Editorial: “It’s Time to Tap the Breaks on
Self-Driving Cars,” by The Times Editorial Board
2.14 Forming and Supporting a Debatable

Claim �� 190
2.15 Conducting Effective Research �� 192

Article: “The Very Human Problem Blocking the Path
to Self-Driving Cars,” by Alex Davies
2.16 Gathering and Citing Evidence �� 201

Article: “Five Challenges for Self-Driving Cars,”
by Laurel Hamers
2.17 Organizing and Revising Your Argument �� 211

Language & Writer’s Craft: Correct Capitalization
Writing an Argumentative Essay �� 216
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Unit 2 • The Challenge of Utopia 121

ACTIVITY
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Think-Pair-Share • Preview the big ideas and vocabulary for the unit.
QHT
• Identify and analyze the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful
Close Reading in completing Embedded Assessment 1.
Marking the Text
Graphic Organizer In this activity, you will begin exploring the concepts of utopia and dystopia
and unpack the first Embedded Assessment for the unit.
Making Connections
We probably all agree that we would like to live in an ideal society where everyone
is free and happy, but what does that actually mean, and why do definitions of
the ideal society differ so greatly? In this unit, you will read, write, and engage in
various types of collaborative discussions to explore these universal questions.
Then you will move from discussion and explanation into debate and effective
argumentation as you research and develop a claim about a contemporary issue.
Essential Questions
The following Essential Questions will be the focus of the unit study. Respond to
both questions in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. To what extent can a perfect or ideal society exist?

2. What makes an argument effective?
Create a QHT chart in your Reader/Writer Notebook and sort the Vocabulary Terms
on the Contents page. Use print or online resources to move all of the words into
the “T” column by the end of the unit. Keep in mind that there is more to knowing
a new word than just learning the definition. Truly knowing a word also involves an
INDEPENDENT

understanding of its pronunciation, origin, and part of speech.
READING LINK
Reading Plan
During this half of the unit, Unpacking Embedded Assessment 1
you will read a science fiction Read the assignment for Embedded Assessment 1: Writing an Informational
novel together as a class. Essay.
The protagonist in this novel
is a hero fighting against a Think about how writers organize and develop ideas in informational
challenge in society. Think writing. Use an informational structure to communicate your
about a challenge in your understanding of the concept of dystopia and/or the concept of the
own society that interests Hero’s Journey. Select one of these prompts:
you. Research news articles,
narrative nonfiction texts, or • Write an essay that compares and contrasts life in a dystopian society
contemporary short stories with modern-day society.
that discuss that challenge • Write an essay that explains how the protagonist (hero) changes as
and what people are trying a result of conflict with his dystopian society (Road of Trials). Explain
to do to fix it. Note the how this change connects to the novel’s theme (the Crossing or
texts you will select to read Return Threshold).
independently in your “My
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Independent Reading List” Work with your class to paraphrase the expectations and create a graphic
space on the Contents page. organizer to use as a visual reminder of the required concepts and skills.

ACTIVITY
Informational Writing: Compare/Contrast 2.2

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Evaluate the use of the organizational pattern of compare/contrast to Graphic Organizer
present a thesis in an informational text. QHT
• Write a paragraph that uses the compare/contrast organizational pattern Close Reading
to present a key idea. Marking the Text
Rereading
Preview Brainstorming
In this activity, you will read and analyze a text that compares and contrasts Drafting
utopian and dystopian novels. You will then think about the characteristics
of each genre, the relationship between the two genres, and how modern-
day novels connect to utopian and dystopian stories from the past.
My Notes
Review of Informational Writing
You have had many experiences writing informational text. Every time you explain
something or define a concept or idea, you are writing an informational text. One
form of informational writing is compare/contrast. This method of organization is
an important model of explanation to master and can be used in many different
writing situations.
1. Brainstorm ideas for topics for different school subjects that would require
you to write a compare/contrast essay.
2. Writers use planning and prewriting to decide how to organize their ideas.
The table that follows shows two methods of organizing a compare/contrast
essay, using “ancient vs. modern civilizations” as a topic.
Subject-by-Subject Organization Feature-by-Feature Organization
Discuss all the features of one subject. Then discuss all Select a feature common to both subjects, and then
the features of the other. discuss each subject in light of that feature. Then go on
to the next feature.
Subject A: Ancient Civilization Government

Government Subject A: Ancient Civilization
Education Subject B: Modern Civilization
Social Norms Education
Subject B: Modern Civilization Subject A: Ancient Civilization
Government Subject B: Modern Civilization
Education Social Norms
Social Norms Subject A: Ancient Civilization
Subject B: Modern Civilization
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3. Why would a writer select one organizational structure over the other?

2.2
• While you read, use two different colored pens to underline details that
describe the similarities and differences between utopian and dystopian
societies.
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meanings of the words
About the Author

Benjamin Obler is a modern-day instructor
and novelist. Originally from Minneapolis,
Minnesota, Obler teaches writing at Gotham
Writer’s Workshop in New York City. He
received an MFA in Creative Writing from the
University of Glasgow, Scotland. He’s been
on BBC Radio and was interviewed at Strand
bookstore for a documentary film about
coffee. His first novel, Javascotia, was
published in 2009.
Essay
In a Dreadfully
WORD CONNECTIONS
Perfect World
by Benjamin Obler

Roots and Affixes
1 When Katniss Everdeen draws back her bow to unleash the arrow that
The word utopia comes from
the Greek ou, meaning “no” will help free her outcast friends in The Hunger Games (2013), few moviegoers
or “not,” and topos, meaning were likely thinking of Thomas More’s1 novel of 500 years earlier. Nevertheless,
“place.” But its meaning is if it weren’t for More’s Utopia (1516), perhaps a whole genre of novels would
closer to eutopia, made from not exist today. Utopian novels, portraying imagined, idealized societies began
the English prefix eu, meaning
with More, and out of them grew dystopian novels in which, typically, societies
“good,” and topos. Which
of the two words, eutopia or grow more corrupt, diabolical, and inhumane. Though the two genres are
utopia, would better describe vastly different, and in some ways completely opposite, utopian and dystopian
a place with a pink sky? A fiction are interrelated and rely upon each other.
world with no war or poverty?
A dystopia is a community 2 More’s novel is set on an island called Utopia, where everyone is
or society, usually fictional, employed and work days are only six hours long. People are not burdened by
that is in some important way property ownership or the drive to earn money. In fact, they are free to take
undesirable or frightening. from the supply stores whatever food they need. Because the laws are so simple,
The word dystopia comes from
the Latin prefix dys-, meaning
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“bad” or “abnormal,” and the 1 Thomas More, or “Sir Thomas More,” as he is sometimes called, was knighted by King Henry
Greek word topos. in the 1520s. More is also referred to as Saint Thomas More because of his involvement in the
Catholic Church.

2.2
there’s no need for lawyers. All Utopians agree that war is barbaric,
so wars never happen. Just about every aspect of life is perfect, and
all woes and pains have vanished.
3 More’s work is the earliest of its kind, and since then all
stories that depict any idealized outcome have been described as
utopian. Utopian texts are essentially hopeful, imagining positive
outcomes and the disappearance of those traits of real life that bring
suffering—inequality, poverty, injustice, bigotry. In utopian stories,
peacefulness and reason prevail over chaos and greed. Conversely,
dystopian texts depict the worst possible outcomes of societal strife,
often involving the aftermath of social change that went wrong and
led to oppression or chaos.
4 Utopian works were popular for a long time before dystopian
novels became more common. Writers across three centuries turned
to the imagined place to project their hopes. In More’s time, the
novel was a relatively new way to talk about ideas of civic life and
analyze customs and rules. With the utopian novel, writers could
awaken the public imagination to what harmony might
be possible.
5 In 1619, Johann Valentin Adreae published Christianopolis,
which tells of a distant island city where the citizens use no
money and own no property. Economic equality rules, and all
material goods needed for life are provided by the state. Tommaso Plan of the island of Utopia. Illustration from
Campanella produced a similar novel, City of the Sun, in 1623, Thomas More’s novel, depicting an idealized
society living on an imaginary island.
featuring a peaceful place where property is communal and money
is not needed. Campanella improved on More’s six-hour workday,
making the workday on his island of Taprobane only four hours
long. Abolishment of slavery, good education for all, and rule by bright,
capable people—life on the island was utopian in every way.

6 Remote settings such as islands are a popular feature of the utopian
genre. Francis Bacon’s The New Atlantis (1624) features an island, as did
utopian works by several other writers. Other utopian worlds were found near
the north pole, or through underground caves. It seemed that for writers to
envision a harmonious society, it had to be completely unconnected from any
system in place in any western nation at the time.
7 In contrast, dystopian works typically depict settings that are distantly
removed from us not by geography, but by time. The typical dystopian society
springs up from the foundations of our own society sometime in the future. For
example, Lois Lowry’s The Giver is set in a futuristic time, when many problems
have been solved. Likewise, in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the setting is depict: represent
an unnamed American city of the future. Dystopias are projections of today’s idealized: better than something
society in more advanced stages. For example, imbalances of power grow more actually is
imbalanced, limited rights become greatly restricted, and partial oppression oppression: unjust rule or
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becomes totalitarian rule. Writers of dystopian works want these connections treatment
to the current time and place to be clearly understood. The purpose of many

2.2
My Notes dystopian stories is to illustrate the potential for terror and catastrophe that
lurks in our existing systems. To set a dystopian novel in some imaginary island
would defeat the purpose of delivering such chilling possibilities to readers.
8 In the 18th century, utopian novels began to proliferate, and the societies
depicted in them grew more extreme. By 1755, Étienne-Gabriel Morelly, in
his novel Code de la Nature (Nature’s Code), advocates for the abolition of
property, trade, politics, marriage, privilege, and law. Everything that stands in
the way of individual liberty is eradicated.
9 Subsets of the utopian genre emerged, such as the feminist utopia. The
first was The Blazing World (1666) by Margaret Cavendish. In it, a shipwrecked
young woman reaches a foreign land via the North Pole. She is crowned
empress and uses her power to keep the kingdom free from war, religious
division, and unfair sexual discrimination. Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbette’s New
Amazonia is another example. Her setting is Ireland in the year 2472. Because
they are corrupt, men are barred from political office. Everyone is vegetarian.
10 The appeal of the perfect world had a powerful hold on some writers.
Theodor Hertzka, a political economist, wrote Freiland (Freeland) (1890) about
an imaginary utopian colony in Africa. Then he tried (unsuccessfully) to create
a real village, Freeland, in Africa.
11 A key difference between utopias and dystopias is their relationship to
the real world. Hertzka tried to establish a real-world replica of his fictional
colony. But no writer would ever try to create a real-world replica of their
fictional dystopia. Utopias are written in earnest, as admirable models, whereas
dystopias are devised to serve as warnings of what we should never let our
world become.
12 The utopian craze peaked with Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward:
2000–1887. First published in 1888, it was the third largest best-seller of its

time. In the novel, the protagonist Julien West wakes in the year 2000. The
WORD CONNECTIONS United States is now a socialist utopia. People work shorter hours and retire at
age 45. Production and distribution of goods is smooth and efficient thanks to
Roots and Affixes a regimented labor force. Selling 400,000 copies by 1897, Bellamy’s novel set the
When it comes to opposition, market ablaze for such utopian works. Between 1860 and 1887, no fewer than
the words beneficent and
malevolent describe a person
11 such works of fiction were published in the United States by various authors.
or an action’s intent. Generally, 13 By comparison, a list of popular dystopian novels published between
words with the prefix bene-
2000 and 2015 contains at least 75 titles.
(good, well) have positive
connotations, and words that 14 Utopias and dystopias are siblings, and one of their similarities is
begin with male- (bad, wrong) foresight. In casting their imaginations forward, many writers of both utopian
have negative connotations.
and dystopian novels have described technologies that were impossible for
the time. For example, Bellamy’s character is taken to a store that cuts out
middlemen, much like a modern-day Costco or Sam’s Club. The concept of
proliferate: multiply quickly credit cards is introduced, and Bellamy also predicts both sermons and music
eradicated: wiped out being available in the home through cable "telephone," much like the internet
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completely during its early, wired days.

2.2
15 But utopias are in the eyes of the beholder—a matter of interpretation. My Notes
For example, in Bellamy’s book, one judge presides over all court cases,
appointing two colleagues to represent the prosecution and defense. This is
meant to seem simple and elegant—incorruptible. But from another point
of view a single judge enforcing all law amounts to dictatorship, and the
appointment of colleagues smells of corruption, creating ample opportunity for
self-serving deals. To some total equality is the ideal, but to others the measures
taken to achieve that equality would be repression. Utopias such as the one
depicted in Corbette’s New Amazonia would not be a utopia to everyone.
16 This highlights a similarity between utopias and dystopias. In any real
society or form of government, there are beneficent people and malevolent
people. Some people respect order, obey the law, are kind and peaceful.
Others break laws, serve themselves, lie, and manipulate the system to their
advantage. What utopian and dystopian works have in common is that they
both unbalance reality, making everything starkly black and white, taking away
one aspect and leaving the other. In this way, utopian and dystopian novels are
very much alike. They both exaggerate things for dramatic effect, capture our
imaginations, and make us feel the stark power of what might be.
Making Observations
• What details in the essay stand out to you?
• What similarities between utopias and dystopias surprise you?
A typical element in dystopian works is oppression. In The Hunger Games, characters

deal with oppression and totalitarianism from a powerful government system. In turn, beneficent: good-intentioned
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citizens, such as Katniss Everdeen (played by actress Jennifer Lawrence), must fight malevolent: evil-intentioned
to survive.

2.2
Evaluating Details to Determine Key Ideas
4. Examining details in a text can help readers understand the key ideas the author wants to
convey. Look back at your color-coded underlining of the similarities and differences between
utopian and dystopian societies. Use those details you underlined to create a Venn diagram
in your Reader/Writer Notebook. Evaluate the details you organized into the Venn diagram to
determine the key ideas in this text.
Analyzing the Photograph

5. How do the details in the photograph help you better understand an element of the text?
Make a statement about the details. Then connect them to the text.

your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the essay in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
6. Find the sentence from paragraph 1 that best illustrates the relationship between utopian and
dystopian genres. Explain why this is the author’s thesis statement.

7. Which words does the author use to describe utopian and dystopian novels? Why does the
author use these words?
8. Why is the footnote in paragraph 1 placed after that particular sentence?
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2.2
9. When it comes to setting, why might an author of a utopian novel choose a mountaintop or
the bottom of the ocean? Why might this be a difficult setting in which to place a dystopian
society, and where would be better?
10. Reread paragraph 9, in which the author gives two examples of feminist utopias. Based on the
examples, how would you define a feminist utopia?
11. Who or what is a beholder? Why does the author say that “utopias are in the eyes of the
beholder,” and how does he connect this expression to the rest of the text?
12. What is the relationship between reality and a utopia or dystopia? How might a utopian or
dystopian novel help readers understand more about real life?
13. According to the essay, how has the popularity of utopian and dystopian stories changed
over time?
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2.2
14. Examine how the text “In a Dreadfully Perfect World” is organized. As you analyze the
organization, write the focus of each paragraph in the My Notes section. Underline transitional
words and phrases that help you follow the changes in focus. Arrange the results of your
paragraph-by-paragraph examination in the graphic organizer that follows.
Structure of “In a Dreadfully Perfect World”
Paragraphs: Focus of that text:
1 through 3
4 through 6
8 through 10
11 through 14
15
16
15. Explain the author’s purpose and thesis. How does the text structure contribute to the author’s
purpose and the development of the thesis? Provide textual evidence to support your analysis.
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2.2
Creating Coherence
In Unit 1, you learned that coherence in writing is the clear and orderly presentation of ideas in a
paragraph or essay. One way a writer creates coherence is to use transitional words, phrases, and
sentences to link ideas within and between paragraphs. The following chart lists some transitional
words and phrases that create coherence in compare/contrast essays.
Transitions That Compare Transitions That Contrast
likewise as well as although nevertheless

similarly the same as instead still
in the same way both even though however
in comparison like on the other hand yet/but
in like manner also on the contrary rather
by the same token compared to in contrast conversely
16. Sort the transitions using the QHT strategy. Then practice using some of the transitions on a
subject that you know about, such as short stories versus poetry. Write a few sentences in your

To prepare for your Writing to Sources activity, return to the Venn diagram you made in your
Reader/Writer Notebook in step 4 in which you compared and contrasted the concepts of utopia
and dystopia. Think of ways utopian and dystopian works are alike and different. Write a sentence
about a way they are alike. Then write a sentence about a way they are different. In each sentence,
try to link ideas by using a transitional word or phrase.
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2.2
LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Verb Moods
Verbs have moods, just like tenses. A verb’s mood can change the tone of a sentence in
different ways. There are five major verb moods:
Indicative: Makes a declaration. Example: A dystopian novel gives readers a warning about
the future.
Imperative: Expresses a command. Example: Read this essay about Thomas More.
Interrogative: Asks a question. Example: What did you learn about Thomas More?
Conditional: Indicates a conditional state. Example: If a novel is set in the future, then it's
a dystopian story.
Subjunctive: Expresses a hypothetical situation. Example: I wish I could live on a
faraway island.
The conditional and subjunctive moods are similar, but they express different things.
In general, the conditional mood expresses situations that are almost certain to come true,
while the subjunctive mood expresses situations that are unlikely and more imaginary
or speculative.
Consider this sentence from the passage:
Example: If an author includes malevolent aspects in a novel, then the text is about a
dystopian society.
PRACTICE What verb mood is this sentence expressing? First tell what verb mood
is expressed, and then rewrite the sentence using one of the other 5 verb moods
described above.

After reading "In a Dreadfully Perfect World," write a short paragraph comparing and
contrasting utopian and dystopian societies, settings, and characteristics. Be sure to:
• Begin with a topic sentence that clearly states the comparison/contrast you plan
to explore.
• Explain at least one difference and one similarity between the two subjects.
• Organize ideas logically (subject-by-subject or feature-by-feature). Refer to the chart at
the beginning of this activity to review these organizational structures.
• Create coherence by using transitional words and phrases.
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• Support your explanations and ideas with evidence from the text.

ACTIVITY
Utopian Ideals and Dystopian Reality 2.3

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Closely read a story and explain how its setting influences the values and Close Reading
beliefs of its characters. Rereading
• Make connections between a character’s beliefs and values and the Diffusing
events of a story. Paraphrasing
• Integrate ideas from multiple texts to build knowledge and vocabulary Marking the Text
about utopian and dystopian societies. Shared Reading
Think Aloud
Preview
In this activity, you will read a story and expand your understanding of the
concepts of utopia and dystopia.
My Notes
The Concept of Utopia

As you read in the previous activity, a utopia is an ideal or perfect community or
society. It is a real or imagined place considered to be ideal or perfect (politically,
socially, economically, technologically, ecologically, religiously, etc.). People in a
utopia lead civilized lives filled with peace, fulfillment, and happiness.
The Western idea of utopia originates in the ancient world, where legends of an
earthly paradise (e.g., Eden in the Old Testament, the mythical Golden Age of
Greek mythology), combined with the human desire to create, or re-create, an
ideal society, helped form the utopian idea.
When Sir Thomas More wrote the book Utopia in 1516, he described a perfect
political and social system on an imaginary island named Utopia. Since then,
the term utopia has entered the English language, meaning any place, state, or
situation of ideal perfection.
Both the desire for Eden-like perfection and an attempt to start over in “unspoiled”
America led religious and nonreligious groups and societies to set up communities
in the United States. These experimental utopian communities were committed to

such ideals as simplicity, sincerity, and brotherly love.
Once the idea of a utopia was created, its opposite, the idea of a dystopia, was
also created. Such societies appear in many works of fiction, particularly in stories
set in a speculative future.

• As you read, label text that hints at whether the story’s setting is utopian or
dystopian. Make notes where you are confused about the setting.
SAMPLE
2.3
WORD CONNECTIONS About the Author
Etymology Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) was one of the most
The verb to handicap is a influential American writers of the 20th century.
word taken from sports. In the His hallmark blend of dark satire, humor, and science
late 19th century, handicap fiction defines works such as Cat’s Cradle (1963),
meant the extra weight given Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), and Breakfast of
to a superior race horse to Champions (1973). As an outspoken humanist, or
even the odds of winning for someone who thinks humans have value and should solve
other horses. The sports term problems rationally, he served as honorary president of
became generalized over time the American Humanist Association.
and came to mean the practice
of assigning disadvantage to
certain players to equalize the Short Story
chances of winning. Vonnegut’s
Harrison Bergeron
“Handicapper General” is
in charge of dumbing down
and disabling citizens who
are above average so that all
citizens are equal. by Kurt Vonnegut
1 THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t
only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody
KNOWLEDGE
was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else.
QUEST
Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due
Knowledge Question:
to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the
Why do utopias often become
dystopias? unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General.
In Activity 2.3, you will read one 2 Some things about living still weren’t quite right, though. April for
text and view two illustrations instance, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that
depicting a utopia and a clammy month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen-
dystopia. While you read and year-old son, Harrison, away.

build knowledge about the
topic, think about your answer 3 It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn’t think about it very
to the Knowledge Question. hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t
think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence
was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was
required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter.
Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise
to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.
4 George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel’s
cheeks, but she’d forgotten for the moment what they were about. On the
television screen were ballerinas.
5 A buzzer sounded in George’s head. His thoughts fled in panic, like
bandits from a burglar alarm.
6 “That was a real pretty dance, that dance they just did,” said Hazel.
unceasing: nonstop 7 “Huh,” said George.
SAMPLE
vigilance: observation
8 “That dance—it was nice,” said Hazel.

2.3
9 “Yup,” said George. He tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They My Notes
weren’t really very good—no better than anybody else would have been,
anyway. They were burdened with sash weights and bags of birdshot, and their
faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty
face, would feel like something the cat drug in. George was toying with the
vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn’t be handicapped. But he didn’t get
very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts.
10 George winced. So did two out of the eight ballerinas.
11 Hazel saw him wince. Having no mental handicap herself, she had to ask
George what the latest sound had been.
12 “Sounded like somebody hitting a milk bottle with a ball peen hammer,”
said George.
13 “I’d think it would be real interesting, hearing all the different sounds,”
said Hazel a little envious. “All the things they think up.”
14 “Um,” said George.
15 “Only, if I was Handicapper General, you know what I would do?” said
Hazel. Hazel, as a matter of fact, bore a strong resemblance to the Handicapper
General, a woman named Diana Moon Glampers. “If I was Diana Moon
Glampers,” said Hazel, “I’d have chimes on Sunday—just chimes. Kind of in
honor of religion.”
16 “I could think, if it was just chimes,” said George.
17 “Well—maybe make ’em real loud,” said Hazel. “I think I’d make a good
Handicapper General.”
18 “Good as anybody else,” said George.
19 “Who knows better than I do what normal is?” said Hazel.

20 “Right,” said George. He began to think glimmeringly about his abnormal

son who was now in jail, about Harrison, but a twenty-one-gun salute in his
head stopped that.
21 “Boy!” said Hazel, “that was a doozy, wasn’t it?”
22 It was such a doozy that George was white and trembling, and tears stood
on the rims of his red eyes. Two of the eight ballerinas had collapsed to the
studio floor, and were holding their temples.
23 “All of a sudden you look so tired,” said Hazel. “Why don’t you stretch out
on the sofa, so’s you can rest your handicap bag on the pillows, honeybunch.”
She was referring to the forty-seven pounds of birdshot in a canvas bag, which
was padlocked around George’s neck. “Go on and rest the bag for a little while,”
she said. “I don’t care if you’re not equal to me for a while.”
24 George weighed the bag with his hands. “I don’t mind it,” he said. “I don’t
doozy: something that is
SAMPLE
notice it any more. It’s just a part of me.”
unusually good, bad, severe, etc.

2.3
My Notes 25 “You been so tired lately—kind of wore out,” said Hazel. “If there was just
some way we could make a little hole in the bottom of the bag, and just take out
a few of them lead balls. Just a few.”
26 “Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took
out,” said George. “I don’t call that a bargain.”
27 “If you could just take a few out when you came home from work,” said
Hazel. “I mean—you don’t compete with anybody around here. You just sit
around.”
28 “If I tried to get away with it,” said George, “then other people’d get
away with it—and pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with
everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn’t like that, would
you?”
29 “I’d hate it,” said Hazel.
30 “There you are,” said George. “The minute people start cheating on laws,
what do you think happens to society?”
31 If Hazel hadn’t been able to come up with an answer to this question,
George couldn’t have supplied one. A siren was going off in his head.
32 “Reckon it’d fall all apart,” said Hazel.
33 “What would?” said George blankly.
34 “Society,” said Hazel uncertainly. “Wasn’t that what you just said?
35 “Who knows?” said George.
36 The television program was suddenly interrupted for a news bulletin. It

wasn’t clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like
all announcers, had a serious speech impediment. For about half a minute,

and in a state of high excitement, the announcer tried to say, “Ladies and
Gentlemen.”
37 But he finally gave up, handed the bulletin to a ballerina to read.
38 “Oh, that’s all right—” Hazel said of the announcer, “he tried. That’s the
big thing. He tried to do the best he could with what God gave him. He should
get a nice raise for trying so hard.”
39 “Ladies and Gentlemen,” said the ballerina, reading the bulletin. She must
have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous.
And it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of all the
dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred
pound men.
40 And she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair
voice for a woman to use. Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody.
“Excuse me—” she said, and she began again, making her voice absolutely
SAMPLE
uncompetitive.
impediment: disorder

2.3
41 “Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen,” she said in a grackle squawk, “has just
escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the
GRAMMAR & USAGE
government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should Conventions
be regarded as extremely dangerous.” An ellipsis is a row of three
42 A police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen— dots ( ... ) that indicates
something has been omitted
upside down, then sideways, upside down again, then right side up. The picture
from within a quoted passage,
showed the full length of Harrison Bergeron against a background calibrated in usually because it doesn’t
feet and inches. He was exactly seven feet tall. apply to the point the writer
is trying to convey. Look at
43 The rest of Harrison’s appearance was Halloween and hardware. Nobody
paragraph 42 from the story. If
had ever borne heavier handicaps. He had outgrown hindrances faster than you only want to quote the part
the H-G men could think them up. Instead of a little ear radio for a mental of the paragraph that describes
handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick Harrison, you could use ellipses
wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to indicate the portion you
to give him whanging headaches besides. removed, like so:
A police photograph of
44 Scrap metal was hung all over him. Ordinarily, there was a certain Harrison Bergeron was
symmetry, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to strong people, but flashed on the screen ...
Harrison looked like a walking junkyard. In the race of life, Harrison carried The picture showed the
three hundred pounds. full length of Harrison
against a background
45 And to offset his good looks, the H-G men required that he wear at all calibrated in feet and
times a red rubber ball for a nose, keep his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his inches. He was exactly
even white teeth with black caps at snaggle-tooth random. “If you see this boy,” seven feet tall.
said the ballerina, “do not—I repeat, do not—try to reason with him.” When you use an ellipsis, be
sure that your revised quote
46 There was the shriek of a door being torn from its hinges.
doesn’t change the intent
47 Screams and barking cries of consternation came from the television set. of the original meaning. If
The photograph of Harrison Bergeron on the screen jumped again and again, your quoted text uses more
ellipses than words, consider
as though dancing to the tune of an earthquake.
paraphrasing it rather than
48 George Bergeron correctly identified the earthquake, and well he might using a direct quotation.
have—for many was the time his own home had danced to the same crashing As you prepare to write your
tune. “My God—” said George, “that must be Harrison!” analysis, look for instances
where you can use ellipses to
49 The realization was blasted from his mind instantly by the sound of an clarify your text.
automobile collision in his head.
50 When George could open his eyes again, the photograph of Harrison was
gone. A living, breathing Harrison filled the screen.
51 Clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood—in the center of the
studio. The knob of the uprooted studio door was still in his hand. Ballerinas,
technicians, musicians, and announcers cowered on their knees before him, grackle: a small bird known for
expecting to die. its unpleasant call
hindrances: artificial limitations
52 “I am the Emperor!” cried Harrison. “Do you hear? I am the Emperor!
symmetry: balance;
Everybody must do what I say at once!” He stamped his foot and the studio arrangement
shook. consternation: alarm;
SAMPLE
bewilderment

2.3
GRAMMAR & USAGE 53 “Even as I stand here,” he bellowed, “crippled, hobbled, sickened—I am a
greater ruler than any man who ever lived! Now watch me become what I can
Parallel Structure become!”
Parallel structure (or 54 Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore
parallelism) is the use of a
straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds.
repeated word pattern. It
is used to show the reader 55 Harrison’s scrap-iron handicaps crashed to the floor.
that two or more things
are of equal importance. 56 Harrison thrust his thumbs under the bar of the padlock that secured his
For example, look at this head harness. The bar snapped like celery. Harrison smashed his headphones
sentence. and spectacles against the wall.
I love my cat because she is 57 He flung away his rubber-ball nose, revealed a man that would have awed
warm, she is furry, and she is Thor, the god of thunder.
affectionate.
58 “I shall now select my Empress!” he said, looking down on the cowering
This sentence uses parallel
people. “Let the first woman who dares rise to her feet claim her mate and her
structure to explain the
writer’s feelings for the throne!”
cat. The words used to 59 A moment passed, and then a ballerina arose, swaying like a willow.
describe the cat (warm, furry,
affectionate) are arranged in 60 Harrison plucked the mental handicap from her ear, snapped off her
a parallel structure so they physical handicaps with marvelous delicacy. And last of all he removed her
equally emphasize each mask.
quality for the reader.
61 She was blindingly beautiful.
Look for instances in
paragraphs 51 and 53 where 62 “Now—” said Harrison, taking her hand, “shall we show the people the
Vonnegut uses parallel meaning of the word dance? Music!” he commanded.
structure. What words does
he use to create this parallel 63 The musicians scrambled back into their chairs, and Harrison stripped
structure? What punctuation them of their handicaps, too. “Play your best,” he told them, “and I’ll make you
does he use? What effects barons and dukes and earls.”
does Vonnegut’s use of this

64 The music began. It was normal at first—cheap, silly, false. But Harrison
structure create?
snatched two musicians from their chairs, waved them like batons as he sang
the music as he wanted it played. He slammed them back into their chairs.
65 The music began again and was much improved.
66 Harrison and his Empress merely listened to the music for a while—
listened gravely, as though synchronizing their heartbeats with it.
67 They shifted their weights to their toes.
68 Harrison placed his big hands on the girl’s tiny waist, letting her sense the
weightlessness that would soon be hers.
69 And then, in an explosion of joy and grace, into the air they sprang!
70 Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and
the laws of motion as well.
71 They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun.
SAMPLE
gamboled: frolicked; played 72 They leaped like deer on the moon.

2.3
73 The studio ceiling was thirty feet high, but each leap brought the dancers My Notes
nearer to it.
74 It became their obvious intention to kiss the ceiling. They kissed it.
75 And then, neutralizing gravity with love and pure will, they remained
suspended in air inches below the ceiling, and they kissed each other for a long,
long time.
76 It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came
into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and
the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor.
77 Diana Moon Glampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the
musicians and told them they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on.
78 It was then that the Bergerons’ television tube burned out.
79 Hazel turned to comment about the blackout to George. But George had
gone out into the kitchen for a can of beer.
80 George came back in with the beer, paused while a handicap signal shook
him up. And then he sat down again. “You been crying,” he said to Hazel.
81 “Yup,” she said.
82 “What about?” he said.
83 “I forget,” she said. “Something real sad on television.”
84 “What was it?” he said.
85 “It’s all kind of mixed up in my mind,” said Hazel.
86 “Forget sad things,” said George.
87 “I always do,” said Hazel.

88 “That’s my girl,” said George. He winced. There was the sound of a

riveting gun in his head.
89 “Gee—I could tell that one was a doozy,” said Hazel.
90 “You can say that again,” said George.
91 “Gee—” said Hazel, “I could tell that one was a doozy.”
Knowledge Quest
• Which details about the characters stood out to you?
• What events seem strange to you?
SAMPLE
2.3
Before analyzing the story more closely, use what you have observed so far to complete the
following sentences.
Harrison Bergeron is an exceptional fourteen-year-old boy because
Harrison Bergeron is an exceptional fourteen-year-old boy, but
Harrison Bergeron is an exceptional fourteen-year-old boy, so

your responses.
1. What is George’s “little mental handicap radio,” and what is its purpose?
2. Why is the punishment for removing weight from the “handicap bag” so harsh? Find textual
evidence to support your answer.
3. According to this society, what makes George, his son, and the ballerinas so dangerous? Cite © 2021 College Board. All rights reserved.
textual evidence to support your inference.
SAMPLE
2.3
4. KQ In paragraph 30, why might the author have italicized the word society in the sentence
“The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?”
5. What does Harrison’s rebellion against the government’s handicapping tell you about his
character and values? Support your response with evidence from the text.
6. Examine the author’s choice of verbs to describe the actions of Harrison and the ballerina in
motion. What is the intended effect?
7. Explain how George’s handicap prevents him and Hazel from reacting appropriately to their son’s
death. Cite evidence from the text to support your response.
8. How is the story’s theme reflected in the conversation between Hazel and George that
concludes the story?
SAMPLE
2.3
My Notes 9. What has been done to make the society in the story utopian? Have those
steps been successful, or is the society dystopian? Explain by comparing the
story’s setting to the definitions of utopian and dystopian.
10. KQ Which ideals in “In a Dreadfully Perfect World” are most like the ideals of
the society in “Harrison Bergeron”? How does this story offer one example of
the negative effects of that ideal?
Setting a Purpose for Viewing

• Highlight words or phrases in the caption that surprise or interest you.
• Use the My Notes section to briefly summarize each illustration.
KNOWLEDGE
QUEST
Knowledge Question:
Why do utopias often become

dystopias?
Illustrations of utopias often depict pollution-free natural environments. Here the

utopia is isolated like a floating island.
SAMPLE
Illustrations of dystopias often depict polluted futuristic cities. The dystopia here
appears as protected as a fortress.

2.3
Knowledge Quest
• How does each illustration make you feel?
• What details and colors in each illustration make you feel a certain way?
Returning to the Images

• Return to the illustrations as you respond to the following questions. Use evidence to support
your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the images in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
11. KQ The words utopia and dystopia have the same Greek root, topos, meaning "place." How
would you describe each of these places? How do these pictures make it easy to compare a
utopia and a dystopia?
12. Compare the colors the artists used in each illustration. Why do you think the artists chose
those colors?
13. Which environment looks more inviting? What evidence supports your thinking?
14. Read the captions. What figurative language can you find? What is important about the words
like and as in the captions?
15. KQ How are an isolated island and a protected fortress alike? What inferences can you draw
from these two illustrations to help you answer the question, “Why do utopias often become
dystopias?”
SAMPLE
2.3

READING LINK Use your knowledge about “Harrison Bergeron” and the images to discuss
You can continue to build your with a partner how your understanding of why utopias often become
knowledge about this theme by dystopias has changed. Be sure to:
reading related fiction at ZINC
Reading Labs. • Explain your answer to your partner, be specific and use as many details
Select the fiction filter and as possible.
type keywords such as utopia, • When your partner explains his or her answer, ask for clarification by
dystopia, or alternate future posing follow-up questions as needed.
in the Search all ZINC articles
• After the discussion, write down the ideas you talked about.
field.

16. Return to the text and take notes on the setting and the rules of the society.
Underline any sentences that give you this information.
17. Use your annotations about the setting and the rules of the society to complete
the following chart. Practice embedding quotations in your responses.
Analyzing the Setting Interpretation Response with Embedded Quotation

What “ideal” is the
society based upon?

What rules exist to
create and maintain
this ideal?
How was this utopian

ideal transformed into
a dystopian reality?
What new problems

were created?
SAMPLE
18. Choose a character and explain how the setting of the story influences their
values and beliefs. Embed quotations in your response.

2.3
Check Your Understanding GRAMMAR & USAGE

Throughout the story, George shows signs that he knows there is something Conventions
wrong with the handicapping system. Find two direct quotes that support this
Brackets ([ ]) are most often
statement. used to clarify the meaning of
quoted material. If it isn’t clear
what your quoted material is
about, consider using brackets
to clarify it.
For example, if you quote
line 21 without providing any
context, the reader won’t know
what “that” refers to. You can
Writing to Sources: Informational Text add context by using brackets.
“Boy!” said Hazel, “that
Write a short paragraph explaining how “Harrison Bergeron” conveys [the noise] was a doozy,
the conflict between the needs or ideals of society and the realities of wasn’t it?”
individuals. Be sure to:
As you prepare to write your
• Begin with a topic sentence that describes the setting and explains how it analysis, look for instances
influences the values and beliefs of characters. where you can use brackets to
• Provide examples from the text and use at least one direct quotation to clarify your text.
support your ideas.
• Write sentences using the words utopia and dystopia in ways that
demonstrate their meanings.
SAMPLE
LC 2.3 Using Subject-Verb Agreement
Learning Targets
• Understand how to use verbs that agree with their subjects.
• Revise writing to check for subject-verb agreement.
Preview
In this activity, you will examine, identify, and demonstrate subject-verb agreement.
Subject-Verb Agreement
Complete sentences always have a subject and a verb. In other words, someone or something—the
subject—is or does something. The word that expresses what the subject is or does is called the
verb. Making the verb match the subject is called subject-verb agreement.
1. Read the following sentences about “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. Underline the
subjects and circle the verbs.
a. A buzzer sounds in George’s head.
b. A news bulletin interrupts the television program.
c. Screams come from the television set.
2. What do you notice about the subjects and verbs in the sentences above? With a partner, look
at the subjects and verbs and make an observation about what makes them agree.
3. Read the following excerpt from a student’s analysis of “Harrison Bergeron.” Find the subjects
and verbs in each sentence and write them in the chart that follows. Then decide whether each
subject is singular or plural.
In Kurt Vonnegut’s story, the main character is not allowed to think. Because his
intelligence is far above average, as soon as he begins to have a thought, a buzzer sounds

in his head. The sounds of bells, sirens, and other awful noises chase away his thoughts. As
a result, his intelligence remains at the level of average people. The conflict begins when
George sees his missing son on television. Although his memories quickly escape him,
they linger and haunt him nonetheless.
Subjects and Verbs Singular (S) or Plural (P)

character is S
SAMPLE
4. With your partner, look at the subjects and verbs you added to the chart. Then read the
observation you wrote earlier about what makes subjects and verbs agree and decide whether
to add anything to your observation.

LC 2.3
Subject-Verb Agreement in Long Sentences

Writers have to pay careful attention to subject-verb agreement, especially in longer sentences
where the subject and the verb are not next to each other.
5. Read the following sentences from a student’s analysis of “Harrison Bergeron.” Identify the
subjects and verbs by underlining the subject and circling the verb. Then decide whether the
subjects and verbs agree or not.
a. The United States Handicapper General, resembling Hazel Bergeron, applies handicaps to
people with positive attributes.
b. A rubber ball on his perfectly formed nose hides Harrison Bergeron’s attractiveness.
c. The newscaster, a man with a serious speech impediment, was unable to deliver his
announcement.
6. Work with a partner to come up with a way to check for subject-verb agreement in long sentences.
Editing
Read the following paragraph from a student’s essay about “Harrison Bergeron.” Work with a
partner to check whether subjects and verbs agree. Mark the text to show how you would correct
any mistakes you notice. Remember that sentences may contain more than one subject and verb.
[1] Hazel, who is considered to have too many emotions, are of average intelligence.
[2] However, the United States Handicapper General, the person who regulates each citizen’s
emotions, appearance, intelligence, and skill, always ensure that Hazel’s emotions stay in
check. [3] She forget her emotions almost instantly. [4] At the same time, Hazel, despite the
government’s best efforts, seem unable to escape her emotions. [5] Even though she cannot
remember why she is upset, she find herself crying frequently. [6] The image of her son on
television, for instance, bring her to tears.

Imagine that you are editing a classmate’s writing and you notice this sentence:
Intelligence, strength, and good looks, qualities that Harrison Bergeron possesses, is just
what the government is trying to control.

In your own words, write an explanation so that your classmate understands how to correct the
sentence. Then add an item to your Editor’s Checklist to help you remember how to check your
writing for subject-verb agreement.
Practice
Return to the summary you wrote in Activity 2.3, and check it for subject-verb agreement. Trade your
work with a partner. Be sure to:
• Underline subjects and circle verbs in the summary.
• Check that subjects and verbs agree.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
2.4 Previewing the Novel
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Visualizing • Collaboratively analyze the opening chapters of a fictional text, citing text
Levels of Questions evidence to support your analysis.
Inferring • Examine the relationship between character and setting in a fictional text.
Graphic Organizer
Note-taking Preview
Discussion Groups In this activity, you will analyze and explain utopian and dystopian themes
within a fictional text.
WORD CONNECTIONS
Genre Study: Science Fiction
Etymology
You will read a novel that questions whether a utopian society is possible. Such
Fantasy comes from the
novels generally fit into the genre of science fiction because they are set in the
Old French word fantasie
future or in an alternate reality. There is generally a pronounced scientific or
(“fantasy”), the Latin word
technological aspect to the story’s setting.
phantasia (“imagination”),
and the Ancient Greek 1. Read the following text to gather more information about science fiction (from
word phantasia, meaning readwritethink.org). As you read, highlight the characteristics of science fiction.
“apparition.” The literary genre
of fantasy is imaginative fiction
crafted in a setting other than Science fiction is a genre of fiction in which the stories often tell about
the real world. It involves science and technology of the future. It is important to note that science
creatures and events that are fiction has a relationship with the principles of science—these stories involve
improbable or impossible in the partially true/partially fictitious laws or theories of science. It should not
world as we know it. be completely unbelievable with magic and dragons because it would then
venture into the genre of fantasy. The plot creates situations different from
those of both the present day and the known past. Science fiction texts
also include a human element, explaining what effect new discoveries,
LITERARY
VOCABULARY
happenings, and scientific developments will have on us in the future.

Science fiction is a genre Science fiction texts are often set in the future, in space, on a different world,
in which the imaginary or in a different universe or dimension. Early pioneers of the genre of science

elements of the story could fiction are H. G. Wells (The War of the Worlds) and Jules Verne (20,000
be scientifically possible.
Leagues Under the Sea). Some well-known 20th-century science fiction texts
The protagonist of a fictional
include 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
work is its hero or central
character; the term is the
opposite of antagonist,
Making Inferences
a character who actively
opposes the main character. Preview the novel you will be reading as a class. Remind students that to infer is to
make an educated guess.
2. The cover art of a novel usually displays aspects of the novel’s content. Study
the cover of the class novel. Based on what it shows and what you know about
the science fiction genre, what can you infer about the story?
• Setting:
• Characters (protagonist and antagonist):
SAMPLE
• Plot:

2.4
• Theme:
Preparing to Read
3. Use the graphic organizer to note evidence that reveals important information about the
protagonist and setting. Then make inferences based on the evidence.
Literary Element Evidence (page #) Inferences
Protagonist
__________ (name)
Setting
(description of the
society/the way of life)
4. In your Reader/Writer Notebook, begin a personal vocabulary list. Make inferences and use
digital and print resources, context clues, and your knowledge of word roots to identify,
record, and define at least five new words. Apply these same strategies to new words in later
readings.
Levels of Questions
Remember that questioning a text on multiple levels can help you explore its meaning more fully.
Read the definitions and write an example of each type of question, based on texts you have read
in this unit. Before, during, and after reading sections of the class novel, you should routinely
pose Level 1 and 2 questions. Record these questions as they come to you in your Reader/Writer
Notebook.
• A Level 1 question is literal (the answer can be found in the text).
• A Level 2 question is interpretive (the answer can be inferred based on textual evidence).
• A Level 3 question is universal (the answer is about a concept or idea beyond the text).
SAMPLE
2.4
My Notes 5. Select and record an interesting quotation—relating to the protagonist and
setting—that you think is important to understanding the conflict or theme.
Then analyze the idea and form two thoughtful questions for discussion.
Record your ideas in the graphic organizer.
Quotation (page #)
Analysis
Questions
Level 1:
Level 2:

INDEPENDENT
READING LINK
Read and Respond Check Your Understanding
What challenges are faced Using the questions you have created for the novel you are reading, participate in
by the protagonist of your a brief discussion about the society the novel presents and the protagonist’s role
independent text? How do in it. How does society influence the values and beliefs of the protagonist?
these challenges illustrate
the conventions of dystopian
literature? Is the challenge
the protagonist faces similar
to that of the class novel? If
so, how? Write a summary
of what you have read so far,
citing information from sources
SAMPLE
outside the text, in your Reader/
Writer Notebook.

ACTIVITY
Contemplating Conflicting Perspectives 2.5

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Identify conflicting perspectives within the novel and explain how Shared Reading
themes are developed through interactions between characters. Close Reading
• Identify and analyze the importance of specific vocabulary to the story. Rereading
Questioning the Text
Preview Note-taking
In this activity, you will identify conflicting perspectives among the Discussion Groups
characters.
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
Perspectives Perspective is a point of
1. Other than the protagonist, who are the most important characters so far in view or a specific attitude
the story? What do you know about each of these characters? Make a list of toward something. Your
these characters and provide a brief description of each. perspective is how you look
at or interpret situations
or events. Differences in
perspective can sometimes
cause conflict.
2. Which of these characters usually agree with one another? Which of these
characters tend to disagree?
3. Conflict among people or between people and society is a result of conflicting

perspectives. Support this idea by identifying a topic that has created
the most important conflict so far in the story and contrast two different
perspectives about the topic.
Topic:
Character 1: Character 2:
Perspective: Perspective:
Textual Evidence (#): Textual Evidence (#):
SAMPLE
2.5
4. Write questions for discussion based on the information you provided in the chart.
• Level 1 (literal, factual):
• Level 2 (interpretive):
5. Which characters are questioning society? Analyze how the theme is developed through the
interaction between these characters.
6. Continue to expand your personal vocabulary list in your Reader/Writer Notebook. Use digital
and print resources, context clues, and your knowledge of word roots to identify, record, and
define at least five new words.
7. In addition to creating differences in characters’ perspectives, authors create differences

between the perspectives of the characters and that of the reader. Support this idea by
identifying a topic and comparing and contrasting a character’s perspective with your own
perspective. This time, include the main reason for each perspective and provide evidence from
the text for each reason.
Topic:
Character’s Perspective: My Perspective:

Main Reason: Main Reason:
Textual Evidence (page #) Textual Evidence (page #)

Write a summary of the plot of the novel so far. Tell how the characters’ conflicting perspectives
influence the events.
SAMPLE
2.5
LANGUAGE &
WRITER’S CRAFT: Subject-Verb Agreement
and Prepositions
Recall what you learned earlier in this unit about subject-verb agreement:
• Complete sentences always have a subject and a verb.
• The subject is whatever the sentence is about.
• The verb is the word that tells what the subject is or does.
• Making the verb match the subject is called subject-verb agreement.
PRACTICE Circle the choices that create sentences with correct subject-verb agreement.
The colors is/are beautiful.
The prettiest color/colors is blue.
The antique dealer was/were asked for an appraisal.
The police is/are investigating several local burglaries.
Subject-verb agreement can be a little confusing when a preposition or prepositional phrase

is part of a sentence, as shown in these incorrect examples:
• The dogs at the dog track runs faster than the average pet.
• A vase of wildflowers make a lovely centerpiece.
Both sentences are incorrect because the person who wrote them chose a verb that agrees
with the object of the preposition instead of the subject of the sentence. Here is how those
two sentences should be written:
• The dogs at the dog track run faster than the average pet.
• A vase of wildflowers makes a lovely centerpiece.
PRACTICE: Review the following sentences for subject-verb agreement. Copy them into your
Reader/Writer Notebook, and edit the sentences that have errors.
A dealer in rare books were asked to look at the collection.
Many secrets in the universe has yet to be discovered.

Shouts from the crowd are frightening the baby.

Identify the perspectives of two characters and explain how those perspectives highlight a
conflict in the story. Explain how the conflict between characters develops a theme in the
novel. Be sure to:
• Create a topic sentence that compares or contrasts the perspectives.
• Provide examples from the text and at least one direct quotation.
• Write at least one sentence that includes a prepositional phrase while maintaining correct
subject-verb agreement.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
2.6 Questioning Society
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Shared Reading • Make connections between specific rules and laws in a fictional society
Marking the Text and those of present society, referencing the text and notations from
Questioning the Text additional research and reading materials.
Socratic Seminar • Participate collaboratively on this topic in a Socratic Seminar.
Fishbowl
Preview
In this activity, you will read a short article about banned books and make
WORD CONNECTIONS connections to the novel you are reading.
Etymology
Censorship comes from the Setting a Purpose for Reading
Latin word censor. A censor
in Rome was responsible • As you read this article, underline words and phrases that relate to big concepts
for counting citizens and for that you have been thinking about in this unit. Prepare to summarize and
supervising and regulating their discuss these concepts.
morals. The suffix -ship makes
the word a noun.
• Jot down any questions that you may have while you read in the My Notes area.
My Notes
Banned Books Week:

Article
Celebrating the Freedom to Read

from the American Library Association

1 Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating
the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment.
Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week
highlights the benefits of free and open access to information
while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by
spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books
across the United States.
2 Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access
information and express ideas, even if the information
and ideas might be considered unorthodox or
unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books
Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the
availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints
for all who wish to read and access them.
3 The books featured during Banned Books
SAMPLE
Week have been targets of attempted bannings.

2.6
Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases
the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers,
GRAMMAR & USAGE
booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library Capitalization of Proper Nouns
collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly Look at the first three words of
banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country the first paragraph of the article.
did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our You know that a noun is a word
that names a person, place,
First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention
thing, or idea. A proper noun
to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of is one that names a particular
information in a free society. person, place, thing, or idea.
For example, “Banned Book
Week” names a week set aside
Working from the Text for a particular purpose (unlike
1. Review details in the article and determine the key idea. Which details phrases such as “last week,”
directly support the key idea behind Banned Book Week? Explain the author’s “this week,” or “next week,”
purpose for writing the article. which are common terms with no
special significance). Note that
when a phrase is used instead
of a single word to designate a
particular person, place, thing, or
idea, every word in that phrase
begins with a capital letter.
The acronym “BBW” is also in all
caps; this is standard practice for
2. Quickwrite: Explain why access to books is important to our society. What an acronym, a particular kind of
societal value does access to information symbolize? You may reference the abbreviation made up of the first
text in your response. letter of each word in a phrase.
An acronym is treated as a word
on its own.
Proper nouns are capitalized
wherever they appear in a
sentence. As you read the text,
look for other capitalized proper

Novel Study nouns. Analyze why they are
proper nouns (they denote a
A story’s setting is not simply the time and place in which it occurs. It is also particular month or a particular
the social environment in which characters live, act, and make choices. Social item on a famous list of items).
surroundings influence the values and beliefs of their inhabitants. Readers who As you examine them, think of
are sensitive to this aspect of setting are better able to understand the behavior similar examples of each.
of the characters. That understanding makes the theme of a literary piece easier
to detect.
3. Give an example of how the setting of “Harrison Bergeron” connects to the

title character and the story’s theme. How does that story’s setting compare
with that of your novel?
SAMPLE
2.6
4. How does the setting of “Harrison Bergeron” connect to the plot? Which events in the story are
influenced by the setting?
5. How are books viewed in the society of your novel’s protagonist? How does that society’s view
of books compare with that of the society in which you live?
6. What sort of books do you think might be banned in Harrison Bergeron’s society? Explain.
7. Think about the society in the novel you are reading. Which rules and/or laws do you
completely disagree with?
8. Take notes in the following chart to prepare for a collaborative discussion.
State the rule or law Analyze: Evaluate:

(paraphrase or Underlying Value State why you disagree with the rule or law, and
directly quote) then form a thoughtful Level 3 question to spark a
meaningful conversation with your peers.

1. Response:
page(s): ___ Level 3 Question:
2. Response:
page(s): ___ Level 3 Question:
3. Response:
page(s): ___
Level 3 Question:
SAMPLE
2.6
9. Continue to expand your personal vocabulary list in your Reader/Writer
Notebook. Use digital and print resources, context, and knowledge of word ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
roots to identify, record, and define at least five new words. The word Socratic is an
adjective formed from the
name of the philosopher
Socrates, who was famous
Check Your Understanding for using the question-
What do you think our country would be like if the government could ban books? and-answer method in his
State your thesis and give three examples to back it up. Record your answer in search for truth and wisdom.
your Reader/Writer Notebook. A seminar is a term used
to describe a small group
of students engaged in
Introducing the Strategy: Socratic Seminar intensive study.
A Socratic Seminar is a type of collaborative discussion designed to explore
a complex question, topic, or text. Participants engage in meaningful
dialogue by summarizing what is said, asking one another questions,
making comments, and using textual evidence to support responses. The
My Notes
goal is for participants to arrive at a deeper understanding of a concept or
idea by the end of the discussion. A Socratic Seminar is not a debate.
10. You will next participate in a Socratic Seminar. During the seminar, follow
these rules for collegial discussions:
• Challenge yourself to build on others’ ideas by summarizing those ideas
orally before asking questions in response to them. To do this effectively,
you will have to listen closely to comprehend and evaluate.
• Make clear transitions between your ideas to maintain coherence
throughout the discussion.
• Work to achieve a balance between speaking and listening within a group.
Make sure everyone has a chance to speak. Allow quiet time during
the discussion so that people have a chance to formulate a thoughtful
response.
• Have you heard the expression: “Be a frog, not a hog or a log”? What
do you think that means? Set two specific and attainable goals for the
discussion:
Speaking Goal:
Listening Goal:
SAMPLE
2.6
Oral Discussion sentence starters:
• I agree with your idea relating to ... , but it is also important to consider ...
• I disagree with your idea about ... , and I would like to point out ...
• You made a point about the concept of ... How are you defining that?
• On page ___, (a specific character) says ... I agree/disagree with this because ...
• On page ___, (a specific character) says ... This is important because ...
• On page ____, we learn ... , so would you please explain your last point about ... ?
• Add your own:
Introducing the Strategy: Fishbowl

Fishbowl is a speaking and listening strategy that divides a large group into an inner and an
outer circle. Students in the inner circle model appropriate discussion techniques as they
discuss ideas, while students in the outer circle listen to comprehend ideas and evaluate
the discussion process. During a discussion, students have the opportunity to experience
both circles.
11. Engage in the Socratic Seminar.

• When you are in the inner circle, you will need your work relating to rules and laws, a pen or
pencil, and the novel.
• When you are in the outer circle, you will need a pen or pencil and the note-taking sheet
that follows.
12. Quickwrite: Reflect on the ideas you discussed during the Socratic Seminar. Then, in the genre
of your choice, write to the protagonist of the novel you are reading, explaining your thoughts
on his or her society’s laws and rules. Before you begin writing, you should consider your
topic, purpose, and audience. What genre would be most appropriate? Use a strategy such

as creating a t-chart, brainstorming the pros and cons of the genre you are considering, or
discussing your ideas with a shoulder partner.
SAMPLE
2.6
Socratic Seminar Notes
Topic: Rules and Laws in a Utopian/Dystopian Society
Listening to Comprehend
• Interesting points:
1. ________________:
2. ________________:
3. ________________:
• My thoughts:
1.
2.
3.
Listening to Evaluate
• Speaking:
Strength:
Challenge:
• Listening:
Strength:
Challenge:
Reflection
• I did/did not meet my speaking and listening goals.

Explanation:
• I am most proud of:
SAMPLE
• Next time I will:

ACTIVITY
A Shift in Perspective:
2.7 Beginning the Adventure
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Summarizing • Identify how the Departure stage of the Hero’s Journey archetype
Close Reading provides a framework for understanding the actions of the protagonist.
Marking the Text • Analyze how an author uses nonlinear plot development.
Skimming/Scanning
• Organize coherent writing by using transitions.
Rereading
Drafting Preview
In this activity, you will analyze the protagonist’s journey.
LITERARY
VOCABULARY
A flashback is an Plot Development

interruption in the sequence When a writer presents the events of a story the way events happen in real life—
of events to relate events in time order—it is called linear plot development. Sometimes, though, a writer
that occurred in the past. needs to tell about an event from the past or hint about an event in the future.
Foreshadowing is the use of To share an event that happened at a point in time before the time of the story, a
clues to hint at events that writer uses flashback. To hint at a future event, a writer uses foreshadowing. The
will occur later in the plot. use of such techniques is called nonlinear plot development.
1. Conduct a close read of the assigned passage. How does the author let you
know that what you are about to read is a flashback? Make notes in the
graphic organizer that follows.
Flashbacks in the Novel

My Notes
Signal Notes
SAMPLE
2. Reread the passage, but this time identify examples of foreshadowing, and
use them to make inferences. Write your evidence and inferences in the
following graphic organizer.

2.7
Evidence of foreshadowing in the novel Inference about what is being foreshadowed
3. Both flashback and foreshadowing affect the plot and conflict of the story. With your group,
discuss how these techniques help the reader think about the conflict. Compare the plot of the
novel to a story that only uses linear plot development.
The Departure
4. What can you infer about the protagonist in this story? Make an inference based on relevant
descriptions (e.g., appearance, thoughts, feelings), actions, and/or dialogue. Support your
inference with evidence from the text. Follow this format:
Topic Sentence: State an important character trait.
• Supporting Detail/Evidence: Provide a transition, lead-in, and specific example that
demonstrates the trait.
• Commentary/Analysis: Explain how the evidence supports the trait.
• Commentary/Analysis: Explain why this character trait is important to the story.
5. In Unit 1, you studied the Hero’s Journey archetype. What do you remember about the
departure? In the left column, provide a brief summary of the initial steps and their importance.
Stage 1: The Departure
Stage and Definition Connection to the Story
Step 1: The Call to Adventure
Step 2: Refusal of the Call
Step 3: The Beginning of the Adventure
SAMPLE
2.7
6. The protagonist is considered the hero of the story. Readers most often
WORD CONNECTIONS
identify with his or her perspective. While you read, use sticky notes to mark
Roots and Affixes text that could reflect the protagonist’s Departure. On each note, comment on
the connection to the archetype.
Sequential is the adjective form
of the word sequence, which 7. Continue to expand your personal vocabulary list in your Reader/Writer
comes from the Latin root Notebook. Use digital and print resources, context, and knowledge of word
sequi, meaning “to follow.” roots to identify, record, and define at least five new words.
Chronological order means
“time order,” reflecting the 8. There are a few things you should remember as you skim/scan the first half of
origin of the word in chronos, the story and revisit your sticky notes on the Departure.
a Greek word meaning “time.” • Remember that the Hero’s Journey is organized sequentially, in
chronological order (although some steps may occur at the same time or
not at all). This means that once you connect a step to the story, the next
step in the journey must reflect an event that occurs later in the story.
• Because this task is based on interpretation, there is more than one correct
answer. To convince an audience of your interpretation, you must be able
to provide a convincing explanation.
• Go back to The Departure chart, and add connections to the story. Use this
information in your response to the prompt that follows.

In preparation for writing, create an outline of the protagonist’s departure in your
novel by completing each sentence that follows.
First, the protagonist
Then
As a result,

Next, the protagonist
Finally,

Explain the beginning of the protagonist’s journey using the first three steps
of the Hero’s Journey archetype to guide your explanation. Be sure to:
• Establish a clear controlling idea.
• Develop ideas with relevant and convincing evidence from the text
(include at least one direct quotation) and analysis.
SAMPLE
• Use appropriate and varied transitions to create coherence and clarify the
relationships among ideas (i.e., steps in the Hero’s Journey).

ACTIVITY
Navigating the Road of Trials 2.8

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze how a character’s dialogue influences the events of a narrative. Close Reading
Rereading
• Demonstrate how the Initiation stage of the Hero’s Journey archetype
provides a framework for the protagonist in the class novel. Graphic Organizer
Shared Reading
Preview Marking the Text
In this activity, you will continue to analyze the journey taken by the novel’s Note-taking
protagonist. Discussion Group
The Initiation
My Notes
1. Review the Initiation stage of the Hero’s Journey. What do you remember
about:
Step 4. The Road of Trials
Step 5. The Experience with Unconditional Love
2. In the previous activity, you interpreted the protagonist’s Departure. Now

begin your interpretation of the next two steps in the protagonist’s journey:
the Road of Trials and the Experience with Unconditional Love.
• List three significant trials (conflicts)—in chronological order—that occur
after the event you identified as Step 3 of the Hero’s Journey.
• If possible, connect the experience with unconditional love to the trial.
• Analyze how the trial and the experience with unconditional love affect the
protagonist.
Trial (focus on conflicts with Experience with Effect (actions; words; thoughts/
other characters and society) Unconditional Love feelings)
1.
2.
3.
SAMPLE
2.8
3. Who is the antagonist in the story? How would you describe this character? What does he
or she value or believe? What motivates this person and how does this influence events in
the novel?
4. Prepare for a small group discussion by continuing to focus on the trials and unconditional
love experienced by the protagonist. Use sticky notes for the following:
• Mark conflicts reflected in dialogue spoken by other characters and analyze how the
dialogue affects the protagonist’s perspective on his society, encouraging him to reject their
way of life.
• Mark evidence of unconditional love reflected in dialogue spoken by other characters and
analyze how the dialogue affects the protagonist’s perspective on his society, encouraging
him to reject their way of life.
and print resources, context, and knowledge of word roots to identify, record, and define at
least five new words.
6. Using the notes you have prepared about important dialogue, engage in a small group
discussion based on the following prompt.
Discussion Prompt: Analyze how specific lines of dialogue provoke the protagonist to make
the decision to reject his dystopian society.

Quickwrite: Think back over the group discussion about dialogue and conflict that you participated
in for question 6. Prepare a brief written summary of the points your group made.

In a paragraph, explain how the trials (conflicts) experienced by the main character in
your novel and the evidence of unconditional love are representative of the Hero’s Journey
archetype. Explain how these events develop the theme of the novel. Be sure to:
• Include a topic sentence.
• Use evidence from the novel.
• Show an understanding of the steps of the journey archetype.
• Check your writing for correct subject-verb agreement.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
The End of the Journey 2.9

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Contrast the hero and another character in the novel and consider how Discussion Groups
their differences convey the author’s message in the text. Shared Reading
• Explore the final stage of the Hero’s Journey archetype and its portrayal Close Reading
in the novel. Note-taking
• Analyze the theme of the class novel. Drafting
Preview
• In this activity, you will write a reflection of how your protagonist has changed
over the course of the novel, citing evidence from the text as support.
My Notes
Characterization Using Appositives

1. Remember that an appositive is a noun or a pronoun that identifies or
explains another noun or pronoun. Look at the following examples using the
characters from “Harrison Bergeron.”
• Harrison Bergeron, an exceptional individual, was handicapped by society.
• George, Harrison’s father, is forced to wear a little mental handicap radio.
• Hazel, a person of average intelligence, is not handicapped.
2. Write two sentences, each using an appositive, to describe the protagonist of
the novel.

Try using an appositive to add more information to one of the sentences you wrote
about the protagonist, and rewrite it in the space that follows.
Character Transformation
3. Think about the protagonist’s Departure into the Hero’s Journey (Stage 1) and
his Road of Trials. How has the character changed as a result of these trials or
conflicts? Use the following sentence frame to explain the change. Be sure to
provide evidence to support your interpretation.
In the beginning, the protagonist was _______________, but after
_____________________, he becomes _______________.
4. What do you remember about the boon in Stage 2, the Initiation of the Hero’s
Journey?
Step 6: The Ultimate Boon:

SAMPLE
2.9
My Notes LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Active vs. Passive Voice
Some sentences have three main parts, a subject, a verb, and an object. In
sentences with an object, the verb has a voice. The “voice” shows whether
or not the subject performs the action identified by the verb. In a sentence
with an active voice, the subject performs the action stated by the verb. In a
sentence with a passive voice, the subject is acted upon by the verb.
In the active voice, the subject is doing the main action of the sentence:
A news bulletin interrupted the television program.
The subject, a news bulletin, performs the action of the verb, to interrupt.
The television program is the object of the verb interrupted.
In the passive voice, the action is happening to the subject:
The television program was interrupted for a news bulletin.
The focus of the sentence has shifted to the television program rather than
a news bulletin. Notice that the subject and object in the passive sentence
changed places. Also notice that the verb to be is used.
INDEPENDENT When you revise your work, look for the subject, verb, and the object in each
READING LINK sentence. Where are they placed? Is the object of the verb’s action where
Read and Connect the subject should be? Revising your work to the active voice makes your
Find information on a person language clearer and more direct.
who has experienced a
Example: Look at these passive sentences based on “Harrison Bergeron”:
challenge similar to the
protagonist in the class Harrison was taken by H-G men.
novel. What has this person’s
journey been? How is it similar A police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen.
and different to that of your PRACTICE: Rewrite the sentences above in the active voice.
protagonist? Does this person
embody the concept of a
“hero?” Why or why not? Write

your response in your Reader/
Writer Notebook.
5. How do conflicts with society (including characters who believe in the

society’s way of life) transform the character into a hero? What are the hero’s
behaviors and motivations that influence these events and the resolution to
the conflicts? As you read, take notes in the chart that follows.
Conflict with Society Heroic Traits Revealed through Connection to Theme

Conflict
SAMPLE
2.9
and print resources, context, and knowledge of word roots to identify, record, and define at
least five new words.
7. Interpret the hero’s boon: What did the hero achieve through this journey?
8. Which characteristics helped the hero to achieve the boon or influence the resolution to the
conflict? Explain.
Writing Introductory Paragraphs

9. Read and analyze the following samples of introductory paragraphs. Which one would be used
to write an essay structured as compare/contrast? Which would introduce an essay based on a
different informational organizational structure?
Sample 1
People say that kids are a lot like their parents, but in Kurt Vonnegut’s short story
“Harrison Bergeron,” this is definitely not the case. Harrison Bergeron, the protagonist, and
Hazel Bergeron, Harrison’s mother, have close to nothing in common. Hazel is completely
average and therefore content, while her son is completely superior and therefore rebellious.
Sample 2
A hero must be willing to take risks and have the courage to go against the norm to
help others. “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is a story of how society holds back its
most talented members in search of the supposed ideal of equality. Harrison Bergeron, the
protagonist, is a would-be hero who is struck down before he has the opportunity to begin,
much less complete, his hero’s journey.
SAMPLE
2.9
In small groups, discuss the trials experienced by the main character in your novel. With your
classmates, discuss whether these trials are examples of the Hero’s Journey archetype. Use
evidence from the novel to support your discussion.

Analyze the two prompts that follow. Notice that each prompt requires a different
organizational structure. Choose one of the prompts and write a response.
Writing Prompt 1: Think about the protagonist’s characteristics, what he achieved, and
how he changed by the end of the story. Contrast the protagonist with another character
from his society. Be sure to:
• Introduce the topic clearly, establishing a clear controlling idea.
• Provide examples from the text (including at least one direct quotation) and analysis to
support your ideas.
• Sequence ideas logically using the appropriate compare/contrast structure.
• Choose the appropriate verb mood for the ideas you want to express.
• Write in active voice unless the passive voice is specifically needed.
Writing Prompt 2: Think about the final stage in the Hero’s Journey: the Crossing or Return
Threshold. What does the hero learn about life (theme) as a result of the events that take
place? Be sure to:
• Introduce the topic clearly, establishing a clear controlling idea.
• Provide examples from the text (including at least one direct quotation) and analysis to
support your ideas.
• Sequence ideas logically to explain how the protagonist’s transformation connects to
what he learns.
• Choose the appropriate verb mood for the ideas you want to express.

• Write in active voice unless the passive voice is specifically needed.

As a culminating project for your independent reading, you will share your research about a
challenge in society with the class. Complete a RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) to plan a first
draft. Choose a format, or genre that is appropriate for your audience, topic, and purpose. Then,
discuss your ideas with a partner. After you have finalized your ideas, create your first draft.
SAMPLE
EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
Writing an Informational Essay 1
ASSIGNMENT
Think about how writers organize and develop ideas in informational writing. Use an
informational organizational structure to communicate your understanding of the concept of
dystopia or the concept of the Hero’s Journey. Select one of the prompts that follow.
• Write an essay that compares and contrasts life in the dystopian society of the novel you
read with our modern-day society.
• Write an essay that explains how the protagonist (hero) changes as a result of conflict
with his dystopian society (Road of Trials) and how this change connects to the novel’s
theme (the Crossing or Return Threshold).
Planning and Prewriting: ■■ Which prompt do you feel better prepared to respond to with examples
Take time to plan your from literature and real life?
essay. ■■ What prewriting strategies (such as freewriting or graphic organizers)
could help you brainstorm ideas and organize your examples?
Drafting: Write a multi- ■■ How will you introduce the topic clearly and establish a controlling idea
paragraph essay that (thesis)?
effectively organizes your ■■ How will you develop the topic with well-chosen examples and thoughtful
ideas. analysis (commentary)?
■■ How will you logically sequence the ideas using an appropriate structure
and transitions?
■■ How will your conclusion support your ideas?
Evaluating and Revising the ■■ During the process of writing, when can you pause to share and respond
Draft: Create opportunities with others in order to elicit suggestions and ideas for revision?
to review and revise your ■■ How can the Scoring Guide help you evaluate how well your draft meets
work.
Publication: Confirm your the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, spelling,
final draft is ready for grammar, and usage?
publication. ■■ How did you use TLQC (transition/lead-in/quote/citation) to properly
embed quotations?
■■ How did you ensure use of the appropriate voice and mood in your writing?
Reflection
• How has your understanding of utopia and dystopia developed through the reading in
this unit?
SAMPLE
EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
1
SCORING GUIDE
Scoring
Criteria

• maintains a focused • responds to one of • has an unclear or • has no obvious thesis
thesis in response to the prompts with a unrelated thesis • provides minimal
one of the prompts clear thesis • develops ideas supporting details,
• develops ideas • develops ideas unevenly or facts, or evidence
thoroughly with adequately with with inadequate • lacks commentary.
relevant supporting supporting details, supporting details,
details, facts, and facts, and evidence facts, or evidence
evidence • provides sufficient • provides insufficient
• provides insightful commentary to commentary to
commentary and demonstrate demonstrate
deep analysis. understanding. understanding.

• has an engaging • has a complete • has a weak or partial • lacks an introduction
introduction introduction introduction • has little or no
• uses an effective • uses an appropriate • uses an inconsistent obvious organizational
organizational organizational organizational structure
structure for a multi- structure for a multi- structure for a multi- • uses few or no
paragraph essay paragraph essay paragraph essay transitional strategies
• uses a variety of • uses transitional • uses transitional • provides no
transitional strategies strategies to link or strategies conclusion.
to create cohesion compare and contrast ineffectively or
and unity among ideas inconsistently
ideas • provides a conclusion • provides a weak or
• provides an insightful that supports the unrelated conclusion.

conclusion. thesis.

Language • conveys a consistent • conveys an academic • uses insufficient • uses limited or vague
academic voice by voice by using some language and language
using a variety of literary terms and vocabulary to convey • lacks quotations
literary terms and precise language an academic voice • lacks command of
precise language • embeds quotations • embeds quotations the conventions of
• embeds quotations correctly incorrectly or standard English
effectively • demonstrates unevenly capitalization,
• demonstrates adequate command • demonstrates partial punctuation, spelling,
command of the of the conventions or inconsistent grammar, and usage;
conventions of of standard English command of the frequent errors
standard English capitalization, conventions of obscure meaning.
capitalization, punctuation, spelling, standard English
punctuation, spelling, grammar, and usage capitalization,
grammar, and usage (including a variety of punctuation, spelling,
(including a variety of syntax). grammar, and usage.
SAMPLE
syntax).

ACTIVITY

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Review vocabulary, using a dictionary to improve understanding of QHT
difficult terms. Close Reading
• Review the assessment and scoring guide and paraphrase the expectations. Paraphrasing
Graphic Organizer
Preview
In this activity, you will begin to explore the skills and knowledge necessary
to write an effective argumentative essay.
My Notes
Making Connections
It can be said that writers of fiction, especially dystopian novels, are trying to make
a point or criticize some aspect of society. In this part of the unit, you will think
about how you can have an impact by creating a well-reasoned argument about
a social issue important to you.
Essential Questions
Reflect on your understanding of Essential Question 1: To what extent can a
perfect or ideal society exist? Then respond to Essential Question 2, which will be
the focus of the rest of the unit: What makes an argument effective?
Re-sort the Academic and Literary Vocabulary using the QHT strategy. Use a
dictionary to look up any words still in the Q column. Review their definitions.
Choose one word from the list and write a concise statement about how your
understanding of this term has improved.

Closely read the Embedded Assessment 2 assignment.

Write an argumentative essay in which you convince an audience to
support your claim about a debatable idea. Use your research and
INDEPENDENT
experience or observations to support your argument. READING LINK
Reading Plan
Now consult the Scoring Guide and work with your class to paraphrase the
While creating an
expectations. Create a graphic organizer to use as a visual reminder of the argumentative essay, you will
required concepts and skills. have the opportunity to read
After each activity, use this graphic organizer to guide reflection about what texts on your own. Choose
you have learned and what you still need to learn in order to be successful in argumentative texts, including
completing the Embedded Assessment. speeches and essays, to
inspire your writing. Use the
Resources section of your
book, your Reading Lists and
Logs, and your teacher to help
you select appropriate texts. As
a class, brainstorm and share
recommendations. Record your
SAMPLE
choices on the My Independent
Reading List.

ACTIVITY
2.11 Understanding Elements of Argumentation
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Marking the Text • Explore the genre of argumentative writing.
Graphic Organizer
• Understand the parts of an argumentative essay.
Preview
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
In this activity, you will read and analyze part of an eighth-grader’s written
An argument is a logical argument.
appeal, supported by
reasons and evidence, to
persuade an audience to Looking Ahead to Argumentative Writing
take an action or agree with
Based on your current understanding, how are informational and argumentative
a point of view.
writing similar? How are they different?
Similarities:
Differences:
Main Parts of an Argument

People convince skeptical people to change their opinions every day. You observe
this in politics and in school—even at home. Do certain people simply have a
way with words, or is there a strategy to help you become more persuasive? To

begin building your powers of persuasion, study the four main components in an
argumentative essay.
Parts of an Argument Explanation Helpful Questions
Claims • offer solutions to problems What do you think about this

• try to convince a reader to change his thoughts or problem?
actions related to a problem
• based on reasons
Reasoning • logical grounds that show that your claim is important Why do you believe this?
• link between the claim and evidence
Evidence • data or facts that support your claim How do you know your idea
is right?
Counterclaims • an alternate point of view that challenges your claim What other solutions to the
problem are possible?
SAMPLE
2.11
Setting a Purpose for Reading My Notes
• As you read, annotate the text using four colors of highlighters to identify
claims, evidence, reasoning, and counterclaims.
• Jot down questions you have about the essay in the My Notes section.
Essay
Pri v a t e Eyes
by Brooke Chorlton (an eighth-grader from Washington State)
1 “Private eyes, they’re watching you, they see your every move,” sang
the band Hall and Oates in their 80s hit “Private Eyes.” A popular song
three decades ago is quite relevant to life today. We do not live very private
lives, mainly due to the Internet, whose sole purpose is to help people share
everything. But there are still boundaries to what we have to share. Employers
should not require access to the Facebook pages of potential or current
employees because Facebook is intended to be private, is not intended to be
work-related, and employers do not need this medium to make a good hiring
decision.
2 It is true that the Internet is not private, and it is also true that Facebook
was not created to keep secrets; it is meant for people to share their life with
the selected people they choose as their “friends.” However, Facebook still
has boundaries or some limits, so that members can choose what to share. As
a fourteen-year-old girl I know for a fact, because I have seen it, that when
you are setting up your Facebook account, you are able to choose the level
of security on your page. Some choose to have no security; if someone on
Facebook were to search them, they would be able to see all of their friends,
photos, and posts. And, according to Seattle Times journalists Manuel Valdes
and Shannon McFarland, “It has become common for managers to review
publically available Facebook Profiles.” The key words are “publically available.”
The owners of these profiles have chosen to have no boundaries, so it is not
as big a deal if an employer were to look at a page like this. But others choose
to not let the rest of the world in; if you search them, all that would come up
would be their name and profile picture. That is all: just a name and a picture.
Only the few selected to be that person’s friends are allowed into their online
world, while the strangers and stalkers are left out in the cold. It is not likely
that you would walk up to a stranger and share what you did that weekend.
Orin Kerr, a George Washington University law professor and former federal prosecutor: a person who
prosecutor, states that requiring someone’s password to their profile is, “akin institutes legal proceedings
against someone
to requiring [their] house keys.” If we expect privacy in our real world life,
SAMPLE
akin: similar
shouldn’t we be able to have privacy in our online life as well?

2.11
1. As you reread the essay, use four different colored highlighters to identify the parts of the
writer’s argument. Mark the writer’s claim with the first color, reasons with the second color,
evidence with the third color, and counterclaim with the fourth color. Then turn to a partner
and take turns explaining each element of the argument.
2. Based on your highlighted information and your rereading, what is the writer’s purpose? Why
does the writer end the essay with a question?
3. Who is the writer’s audience? Use textual evidence to support your answer.
4. Discuss whether or not the writer’s claim is believable. Which reasons and evidence are the
most compelling? Was the counterclaim more believable than the claim? Explain your answer.
Beginning to Construct an Argument

5. Think of a technology-related topic that has two sides that can be argued. Decide which side of
the issue you want to argue. Brainstorm possible topics and claims.
Topics:
Claims:
SAMPLE
2.11
Refining Your Claim
Choose one of the claims from your brainstorm that is most appealing to you. Then confirm
that you agree with your claim by asking yourself, “What do I believe about this issue or
problem?”
Ask yourself, “Why do I believe this?” Explain your reasoning. If you struggle to come up with a
reason, revisit your claim and be sure this is the position you want to take.
When you have at least three solid reasons, ask yourself, “How do I know this idea is right?”
Consider possible counterclaims. Ask yourself, “What other solutions are possible?” Think
about these alternatives and how someone else might defend them.
If your claim is strongly supported, you are ready for peer-editing. If not, revise your claim and
repeat the above steps.
Peer-Editing
Switch papers with your designated partner. As you read your partner’s claim and supporting
information, consider the following questions and share your answers:
• Does the claim take a strong and clear position?
• Do the reasons support the claim?
• Which reasons are strong? Which reasons need more development?
Consider the advice from your peer to help you revise your claim and reasoning.
Since the invention of the Internet, the way people interact with each other has changed.
As you just read in the essay “Private Eyes,” it is more difficult to keep your life private,
even if you have the proper security settings. With a partner, discuss how social media can
cause problems at school and in your community. Then think about what other things beside
social media can cause conflicts between you and your classmates. Record your ideas in a
two-column chart with these headings: “Problems Caused by Social Media” and “Problems
Caused by Other Things.” Then use the chart to summarize your discussion in your Reader/
Writer Notebook. As a final step, work with your partner to come up with a solution for one of
the problems in your chart. Present your idea orally to another pair of students in your class.

Now that you have revised your claims, share them orally in small groups or with the whole class.
As you present your ideas, be sure to make eye contact and maintain adequate volume and clear
pronunciation so that you communicate your ideas effectively.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
2.12 Don’t Hate—Debate!
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Visualizing • Plan both sides of a debate using rhetorical appeals.
KWHL
• Use anecdote, illustration, or analogy to support a claim.
Debate
Brainstorming Preview
Note-taking
In this activity, you will learn about rhetorical appeals and how they can
Graphic Organizer strengthen an argumentative essay.
ACADEMIC Rhetorical Appeals

VOCABULARY
Illustration explains how 1. Rhetorical appeals are an important part of creating a convincing and
your solution or point of view persuasive argument. Read the definitions that follow to understand how
will result in something good writers or speakers use each type of appeal. Included are some examples of
for the audience. rhetorical devices that fall under each category of rhetorical appeals.
An analogy is a comparison
between two things,
Appeal Meaning
typically for the purpose of
explanation or clarification.
Logos • an appeal to reason; providing logical reasoning and evidence in
An anecdote is a short the form of description, narration, and/or exposition
narrative of an interesting,
• illustration (example or story that helps explain or justify a point)
amusing, or biographical
incident. • analogy (uses a more familiar concept to help explain an
A debate is an informal or unfamiliar one)
formal discussion in which
opposing arguments are put Pathos • an appeal to emotions; using descriptive, connotative, and
forward. A debate usually figurative language for effect; providing an emotional anecdote;
focuses on a debatable or or developing tone
controversial issue.
Ethos • an appeal based on trust or character; demonstrating that you
understand the audience’s point of view; making the audience

believe that you are knowledgeable and trustworthy; showing
INDEPENDENT that you have researched your topic by supporting reasons with
READING LINK appropriate, logical evidence and reasoning
Read and Discuss
Choose one essay or speech
from your Independent Reading 2. Create a visual of each type of appeal to help you remember its definition.
List that contains a compelling
claim or argument. What
makes the claim or argument
effective? Share your ideas
The purpose of a debate is to provide an opportunity to collect and orally
with a partner. Compare
your examples, compiling a present evidence supporting the affirmative and negative arguments of a
list of similarities, including proposition or issue. During a debate, participants follow a specific order
strategies they both use to of events and often have a time limit for making their points. Participants
build a strong argument. As need to advocate their position using rhetorical appeals, like the ones listed
a class, build a detailed list above, while employing eye contact, speaking rate, volume, enunciation, a
of ways an author creates a variety of natural gestures, and conventions of language to communicate
compelling claim. Document their ideas effectively. Listen to your teacher as he or she explains each of
SAMPLE
your response in your Reader/ these elements of good oral communication.
Writer Notebook.

2.12
Preparing to Debate My Notes
A debate provides an opportunity to practice creating a reasoned argument and to
identify and use appeals when trying to convince others of your point of view. You
will engage in a debate on a topic from the article that follows.
3. Read and respond to the following news article, first by circling any words you
don’t know that you think are important, and next by deciding whether you
are for or against the legislation.
Article
Representative Urges
Action on the Media
In order to combat what he calls the dangerous increases in teens’ harmful
media habits, Representative Mark Jenkins has recently introduced legislation
that would make it a crime for anyone under the age of 18 to engage with more
than two hours of media a day on the weekdays and three hours a day on the
weekends. The bill defines “media” as television, radio, commercial magazines,
non-school related Internet and any blogs or podcasts with advertising. Penalties
for violation can range from forfeiture of driver’s licenses and media counseling
to fines for parents or removal of media tools (TVs, computers, phones, etc.).
Monitoring systems will be set up in each Congressional district through the
offices of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency. Rep. Jenkins
could not be reached for comment because he was appearing on television.
4. Read the debate prompt (always posed as an interrogative sentence).
Debate: Should the government restrict media usage for anyone under
the age of 18 to two hours a day on weekdays and three hours a day on
weekends?
5. Use the following tables to plan arguments for both sides of the issue. Consider
valid reasons for and against the debate topic, find evidence in support of the
arguments, and brainstorm various rhetorical appeals to help persuade the
audience. Try to use at least one anecdote, illustration, and analogy. During the
debate, you will use these notes to argue your side of the issue.
YES, the government should restrict media usage because:
Reason 1: Evidence: Appeals:
SAMPLE
2.12
NO, the government should not restrict media usage because:
Engaging in a Debate
6. When it is your turn to speak, engage in the debate and be sure to reflect on and adjust your
statements as your classmates present their arguments. Be able to argue either claim. Keep in
mind the elements of argument and the different types of appeals. Be sure to use appropriate
eye contact, speaking rate, volume, enunciation, a variety of natural gestures, conventions of
language, and a clear voice when speaking in a debate. Use the following sentence starters as
support during the debate:
• I agree with your point about ... , but it is also important to consider ...
• I disagree with your point about ... , and I would I like to counter with the idea that ...
• You made a good point about ... , but have you considered ...
• Your point about ... is an appeal to emotions, and so it is not a logical reason/explanation.
Evidence shows ...
7. When it is your turn to listen, evaluate others’ arguments for their use of rhetorical appeals.
Record notes in the following chart as you identify examples of effective and ineffective
appeals and the rhetorical devices used. Then provide a brief explanation for each example.
Use of Rhetorical Appeals Explain and Evaluate
8. After the debate, reflect on the ideas you shared and the ideas you heard from your © 2021 College Board. All rights reserved.
classmates. How would you adjust your initial response to the debate prompt now that you
have heard new evidence?

Prepare for discussion by answering these questions in your Reader/Writer Notebook: What types
of rhetorical appeals provided the most effective support for the topic during the debate? What,
if any, appeals were convincing enough to make you change your mind about the issue? Explain
your answers.
9. Review your claims from the previous lesson and identify whether or not you used any logos,
pathos, or ethos appeals to support your claims. If you did, label them; if you did not, add
SAMPLE
at least one of these appeals to your argument. As a class, share your findings. Discuss how
logos, pathos, and ethos can strengthen your claims.

ACTIVITY
Highlighting Logos 2.13

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Identify and analyze parts of arguments, including counterarguments. Marking the Text
Close Reading
• Determine the intended audience in two texts.
Rereading
about self-driving cars.
Preview
In this activity, you will read and analyze two texts that take different sides
on an issue.

• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by
using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
About the Author

Edward Humes is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
and author of over a dozen books. As a reporter,
Humes pursued complex stories that other writers
ignored or overlooked. This led him to a career
writing nonfiction books and introducing his
readers to the surprising aspects of ordinary places
such as juvenile court and landfills.
Essay
INDEPENDENT
The Promise of a READING LINK

Knowledge Question:
Post-Driver Life
How are humans the biggest
flaw behind self-driving cars?
Across Activities 2.13, 2.15, and

In this third in a series of opinion essays by thought leaders, a Pulitzer Prize–winning 2.16, you will read an essay,
author forecasts the future of transportation an editorial, and two articles
about self‑driving cars. While
by Edward Humes
you read and build knowledge
1 What would surprise you most about your morning commute if you about the topic, think about
woke up to find yourself beamed 80 years into the future? Self-driving cars your answer to the Knowledge
Question.
would be a good guess—but no. Autonomous transport will be ubiquitous
by the 2040s, if not sooner. Shared fleets of driverless, personal transit will
be unremarkable by 2096. The future shock in 80 years will be the end of
everything we hate most about car society today: parking, traffic jams, and autonomous: without the help
motor death itself. of humans
SAMPLE
ubiquitous: everywhere at once
2 A leading killer of Americans under the age of 35—vehicle crashes—will
have become less common in 2096 than death by a lightning strike.

2.13
My Notes 3 The long fight by Consumer Reports and others against unsafe cars has
been invaluable, but only the rise of truly autonomous cars will finally address
the most deadly and enduring design flaw in our vehicles: the human behind
the wheel. And that shift, seemingly radical today but utterly commonsense
tomorrow, can transform for the better our cities, our economy, our
environment, and our way of life.
4 If we play our cards right.
5 It’s easy to forget that, 80 years ago, cars lacked even the most basic safety
measures. It took many decades before cars had seat belts, laminated safety
glass, airbags, crumple zones, and child safety seats that actually work.
6 While safety technology has made many crashes more survivable and
prevented some others, it can’t truly overcome bad driving. And make no
mistake: Bad driving is the primary cause of fatal car crashes, most of which
are the result of driving too drunk, too fast, or too distracted.
7 The phrase “car crash” is a pointed choice here. The everyday term “car
accident” is a lie we tell ourselves as almost all crashes result from avoidable
acts of negligence, recklessness, foolishness, or law breaking. In the 1920s, these
were rightly called “motor killings.” Today’s euphemism of “accidents” allows
us to pretend that the toll of bad driving is the unavoidable cost of modern
mobility. And so we avert our gaze from the carnage
on U.S. roads: an estimated 38,300 deaths and 4.4
million serious injuries in 2015 alone …
8 The encouraging news is that recent trends
in auto safety aren’t just about shielding us during
crashes—which is critical and saves lives—but
about endeavoring to prevent disaster in the first
place. This evolution began with antilock brakes and
electronic stability control in the ’80s and ’90s, and

continues today with collision-avoidance systems
that can commandeer the brakes when sensors
perceive a crash is imminent.
9 The way forward is clear: We need a
concerted effort to add more layers of carefully
tested and validated autonomy to cars, ultimately
pushing human drivers out of the loop.
10 Cruise-control tech already in most cars—a primitive form of autonomy—
could be repurposed to prevent drivers from exceeding posted speed limits. (Not
euphemism: the substitution of
to mention that speed limits are too high to begin with. We allow cars to do 40
a mild word for a harsh one mph where pedestrians are present, knowing this may kill almost half the people
avert: to turn away struck at this speed. At 20 mph, pedestrian fatalities fall to 7 percent.)
imminent: about to happen 11 Blood alcohol touch sensors currently in the prototype stage could end
concerted: planned together by drunken driving for good by shutting off the car and automatically summoning
agreement a ride-share.
SAMPLE
primitive: first or earliest

2.13
12 And smartphones—a leading factor in distracted driving—can be forced My Notes
by an even smarter car into voice-command-only status. Countless lives and
many millions in medical and insurance costs could be saved with these simple
advances …
13 Here’s what 2096 could look like if the promise is nurtured into reality,
along with a few other key advances that will transform transportation.
Cities Will Be Remade

14 Because driverless cars can move bumper to bumper safely in much
skinnier lanes with no traffic jams, new urban cores can devote 40 to 60
percent of space previously used for street and parking infrastructure to
public and open space. And because these will be shared electric fleets rather
than individually owned gas burners, air quality will improve while fossil-fuel
dependence wanes.
Mass Transit Will Be Transformed

15 Bus-sized robot coaches can also platoon bumper to bumper—forming
de facto trains—then peel off for various stops to suit passengers. Country,
suburb, and city can be seamlessly linked. Driving alone in a car for a long
distance will be viewed as a shockingly wasteful historical absurdity.
People Will Become Healthier

16 Repurposed streets and shared fleets will de-emphasize car culture, and
encourage walking and biking for short trips. This could result in a triumph
over obesity and heart disease as Americans embrace exercise as a natural part
of everyday life.
The Movement of Goods Will Be Revolutionized

17 Advanced 3D printing will make a great deal of shipping and global trade
obsolete as manufacturing will become a local activity. Consumers will buy a

product design online, then it will be “printed” at the neighborhood 3D shop
for pickup. Meanwhile, giant solar airships and airliner-sized drones will move
other cargo across the globe.
Going to Work May Become a Perk

18 Augmented reality, digital commuting, and virtual meetings will make
daily commuting an option, not a requirement. But face-to-face brainstorming,
camaraderie with peers, and the need for human connection will keep many of
us commuting. And why not? In a world with personal rapid transit, walkable
and bikeable streets, and no traffic jams, there’ll be nothing to dread about
rush hour.
Knowledge Quest
infrastructure: basic
• What details in the article surprised you?
framework of a system
SAMPLE
• What additional questions do you have about self-driving cars? obsolete: no longer used

2.13
your responses.
1. Which text features were the most effective in helping you understand the article?
2. Why does the author begin the essay with a rhetorical question? Explain its purpose.
3. Reread paragraph 3. Explain the metaphor of a “design flaw.” What does it mean, and why
does he say it?

4. In paragraph 7, the author states that calling a car crash an “accident” is a euphemism. What
point is he making? How does this statement set a tone for his argument?
5. What is the purpose of the bold headings in the last five paragraphs of the article?
SAMPLE
2.13
6. Which of the author’s appeals made the greatest impact on you? Explain how it supported the
author’s claim.
7. KQ In paragraph 11, what can you infer about the meaning of the word prototype based on its
context?
8. KQ How does the author’s use of the metaphor “design flaw” point to a larger irony about
self-driving cars?

9. Now that you have read and analyzed the essay, complete the chart that follows. Restate
the author’s claim in your own words. Then add three pieces of evidence or appeals and the
specific rhetorical devices used from the text. Compare your chart with a partner’s and then
work together to create a counterclaim. Think about what someone would say if she or he
believed autonomous cars were dangerous or unrealistic. Be sure to consider your audience as
you build your counterclaim. Take turns with your partner debating these claims.
Claim
Evidence or Appeal 1 Evidence or Appeal 2 Evidence or Appeal 3
SAMPLE
2.13
About the Author

The Times Editorial Board is comprised of
10 members from different backgrounds
who speak for the Los Angeles Times. They
produce editorials, articles that express the
newspaper’s viewpoint on various issues.
Every week they meet as a team, sharing
ideas, debating their virtues, dissecting
flaws, and finalizing the topics they will
pursue. A group consensus determines the
editorials they produce.
Editorial
It’s Time to Tap the Brakes

on Self-Driving Cars
by The Times Editorial Board
1 Carmakers and tech companies are in a race to put autonomous vehicles
on the road, and it’s time for regulators to tap the brakes.
2 This month the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed

that it is investigating two crashes involving Tesla vehicles allegedly operating
on autopilot. Tesla’s autopilot feature is a semi-autonomous system that uses
cameras, radar and sensors to steer the car, change lanes, adjust speed and even
find a parking space and parallel park. It’s not supposed to turn a Tesla sedan
into a self-driving car, but there’s ample evidence on YouTube of people driving
with their hands off the steering wheel, playing games and even climbing into
the back seat while their car is hurtling down a freeway.
KNOWLEDGE
3 In May, a driver died in Florida when his Tesla Model S sedan on autopilot
QUEST
slammed into a tractor-trailer that had turned across the road in front of him ...
Knowledge Question:
Tesla said that neither the autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the
How are humans the biggest
tractor trailer against a brightly lighted sky, and so the brake was not applied.
The second accident happened when a Tesla sport utility vehicle hit a guardrail
on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, crossed traffic and rolled over. The driver told
state police that he was in autopilot mode; the cause is still under investigation.
regulators: people who control 4 Although Tesla has been far more aggressive than its rivals in making
requirements cutting-edge driverless technology readily available to its customers, other
SAMPLE
ample: more than enough automakers aren’t far behind in rolling out advanced “driver assist” systems.
Yet there are still no rules governing the use of this sort of technology—

2.13
whether partially autonomous, like autopilot, or fully
self-driving, like Google’s steering-wheel-less prototype.
And at this point, there are no standardized tests the cars
are required to pass before regular folks take them on the
road. Who gets to decide when an autonomous car is
ready for the public? Current policies let the car’s
manufacturer make that call, restrained only by the fear
of liability.
5 Regulators must intervene. The technology is
already being deployed, and it’s time to set standards for
when an autonomous-driving feature has been tested
enough and is considered safe enough for widespread
use. Public roads shouldn’t be uncontrolled laboratories
for vehicle safety experiments.
6 But this is no easy job. There is immense pressure from driverless-car
supporters and safety advocates to get more autonomous technology on the road
My Notes
as soon as possible because, at the end of the day, self-driving cars will probably
be much safer than cars driven by erratic, distracted humans. (More than 90%
of crashes are caused by human error.) Transportation safety regulators, as well
as manufacturers, have to figure out how to do more real-world, independently
verified stress-testing to hone the technology without people dying in the
process. If that means slowing the rush to roll out driverless cars, that’s OK.
7 This month, NHTSA is supposed to release guidelines to manufacturers
for the safe operation of fully autonomous vehicles. The agency has said
rigorous testing and ample data on performance are necessary, but the agency’s
guidelines are expected to be suggestions, not mandates, because NHTSA
needs the flexibility to respond to a rapidly evolving industry. Until the federal
government sets testing and performance standards for driverless technology,
states will be left to come up with their own policies on when and how to allow
autonomous vehicles, potentially resulting in a patchwork of laws that confuses
consumers and confounds carmakers.
8 California lawmakers directed the state in 2012 to develop rules to
allow the testing and eventual use of driverless cars, but because of the issue’s
complexity and the shortage of precedents, the state is already a year and a half
behind schedule. Draft regulations issued late last year sounded logical at the
time—because autonomous vehicles are still so new, the state would require
licensed drivers to stay behind the wheel, ready to take over if the system failed.
The problem, as the fatal Tesla autopilot crash demonstrates, is that drivers are intervene: come between
not a reliable backup. They learn to trust the car, perhaps too quickly and too people who disagree
much; they let their guard down and may not be prepared to act in a split second immense: huge
to prevent a crash. California ought to reconsider whether requiring a driver hone: improve or perfect
behind the wheel makes an autonomous vehicle safe enough for the public mandates: orders
roadways. precedents: decisions that
serve as an example or standard
SAMPLE
liability; a legal responsibility

2.13
Knowledge Quest
• What groups of people are mentioned in the article?
• What events and details in the article stood out to you?

your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the editorial in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
10. In the first paragraph, how does the author use figurative language to make a claim?
11. Explain one way that the author supports the claim.
12. In paragraph 5, the author states, “Public roads shouldn’t be uncontrolled laboratories for
vehicle safety experiments.” What kind of appeal is the author using? Explain your answer.

13. KQ How does the word regulators in paragraph 5 help you to understand the importance of
their job?
SAMPLE
2.13
14. Explain the counterclaim stated in paragraph 6 and how it is addressed.
15. Compare both texts on autonomous vehicles. What details might both authors agree on?
Explain your answer.
16. KQ Based on the last two texts you’ve read, what is the main reason why it takes self-driving
safety regulators so much time to craft sufficient regulations?

17. Now that you have read and analyzed the editorial, complete the chart that follows. Restate
the author’s claim in your own words. Then add three pieces of evidence or appeals and the
specific rhetorical devices used from the text.
Claim
Evidence or Appeal 1 Evidence or Appeal 2 Evidence or Appeal 3
SAMPLE
2.13
You have just read about the leading cause of death in people under the age of 35 is vehicle
crashes. With a partner, discuss what types of behaviors in drivers and their passengers
would lead to an accident that are not mentioned in the article. Then think of solutions other
than driverless cars that might lower the number of crashes. Record ideas in a 2-column
chart. When you are finished, write about your conclusions in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
Write a Review
18. Time to put your evaluative skills to the test. In the same way that people write book or movie
reviews, you will write a review of an argument. Choose one of the arguments on self-driving
cars. Then analyze each of the elements listed in the chart that follows. After you complete your
chart, evaluate the argument by explaining which elements were effective and which were not.
When you write your review, be sure to include an evaluation of the way the author handles
audience, claims, counterclaims, and appeals. Then share and discuss your review with a peer.
Audience
Who is the intended audience? How do you know?
Claims and Counterclaims

What is the main argument? What opposing argument does the author include?

Appeals
Which types of appeals and rhetorical devices are used? Provide examples.
WORD CONNECTIONS What Is Sound Reasoning?

Multiple Meaning Word Sound reasoning stems from a valid argument whose conclusion follows from
When you hear the word sound, its premises. A premise is a statement upon which an argument is based or from
you probably think of noise, which a conclusion is drawn. In other words, a premise is an assumption that
but sound has many meanings. something is true.
It can mean free from error, For example, consider this argument:
showing good judgment, or Premise: A implies B;
being logically valid, such as Premise: B implies C;
in “sound advice” or a “sound
Conclusion: Therefore, A implies C.
argument.” A “sound heart”
is one free from defects, and a Although we do not know what statements A, B, and C represent, we are still able
SAMPLE
“sound sleep” describes sleep to judge the argument as valid. We call an argument “sound” if the argument is
that was deep and undisturbed. valid and all the statements, including the conclusion, are true.

2.13
This structure of two premises and one conclusion forms the basic argumentative structure.
Aristotle held that any logical argument could be reduced to two premises and a conclusion.
Premises: If Socrates is a man, and all men are mortal,
Conclusion: then Socrates is mortal.
A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning that makes an argument invalid or unsound. A logical
fallacy can be used in an argument by accident or for the purpose of misleading the audience.
Common fallacies include:
• claiming too much
• oversimplifying a complex issue
• supporting an argument with abstract generalizations
• false assumptions
• bandwagon appeals
• circular reasoning
• incorrect premises
Example: We need to pass a law that stupid people cannot get a driver’s license. This statement
incorrectly equates driving skills with intelligence.
Avoid logical fallacies by being sure you present relevant evidence and logical and sound
reasoning—the cornerstones of effective argumentation.
19. Examine this statement. Is it valid and sound? Explain why or why not.
Premises: If texting is distracting, and distracted driving can result in an accident,
Conclusion: then texting can result in an accident.
20. Using your understanding of sound reasoning, go back to each of the two texts on self-driving
vehicles. Study the arguments of each author, paying close attention to the premises. Note
and explain the purpose of any logical fallacies or faulty reasoning. Has your confidence in the
authors changed? Why or why not?
Writing to Sources: Argument

Now that you have evaluated both arguments for sound or faulty reasoning including logical
fallacies, select one of them to challenge. After selecting an argument, choose one quote
from the text to support your challenge. Use the TLQC format you learned in Unit 1
(Activity 1.15) to state the importance of the evidence. Be sure to:
• Use the TLQC format for introducing quoted material.
• Write in the active voice.
• Use quotation marks around direct quotes.
• Use ellipses when necessary to show that words have been left out.
Take turns presenting. Then discuss how sound or faulty reasoning and the use of logical
fallacies impacts your opinion of the author as well as your attitude toward his or her claims.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
2.14 Forming and Supporting a Debatable Claim
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Summarizing • Identify the components of a debatable claim.
Brainstorming
• Use valid reasons and evidence to support a debatable claim.
Outlining
Freewriting Preview
Marking the Draft
In this activity, you will write and support a debatable claim.
ACADEMIC Debatable and Non-Debatable Claims

VOCABULARY
A controversial topic is a You have already brainstormed topics and possible claims. It may seem obvious,
topic that can be debated. but it is important to be sure your topic and claim are debatable.
A controversy occurs when
• If a claim is debatable, it is controversial; that is, two logical people might
there are two sides that
disagree with each other. disagree based on evidence and reasoning used to support the claim. Example:
Self-driving cars present a danger on roadways.
• If a claim is non-debatable, it is a fact; therefore, it cannot be argued. Example:

Self-driving cars are already on the road in many locations. This could be an
informational topic, but is not suitable for argument.
1. Summarize the difference between a debatable and a non-debatable claim

while maintaining the meaning of the concepts.
2. Write one debatable and one non-debatable claim relating to each topic
that follows.

Topic: the amount of time teens spend using technology
• Debatable:
INDEPENDENT
READING LINK
Read and Discuss • Non-debatable:
Think about the topic of your
nonfiction independent reading
book. Write a debatable claim
based on the information from Topic: the age at which someone should have a social media account
the book. Share your claim • Debatable:
with a partner and have them
confirm that your claim is
debatable. Provide evidence to
support your claim and confirm
• Non-debatable:
with your partner that your
evidence supports your claim.
SAMPLE
Then share your responses
orally with the class.

2.14
Forming and Supporting a Debatable Claim
3. Use the following steps to form and support a debatable claim for the topic you chose in
Activity 2.11.
Step 1: Write a debatable claim for each side of an issue relating to the topic.
Topic: ____________________
Side 1 Side 2
Claim:
Claim:

Step 2: Highlight the claim you will support.

Step 3: Freewrite: Answer the following questions in your Reader/Writer Notebook. How can
you support the claim you chose? How much logical reasoning can you use? Will you depend
on pathos? How can you support your claim with evidence and sound reasoning?
Step 4: Identify and analyze your audience. Who would support the other side? Be specific!
Consider the kind of information, language, and overall approach that will appeal to your
audience. Ask yourself the following questions:
• What does the audience know about this topic (through personal experience,
research, etc.)?
• What does the audience value related to this topic?
• How might the audience disagree with me? What objections will the audience want me to
address or answer?
• How can I best use logos to appeal to and convince this audience?
• How will I use language to show that I am worth listening to on this subject?
Step 5: Now that you better understand your audience, plan to address at least two
counterclaims by identifying potential weaknesses of your argument within opposing reasons,
facts, or testimony. Use this format:

My audience might argue , so I will counter by arguing or pointing out that
.

Quickwrite: Why is it necessary to identify your audience as precisely and accurately as possible
before you draft your argument? What might go wrong if you do not have a strong sense of who the
audience is?
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
2.15 Conducting Effective Research
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Skimming/Scanning • Create a model research plan before reading.
Close Reading
• Write a list of research questions and update them after reading.
Marking the Text
• Evaluate sources for reliability, credibility, and bias.
Note-taking
about self-driving cars.
ACADEMIC Preview
VOCABULARY
Research (v.) means locating In this activity, you will go through the process of creating a model research
information from a variety of plan.
sources.
Research (n.) is the
information found from Developing a Research Plan
investigated sources.
1. Once you have chosen your topic, created a claim, and considered possible
counterclaims, you are ready to conduct a more extensive process of
gathering information to support your own ideas. This process is called a
research plan and without making one, you could waste hours on information
that proves to be of little value. A strong research plan includes five
components. Brainstorm the steps in the research process and discuss with
classmates. Put the steps in order and share.
My Notes

Writing Research Questions
2. An effective research question is open-ended, directly related to a claim, and
purposeful, meaning that the answer will be used to support the argument.
Use your topic to generate a central research question. Then break your main
question into a subset of related questions.
Main research question:
Sub-questions:
SAMPLE
2.15
Locating and Evaluating Sources
Many people rely on the Internet for their research, because it is often more convenient and
efficient than searching through paper books. To find relevant information on the Internet, use
effective search terms to begin your research. Try to choose terms that narrow your results. For
example, searching on the term “cars” will return broad information, whereas searching “self-
driving cars” will return results more closely in line with that topic.
The Internet contains a lot of useful information, but it also has a great deal of information that is
unreliable, biased, or lacking in credibility. You must carefully examine websites to avoid trusting
sites that contain unreliable information from unknown sources. Faulty information and unreliable
sources can undermine the validity of your argument.
3. You can evaluate both print and Internet sources using six separate criteria, including
authority, accuracy, credibility, reliability, timeliness, and purpose/audience. Use a dictionary
or work with your classmates and teacher to define each term in the graphic organizer that
follows. Then review questions that you can ask yourself when evaluating sources based on
each criterion.
Source Criteria Definition Questions to Consider
1. Authority Who is the audience? What organization is behind

this information? What are the qualifications of the
author or organization to write about this topic?
2. Accuracy Determine if the content of the source is fact,

opinion, or propaganda. If you think the source is
offering facts, are the sources clearly indicated? Is
any information omitted from the source?
3. Credibility Is the information trustworthy? Does it show

any biases for or against the topic, including the
omission of relevant details? Is the source using
faulty reasoning such as bandwagon appeals,

repetition, or loaded language?
4. Reliability Can you verify the information presented? Are

there other sources that contradict or confirm the
source? Is information omitted?
5. Timeliness How old is the source? Some sources become

dated when new research is available, but other
sources of information can remain quite sound.
6. Purpose/ Audience What is the purpose of this information? To whom

is it directed?
SAMPLE
4. Your teacher will provide you with an outside source. Read the text closely. Then use the
criteria listed above to evaluate the text to determine reliability, credibility, and bias.

2.15
Primary and Secondary Sources
When choosing credible and reliable sources, you will find primary and secondary sources. Primary
sources are original documents; they are often used in historical research. For example, if you are
researching the era of the Holocaust, you might use the primary resource of The Diary of a Young
Girl, by Anne Frank. You might find an excerpt from the diary in a secondary source written about
the Holocaust or on the Internet.
5. As you conduct your research, consider if the sources you find are primary or secondary
sources? How do you know?
Preparing for Research

6. As a class, you will practice finding evidence from a variety of outside sources to strengthen
and support an argument. First, form two or three research questions about the class topic of
self-driving cars:
7. Which types of sources are best for the information you seek? List at least three and explain
your choices.
8. What search terms will you use to narrow your search for sources with relevant information on
the topic and claim?

Researching and Reading Academic Texts
Much research information is taken from academic texts, which can be challenging to read. An
effective strategy for reading these texts is to pay attention to their text features.
There are five broad categories of graphical and print features found in academic texts:
• Text organization identifies text divisions (e.g., chapters, sections, introductions, summaries,
and author information).
• Headings help readers understand the information (e.g., titles, labels, and subheadings).
• Graphics show information visually to add or clarify information (e.g., diagrams, charts and
tables, graphs, maps, photographs, illustrations, paintings, time lines, and captions).
• Format and font size signal to the reader that certain words are important (e.g., boldface, italics,
or a change in font).
• Layout includes aids such as insets, bullets, and numbers that point readers to important
information.
9. Scan the article “The Very Human Problem Blocking the Path to Self-Driving Cars.” Pay
attention to the text features, and use them to help you better understand the article. Then
SAMPLE
think about the information you expect to find in this article. In what ways do you think it might
be useful in answering your research questions?

2.15
• Read the article with your research questions in mind. As you read, write any
new or refined questions in the My Notes section.
About the Author

Alex Davies is a Senior Associate Editor for WIRED,
where he writes mainly about self-driving cars. He
oversaw the launch of WIRED’s transportation section
and continues to manage, edit, and write for it. He
has written for WIRED, CNN, Business Insider, and
more. According to Business Insider, he says that
his greatest driving feat is piloting a 1998 Ford
Escort through the Rocky Mountains in the
dead of winter.
Article
The Very Human Problem

Blocking the Path to
Self-Driving Cars
by Alex Davies
1 It was a game of Dots that pushed Erik Coelingh to rethink his entire
approach to self-driving cars. Coelingh, Volvo’s head of safety and driver assist KNOWLEDGE
technologies, was in a simulator, iPad in hand, swiping this way and that as QUEST
the “car” drove itself, when he heard an alert telling him to take the wheel. He Knowledge Question:
found the timing less than opportune. How are humans the biggest
2 “They gave the message when I was close to getting a high score,” he says. flaw behind self-driving cars?
Jolted away from the absorbing task, he had no idea of what was happening on
the “road,” or how to handle it. “I just realized,” he says, “it’s not so easy to put
the game away.” simulator: machine that
3 The experience helped confirm a thesis Coelingh and Volvo had been creates a likeness or model of
something
testing: A car with any level of autonomy that relies upon a human to save the
opportune: favorable or
SAMPLE
day in an emergency poses almost insurmountable engineering, design, and
well-timed
safety challenges, simply because humans are for the most part horrible

2.15
backups. They are inattentive, easily distracted, and slow to
respond. “That problem’s just too difficult,” Coelingh says.
4 And so Volvo, and a growing number of automakers, are
taking you out of the equation entirely. Instead of developing
autonomous vehicles that do their thing under most circumstances
but rely upon you take the wheel in an emergency—something
regulators call Level 3 autonomous capability—they’re going
straight to full autonomy where you’re simply along for the ride.
5 Google figured this out around 2012, when it decided
that full autonomy—no steering wheel, no pedals, no human
backup—was the best way forward. Almost everyone else
has embraced this way of thinking, abandoning the step-by-
step approach and promising to begin launching fully robotic cars within
a few years. The shift came as automakers recognized the difficulty of the
“handoff ”—getting the person behind the wheel to take control at a moment’s
notice.
6 Automakers also saw only incremental improvements in safety,
convenience, and value by advancing from Level 2 autonomy—cars that
can keep their lane and handle rush-hour gridlock—to more sophisticated
systems that still require human intervention. Going straight to levels 4 and
5 and offering a fully autonomous vehicle creates new markets, and new
opportunities to challenge the likes of Uber and Google.
The Handoff Conundrum

7 It should be noted that these designations, defined by SAE
WORD CONNECTIONS
International, are squidgy, and don’t directly correlate to specific vehicles
Etymology automakers are developing. For the sake of this discussion, Level 3 autonomy

Herculean is a reference to defines cars capable of basic decision-making like when to change lanes
Hercules, the son of Zeus who or pass other vehicles. The human at the wheel can check out entirely to,
is famous for his exceptional say, play an iPad game, but must be ready to take control if something goes
strength. His name comes amiss—a sensor fails, for example, or the car’s map doesn’t quite match the
from the Greek word Herakles,
meaning “the glory of Hera.”
terrain.
The name is a bit ironic, 8 Level 3 seems like a natural evolution of the tech you find in Tesla’s
because Hera, the stepmother
Autopilot, which demands vigilance even if not everybody obeys. More
of Hercules, was renowned for
trying to kill him. Kles means work for the robot, less for the human. But it’s a Herculean challenge
“glory,” “fame,” or “listen.” for engineers and designers. “Having a human there to resume control is
very difficult,” says Bryan Reimer, an MIT researcher who studies driving
behavior. Once relieved of the burden of constantly paying attention, people
are quick to lose focus, and getting them back on task is difficult. Imagine
incremental: very slight you’re watching the final moments of The Shining when someone suddenly
vigilance: watchfulness or turns on the light and tosses you a Rubik’s cube. How quickly could you
wariness
register what’s happening, let alone attempt to solve the puzzle? Now you see
Herculean: requiring great
the challenge of the handoff.
SAMPLE
strength

2.15
9 To make Level 3 work, the car must verify its human hasn’t, say, dozed My Notes
off. This involves installing cameras and sensors to monitor things like head
position and gaze direction. It means providing visual, aural, and haptic
alerts to get the person’s attention. And it requires making absolutely sure
the autonomous technology is robust and sophisticated enough to handle
any situation for the 5 to 10 seconds needed for the human to realize what’s
happening and take control.
10 Simply put, solving this problem is almost as difficult as figuring out how
to make cars drive themselves. That’s why Google—whose autonomous effort is
now called Waymo—almost immediately abandoned any thought of building
anything but a fully autonomous car. It started with a system that could handle
highway driving with human oversight. Google’s engineers soon realized those
humans were lulled into paying zero attention, and that they were all but
useless in such circumstances. So they started pursuing full autonomy ...
11 Beyond being difficult to achieve, Level 3 autonomy is difficult to justify.
If every car on the road featured Level 2 capabilities, fatal automobile collisions
would drop by 80 percent, according to Delphi, one of the world’s largest
automotive industry suppliers. Level 3 doesn’t advance the ball much further,
so why bother? Full autonomy, on the other hand, brings safety improvements
while also bringing mobility to people who cannot drive, automating deliveries,
and creating other opportunities.
Knowledge Quest
• How do you feel about self-driving cars after reading the article? Are you
optimistic or doubtful?
• What questions will you ask yourself as you reread the article?

Before analyzing the article more closely, take a moment to summarize the ideas
of the experts cited in the article. Write a sentence with each of the appositives
that follow. Use your own words to summarize each expert’s ideas while
maintaining the meaning of their words.
Volvo’s head of safety and driver assist technologies
an MIT researcher who studies driving behavior
lulled: given a false sense of
SAMPLE
security

2.15
your responses.
10. What is the problem referred to in the title of the article?
11. Why does the author open the article with an anecdote about a self-driving simulator?
12. Reread paragraphs 4–7. What is the main premise of the article?

13. In paragraph 7, what does the word amiss mean? Use context clues to explain your definition.
14. Reread paragraph 8. How does the author use an analogy to help the reader understand the
difficulty of switching from autopilot back to human-controlled driving?
SAMPLE
2.15
15. What evidence does the author include to support the idea that fully autonomous vehicles are
the best next step in vehicle technology? Why might he have chosen this example?
16. How does the author address counterclaims in the last two paragraphs?
17. KQ The author uses the words autonomous and autonomy throughout the article to describe
the vehicles of the future. What utopian ideals based on human desires do these words
suggest?
18. KQ Over the past three articles you’ve read about self-driving cars, which human flaw do you
think is the most compelling one? Why?

19. Divide into groups of 2–3 and discuss whether or not the author of this article is a credible
source. Review your chart to evaluate the authenticity of this article. Think about the evidence
he presents, the way he uses information from primary sources to support his claims, and the
way he addresses counterclaims.
20. Now return to the class research plan and research question and sub-questions. Based on
the information in the article and your teacher’s guidance, revise the questions. Complete the
chart to help you organize your ideas. Then review the chart and ask yourself: what additional
questions come to mind, and what previous questions need to be updated? Make any revisions
SAMPLE
to the research plan as needed. Do you need to look for other types of resources? Then discuss
these changes with your group.

2.15
Research Questions Information from Article Additional/Revised Questions

Now that your teacher has guided you through the research process with your class research
questions, use these skills for your own research topic. Write a main research question and
sub-questions for the topic you have selected. Then find three reliable sources you could consult to
find information that answers your research questions.

21. Now it is your turn to identify and gather relevant information from a variety of sources to
support the claim you have chosen. After identifying sources, read them closely and take notes
on how ideas from one source connect to, refute, or build on ideas from the other sources.
Synthesize this information in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
Explain How an Author Builds an Argument

One of the arguments the author makes in “The Very Human Problem Blocking the Path to
Self-Driving Cars” is that only fully autonomous car technology is worth pursuing. Write a
paragraph analyzing the author’s argument in support of this position. Be sure to:
• Provide a clear thesis statement.
• Paraphrase the author’s argument.
• List specific details that support the author’s premise.
SAMPLE
• Include your own commentary on whether the author was successful.

ACTIVITY
Gathering and Citing Evidence 2.16

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Understand how to paraphrase source material. Graphic Organizer
Summarizing
• Cite sources and use source materials ethically.
Paraphrasing
Note-taking
about the topic of self-driving cars.
Marking the Text
Preview Questioning the Text
In this activity, you will learn how to rephrase an author’s words and give
credit to sources.
My Notes
Conducting Research
You have started to conduct research on a topic and claim of your choice, create
research questions, use effective search terms, and find appropriate sources from
which you can take information to use as evidence. Now, you will learn how to give
credit to your sources in your writing.
Citing Sources and Creating a Bibliography

Drawing on and adding to other people’s ideas is at the heart of research. But
researchers must be careful to use others’ ideas ethically and to avoid plagiarism.
This is why citing sources and creating a thorough and accurate bibliography is
such an important part of any research project. In addition to giving credit in your
essay, you should also provide a Works Cited page or an Annotated Bibliography
to document your research sources. A Works Cited page uses a standard format to
list every source you use. An Annotated Bibliography includes the citation of the
source plus a summary or commentary.
Citation Formats
Works Cited Entry:
Davies, Alex. “The Very Human Problem Blocking the Path to Self-Driving Cars.”
Wired. 1 January 2017, wired.com, Accessed 15 July 2017.
In-text Citation:
Human beings have been described as “symbol-using animals” (Burke 3).
1. To practice note-taking and generating a bibliography entry, complete the
following research card using information from “The Very Human Problem INDEPENDENT
Blocking the Path to Self-Driving Cars.” READING LINK
Source Citation: Read and Connect
As you read your independent
text, connect something the
author says to the following:
How can this source help you to support your argument? another text you have read,
something in society it reminds
you of, and something you have
experienced. Paraphrase what
What makes this source credible? the author says by rewriting
SAMPLE
it in your own words. Then
explain your connections.

2.16
About the Author

Laurel Hamers is a staff writer for Science News, where she writes
extensively about developments in scientific technology. Although she grew
up wanting to be a scientist, her career path changed when she realized
that she prefers sharing other people’s discoveries to making her own. She
earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Williams College and studied
science journalism at the UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program.
Article
Five Challenges for

Self-Driving Cars
Experts weigh in on the roadblocks and research efforts
by Laurel Hamers
1 Self-driving cars promise to transform roadways. There’d be fewer traffic

accidents and jams, say proponents, and greater mobility for people who can’t
operate a vehicle. The cars could fundamentally change the way we think about

getting around.
2 The technology is already rolling onto American streets: Uber has
introduced self-driving cabs in Pittsburgh and is experimenting with self-
driving trucks for long-haul commercial deliveries. Google’s prototype vehicles
are also roaming the roads. (In all these cases, though, human supervisors
are along for the ride.) Automakers like Subaru, Toyota, and Tesla are also
including features such as automatic braking and guided steering on new cars.
3 “I don’t think the ‘self-driving car train’ can be stopped,” says Sebastian
KNOWLEDGE Thrun, who established and previously led Google’s self-driving car project.
QUEST 4 But don’t sell your minivan just yet. Thrun estimates 15 years at least
Knowledge Question: before self-driving cars outnumber conventional cars; others say longer.
How are humans the biggest Technical and scientific experts have weighed in on what big roadblocks
remain, and how research can overcome them.
SAMPLE
proponents: supporters

2.16
Sensing the Surroundings My Notes
5 To a computer, a highway on a clear day looks completely different than
it does in fog or at dusk. Self-driving cars have to detect road features in all
conditions, regardless of weather or lighting. “I’ve seen promising results for
rain, but snow is a hard one,” says John Leonard, a roboticist at MIT.
6 Sensors need to be reliable, compact and reasonably priced—and paired
with detailed maps so a vehicle can make sense of what it sees.
7 Leonard is working with Toyota to help cars respond safely in variable
environments, while others are using data from cars’ onboard cameras to create
up-to-date maps. “Modern algorithms run on data,” he says. “It’s their fuel.”
Unexpected Encounters
8 Self-driving cars struggle to interpret unusual situations, like a traffic
officer waving vehicles through a red light. Simple rule-based programming
won’t always work because it’s impossible to code for every scenario in advance,
says Missy Cummings, who directs a Duke University robotics lab.
9 Body language and other contextual clues help people navigate these
situations, but it’s challenging for a computer to tell if, for example, a kid is
about to dart into the road. The car “has to be able to abstract; that’s what
artificial intelligence is all about,” Cummings says.
10 In a new approach, her team is investigating whether displays on the car
can instead alert pedestrians to what the car is going to do. But results suggest
walkers ignore the newfangled displays in favor of more old-fashioned cues — algorithms: sets of rules to
SAMPLE
say, eyeballing the speed of the car. solve problems

2.16
My Notes
Human-Robot Interaction
11 Even with fully autonomous vehicles on the horizon, most self-driving
cars will be semiautonomous for at least the foreseeable future. But figuring
out who has what responsibilities at what time can be tricky. How does the car
notify a passenger who has been reading or taking a nap that it’s time to take
over a task, and how does the car confirm that the passenger is ready to act?
12 “In a sense, you are still concentrating on some of the driving, but you
are not really driving,” says Chris Janssen, a cognitive scientist at Utrecht
University in the Netherlands.
13 His lab is studying how people direct their attention in these scenarios.
One effort uses EEG machines to look at how people’s brains respond to an

alert sound when the people are driving versus riding as a passive passenger (as
they would in a self-driving car). Janssen is also interested in the best time to
deliver instructions and how explicit the instructions should be.
SAMPLE
2.16
Ethical Dilemmas My Notes
14 In exploring the ethical questions of self-driving cars, Iyad Rahwan, an
MIT cognitive scientist, has confirmed that people are selfish: “People buying
these cars, they want cars that prioritize the passenger,” says Rahwan—but they
want other people’s cars to protect pedestrians instead (SN Online: 6/23/16).
15 In an online exercise called the Moral Machine, players choose whom
to save in different scenarios. Does it matter if the pedestrian is an elderly
woman? What if she is jaywalking? Society will need to decide what rules
and regulations should govern self-driving cars. For the technology to catch
on, decisions will have to incorporate moral judgments while still enticing
consumers to embrace automation.
enticing: leading someone on
SAMPLE by inspiring hope or desire

2.16
My Notes Cybersecurity
16 In 2015, hackers brought a Jeep to a halt on a St. Louis highway by
wirelessly accessing its braking and steering via the onboard entertainment
system. The demonstration proved that even conventional vehicles have
vulnerabilities that, if exploited, could lead to accidents.
17 Self-driving cars, which would get updates and maps through the cloud,
would be at even greater risk. “The more computing permeates into everyday
objects, the harder it is going to be to keep track of the vulnerabilities,” says
Sean Smith, a computer scientist at Dartmouth College.
18 And while terrorists might want to crash cars, Smith can imagine other
nefarious acts: For instance, hackers could disable someone’s car and hold it
for ransom until receiving a digital payment.
vulnerabilities: areas that are

open to attack
exploited: misused or taken
advantage of
permeates: passes into every
part of
SAMPLE
nefarious: wicked

2.16
References
B. Bower. Moral dilemma could put brakes on driverless cars. Science News Online.
June 23, 2016.
J. F. Bonnefon, A. Shariff, and I. Rahwan. The social dilemma of autonomous vehicles. Science.
Vol. 352, June 24, 2016, p. 1573. doi: 10.1126/science.aaf2654.
B. Bower. Morality play. Science News. Vol. 176, September 12, 2009, 16
U.S. Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Federal Automated Vehicles Policy: Accelerating the Next Revolution in Roadway Safety.
September 2016.
Knowledge Quest
• What is one new detail you learned about the challenges of self-driving cars?
• Which ideas from the article seem most important to you?

• Return to the text as you respond to the following questions. Use text evidence to support your
responses.
2. Reread paragraphs 1-4 and analyze the thesis that is presented. What evidence is provided by the
author to support her thesis throughout the article?
3. In paragraph 3, why does Thrun refer to the self-driving car technology as a train?
4. Who is the intended audience? Explain your answer with evidence from the text.
SAMPLE
2.16
5. KQ The author used cybersecurity as a heading for paragraphs 16-18. What
do the words vulnerabilities, accidents, risk, crash, nefarious, and ransom in
these paragraphs tell you about cybersecurity? Why did the author use the
heading “Cybersecurity” when writing about human flaws?
6. KQ What is the main reason in all four texts in Activities 2.13, 2.15, and 2.16
that self-driving cars fail?
7. What impact could hackers have on self-driving cars?
8. Explain the author’s purpose in writing the article. How does the author’s use
of print and graphic features achieve her purpose?

INDEPENDENT
READING LINK Knowledge Quest
You can continue to build your Use your knowledge of the four texts to consider how humans are the
knowledge about this topic biggest flaw behind self-driving cars. Write an explanatory essay that
by reading other articles at responds to the question: How are humans the biggest flaw behind
ZINC Reading Labs. Search for self-driving cars? Be sure to:
keywords such as self-driving • Include a clear statement about each authors’ ideas.
cars.
• Explain how the details in each text support and elaborate the author’s
central idea.
• Cite and quote evidence from the texts to support your ideas.
SAMPLE
2.16
Use information from the article to complete the following sentences.
If a self-driving car encounters snow or fog,
Since self-driving cars get data through the cloud,
Until society decides what rules should govern self-driving cars,

9. Use two index cards to create a source card and an information card. On the source card,
create a citation for this article.
10. On the other card, create an information card that you could use to support an argument
essay. On the front of the card, write an important quote from the article. On the back of the
card, paraphrase the quote by putting it in your own words. Finally, add your commentary on
why this information is important. Keep in mind that paraphrasing another writer’s ideas and
adding your own original commentary can help you avoid plagiarism by using your own words
and ideas to explain or expand on the subject.
SAMPLE
2.16
Writing to Sources: Argument

Imagine that you have been called to court to testify either for or against the author’s
claim in “The Very Human Problem Blocking the Path to Self-Driving Cars.” Prepare your
statement to the court by stating the author’s claim as well as why you support or challenge
it. Incorporate evidence from the other articles you have read, particularly “Five Challenges
for Self-Driving Cars,” giving credit to the authors for any ideas you use. Be sure to:
• State your claim.
• Incorporate evidence by paraphrasing and/or quoting.
• Show your reasoning with commentary.
• Properly cite your source(s).
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Organizing and Revising Your Argument 2.17

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Synthesize information from multiple sources to refine arguments and Writer’s Checklist
develop a supported argument. Discussion Groups
• Edit drafts for organization and development as well as sentence-level Oral Reading
errors. Sharing and Responding
Self-Editing/Peer-Editing
Preview
In this activity, you will refine your argument and finalize your research plan
by creating an outline.
My Notes
Monitor Progress by Creating and Following a Plan

You have gone through a model of the research process and conducted research
on your own topic for the argumentative essay you will write for the Embedded
Assessment.
Now you will focus on completing your research and finding evidence for your
argument. You will also work on organizing and communicating your argument.
1. First, look at the chart that follows. Where are you in the process of
researching for your essay? Check off the steps you have already completed,
but remember that you can go back to revise your claim or find additional
support for your argument, if necessary. In the third column, add planning
notes for completing each step of the process.
Research Plan for My Argumentative Essay

Check Progress Step of Research Process Notes
Identify the issue or problem; establish a

claim.
Form a set of questions that can be answered

through research.
Locate and evaluate sources. Gather

evidence for claims and counterclaims.
Interpret and synthesize evidence from

multiple sources.
Communicate findings.
SAMPLE
2.17
2. Study your research questions and sub-questions, noting which ones you have located
additional information about or already answered. Then complete the chart to refine your
research questions, determine where more information is needed, synthesize information from
your findings so far, and refine your argument.
What I Know Now What I Still Need to Learn Where I Can Look
Original Research Question:
Refined Research Question:
Research Questions:

Works Consulted
Notes/Examples/Quotes/Connections
Source + Citation
Sample citation for a website:

Davies, Alex. “The Very Human Problem Blocking the
Path to Self-Driving Cars.” Wired. 1 January 2017,
wired.com, Accessed 15 July 2017.
SAMPLE
2.17
Peer Huddle
3. Divide into groups of 3–4 students. Take turns presenting the results of your research. As your
peers present, note anything that is unclear or needs more information. Share your feedback.
Argumentative Essay Outline

4. A clear organizational structure is essential to a successful essay. Fill in the blank spaces in the
following outline with your claim and the reasons and evidence you will use to support it.
I. Introduction
A. Attention-getting hook
B. Background information/definition of terms
C. Claim (Thesis):
II. Body paragraphs

A. Reason 1: C. Reason 3:
Evidence: Evidence:
B. Reason 2: D. Counterclaim:
Evidence: Evidence:
Rebuttal:
III. Conclusion follows from and supports the argument

A. Restate claim
B. Connect back to hook

C. State specific call to action
Sharing and Responding in Writing Groups

5. Prepare for discussion by doing the following:
• Revisit your outline and think about its organization.
• Think about your research notes and decide where the information fits in your argument.
• At the top of your draft, make a list of vocabulary and transitions you might use while
discussing your ideas.
• Determine whether you should adjust your claim to reflect the new information.
• Create three copies of the graphic organizer in Step 7 on which you will take notes
for your peers.
• Review the rules for collegial discussions and decision-making from Activity 2.6.
6. Gather the materials you will need for the discussion group: the draft outline of your argument,
your research cards, and a pen or pencil.
SAMPLE
2.17
7. Create a town hall meeting with your group members. First, elect a leader who will run the
meeting. Then, take turns presenting your outlines. As each person presents, complete this
chart to note any areas where you can help your peers write stronger outlines. Finally, discuss
strategies you can use to strengthen your outlines based on this information.
Area of Focus Strengths Areas for improvement
8. Work with a peer to use the Writer’s Checklist to help each other as you write. Check each
other’s writing after each stage: Ideas/Development; Organization; and Use of Language. Start
with a focus on big issues such as organization, ideas, and style. Then focus on sentence-level
issues, such as using commas properly, correct spelling, sentence variety, and subject-verb
agreement. Make sure you have properly cited sources and used either direct quotations or
paraphrasing to avoid plagiarism.
Writer’s Checklist
Use this checklist to guide the sharing and responding to your partner.
IDEAS/DEVELOPMENT
The writer has a clear claim (thesis).

The writer supports his or her claim with logical reasoning and relevant evidence from accurate, credible
sources.

The writer effectively uses appeals to logos and pathos.
The writer addresses counterclaims effectively.
ORGANIZATION
The writer clearly introduces the claim at the beginning of the argument.
The writer organizes reasons and evidence logically.
The writer effectively uses transitional words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the
relationships among ideas.
The writer provides a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
USE OF LANGUAGE
T he writer effectively and correctly embeds quotations and paraphrases clearly to strengthen evidence and
create convincing reasoning while avoiding plagiarism.
The writer includes all required elements of citations and correctly punctuates them.
The writer uses a formal style, including proper references of sources to express ideas and add interest.
The writer uses precise and clear language in the argument rather than vague or imprecise vocabulary.
SAMPLE
The writer uses a variety of sentence types.

2.17
LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Correct Capitalization
All strong research papers contain paraphrases and quotations from a variety of sources.
Remember that the first word in a direct quotation should be capitalized. However, indirect
quotations do not need to be capitalized. Similarly, if you use a piece of a sentence, you do
not need to capitalize it unless it is capitalized in the original text. See the chart for examples.
Quotation or Paraphrase Explanation of Capitalization

According to the author, “Body language and Because the sentence is taken word for word
other contextual clues help people navigate from the text, set it off with a comma, insert
these situations, but it’s challenging for a quotation marks, and capitalize the first letter
computer to tell if, for example, a kid is about of the sentence that is quoted.
to dart into the road.”
According to the author, computers have Because this is an indirect quote, no

difficulty making determinations based on additional capitalization is needed.
body language and context alone.
According to the author, although people This quotation does not include the beginning
are able to use body language clues, “… of the sentence. Therefore, capitalization is
it’s challenging for a computer to tell if, for not required.
example, a kid is about to dart into the road.”
PRACTICE Review the draft of your essay, highlighting any quotations or paraphrases. Check
each example to ensure that you have capitalized correctly.

Create a flowchart that shows the order in which the five steps of a research project should be
completed. Clearly label each step.

You have read a variety of sources relating to your topic. Which information supports your claim?
Which information counters your claim? How can you use this information to strengthen your
argument? Prepare your answers in the form of a brief oral presentation.
SAMPLE
EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
2 Writing an Argumentative Essay
ASSIGNMENT
Write an argumentative essay in which you convince an audience to support your claim
about a debatable idea. Use your research and experience or observations to support your
argument.
Planning and Prewriting: ■■ What prewriting strategies (such as outlining or webbing) can you use to
Take time to make a plan select and explore a controversial idea?
for generating ideas and ■■ How will you draft a claim that states your position?
research questions. ■■ What questions will guide your research?
■■ How will you make sure you have written work that is appropriate for your
audience?
Researching: Gather ■■ What types of sources are best for the information you seek?
information from a variety ■■ What criteria will you use to evaluate sources?
of credible sources. ■■ How will you take notes to gather, interpret, and synthesize information
and evidence?
■■ How will you create a bibliography or Works Cited page?
■■ How will you present the results of your research?
Drafting: Convince your ■■ How will you select the best reasons and evidence from your research to
audience to support your support your claim?
claim. ■■ How will you use persuasive appeals (logos, ethos, pathos) in your essay?
■■ How will you introduce and respond to counterclaims?
■■ How will you organize your essay logically with an introduction,
transitions, and concluding statement?
Evaluating and Revising the ■■ During the process of writing, when can you use the Writer’s Checklist to

Draft: Create opportunities revise your argumentative essay?
to review and revise your ■■ How can the Scoring Guide help you evaluate how well your draft meets
work. the requirements of the assignment?
Publication: Confirm that the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, spelling,
your final draft is ready for grammar, usage, and formal style?
publication. ■■ How did you use TLQC (transition/lead-in/quote/citation) to properly
embed quotations?
Reflection
After completing this Embedded Assessment, think about how you went about accomplishing
this task and respond to the following:
SAMPLE
• How can you use discussion and/or debate in the future to explore a topic?

EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
2
SCORING GUIDE
Scoring
Criteria

• supports a claim with • supports a claim with • has an unclear or • has no claim or claim
compelling, relevant sufficient reasoning unfocused claim lacks support
reasoning and and evidence and/or inadequate • provides little or no
evidence • provides evidence of support evidence of research
• provides extensive the research process • provides insufficient • does not reference a
evidence of the • addresses evidence of the counterclaim
research process counterclaim(s) research process • fails to use persuasive
• addresses • uses some persuasive • addresses appeals.
counterclaim(s) appeals (logos, counterclaims
effectively ethos, pathos). ineffectively
• uses a variety of • uses inadequate
persuasive appeals. persuasive appeals.

• has an introduction • has an introduction • has a weak • lacks an introduction
that engages the that includes a hook introduction • has little or no
reader and defines and background • uses an ineffective obvious organizational
the claim’s context • follows an adequate or inconsistent structure
• follows a logical organizational organizational • uses few or no
organizational structure strategy transitional strategies
structure • uses transitional • uses basic or • lacks a conclusion.
• uses a variety of strategies to link insufficient
effective transitional ideas transitional strategies
strategies • has a conclusion that • has an illogical or
• contains an insightful supports and follows unrelated conclusion.
conclusion. from the argument.

Language • uses precise diction • uses diction and • uses basic or weak • uses confusing or
and language language to convey diction and language vague diction and
effectively to convey tone and persuade an • demonstrates language
tone and persuade an audience partial command • lacks command of
audience • demonstrates of the conventions the conventions of
• demonstrates adequate command of standard English standard English
command of the of the conventions capitalization, capitalization,
conventions of of standard English punctuation, spelling, punctuation, spelling,
standard English capitalization, grammar, and usage; grammar, and usage
capitalization, punctuation, spelling, for the most part, • does not include
punctuation, spelling, grammar, and usage errors do not impede an annotated
grammar, and usage • includes a generally meaning bibliography.
• includes an accurate, correct and • includes an incorrect
detailed annotated complete annotated or insufficiently
bibliography. bibliography. annotated
SAMPLE
bibliography.

SAMPLE
UNIT
3
VISUAL PROMPT
How can public art like this
help people remember the
Holocaust and also look
toward the future? How do
you think the arts can help
change the world?
THE CHALLENGE TO MAKE

A DIFFERENCE
I remember: It happened yesterday, or eternities ago. A young Jewish boy discovered the
Kingdom of Night. I remember his bewilderment, I remember his anguish. It all happened
so fast. The ghetto. The deportation. The sealed cattle car. The fiery altar upon which the
history of our people and the future of mankind were meant to be sacrificed. I remember he
asked his father: Can this be true? This is the twentieth century, not the Middle Ages. Who
SAMPLE
would allow such crimes to be committed? How could the world remain silent?
–from Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech
UNIT
3 The Challenge to Make a Difference
• To compare thematic ACTIVITY CONTENTS

GOALS
development in multiple
literary texts in different 3.1 Previewing the Unit �� 222
GOALS
genres
• To work collaboratively 3.2 Preparing for Literature Circles �� 223
to plan and perform oral
presentations 3.3 Understanding Literature
• To organize a draft with Circle Discussions �� 228
a purposeful structure,
including an introduction, Language & Writer’s Craft: Combining Sentences
transitions, and a
conclusion 3.4 Making Thematic Connections �� 232
• To research and Memoir: Excerpt from Night, by Elie Wiesel
summarize information
from a variety of sources
Poetry: “First They Came for the Communists,”
about an issue of national by Martin Niemöller
or global significance
• To advocate a position 3.5 Analyzing an Allegory �� 241
using rhetorical appeals *Children’s Book: Terrible Things: An Allegory of the
while employing effective
Holocaust, by Eve Bunting
presentation techniques
3.6 Dangerous Diction �� 245
ACADEMIC 3.7 Exploring the Museum �� 247

VOCABULARY
communication
3.8 Presenting Voices �� 251
GOALS
résumé
euphemism Language & Writer’s Craft: Active and Passive Voice
slogan
3.9 Analyzing Theme in Film �� 254
LITERARY
*Film: Life Is Beautiful, directed by Roberto Benigni
drama

found poem 3.10 Dramatic Tone Shifts �� 257
Drama: Excerpt from The Diary of Anne Frank,
Language & Writer’s Craft: Pronoun–Antecedent Agreement
Using Punctuation Within Sentences �� 265
3.11 A Tale of Survival and Hope �� 267

Novel: Excerpt from Prisoner B-3087, by Alan Gratz
3.12 Creating a Memorable Opening �� 275

Diary: Excerpt from The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank
SAMPLE
Presenting Voices of the Holocaust �� 280
Literature Circle Text Collection � �� 282
CONTENTS
ACTIVITY CONTENTS
My Independent
Reading List
3.14 Making a Difference �� 301
Language & Writer’s Craft: Reviewing Participial Phrases
3.15 Never Forget, Never Again �� 305

Speech: Excerpt from “The Nobel Acceptance Speech
Delivered by Elie Wiesel”
Language & Writer’s Craft: Reviewing Clauses
3.16 Students Taking Action �� 311

Informational Text: Excerpt from Do Something! A
Handbook for Young Activists
3.17 From Vision to Action �� 317

Informational Text: “Wangari Maathai,” from BBC News
Speech: “Nobel Lecture by Wangari Maathai, Oslo,
December 10, 2004”
Informational Text: About Freerice.com
Informational Text: Free Rice Online Quiz Game
3.18 Examining Media Campaigns �� 326

Informational Text: Public Service Announcements
*Public Service Announcements (Nonprint, available online)
3.19 Raising Awareness �� 330

Speech: “Address by Cesar Chavez,” President,
United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO
Understanding Verb Tense �� 335
Presenting a Multimedia Campaign �� 337
SAMPLE
Unit 3 • The Challenge to Make a Difference 221
ACTIVITY
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Think-Pair-Share • Discuss the big ideas and vocabulary for the unit.
QHT
• Paraphrase the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in
Close Reading completing the Embedded Assessment.
Marking the Text
Graphic Organizer In this activity, you will preview some of the unit’s content and begin
thinking about a panel discussion that you will present with a group.
Making Connections
In the first part of this unit, you will read texts about the Holocaust that show both
the tragedy of historical events and the ways in which people reacted to those
events. This study will help prepare you to research current issues from around
the world and choose one for which to create a persuasive multimedia campaign.
Essential Questions
The following Essential Questions will be the focus of the unit study. Respond to
both questions.
1. Why is it important to learn about the Holocaust?
INDEPENDENT
READING LINK
Reading Plan
In this unit, you will be reading 2. How can one person make a difference?
selections related to events
surrounding World War II and
the genocide of a people based
on their religion. You may want

to read a novel or nonfiction
narrative from the additional Use a QHT chart to sort the terms on the Contents page. Remember, one academic
titles mentioned in this unit. goal is to move all words to the “T” column by the end of the unit. Learning a new
Book lists are available in the word means more than learning just its meaning. When you look up the vocabulary
back of this book, and you terms in this unit, pay attention to the different kinds of information the dictionary
can use book discussions provides, including the word’s pronunciation, syllables, origin, and part of speech.
and recommendations from Record what you learn about each term in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
classmates to help you
choose. Use your Reader/
Writer Notebook to create an Unpacking Embedded Assessment 1
independent reading plan and
Read the assignment for Embedded Assessment 1:
to take notes on any questions,
comments, or reactions you Present a panel discussion that includes an oral reading of a significant
might have to your reading. passage from the texts read by your group. Your discussion should
Refer to these notes as you explain how the theme or central idea of “finding hope in times of
participate in discussions with despair” is developed in each text.
classmates throughout the
unit. Add the titles that you After you closely read the Embedded Assessment 1 assignment and use the
choose to read during the unit Scoring Guide to further analyze the requirements, work with your class to
SAMPLE
to the My Independent Reading paraphrase the expectations. Create a graphic organizer to use as a visual
List on the Contents page. reminder of the required concepts and skills.

ACTIVITY
Preparing for Literature Circles 3.2

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Identify and practice skills for active listening and effective speaking. Note-taking
Graphic Organizer
• Participate in a group discussion about quotations related to the unit theme.
Previewing
Preview Predicting
In this activity, you will think about ways to be a good listener and speaker, Summarizing
and you will practice the skills in a group discussion. Discussion Groups
Preparing for Listening and Speaking ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
1. As a student, you have probably spent years observing teachers and other Communication is a process
students who demonstrate both effective and ineffective speaking and of exchanging information
listening skills. To help you identify good speaking and listening skills, create between individuals. It can
two T-charts in your Reader/Writer Notebook, one for Listening and one for include both verbal (words)
Speaking. Brainstorm effective and ineffective listening and speaking habits and and nonverbal (expressions,
practices. Add to your chart during the class discussion. gestures) language.
Effective communication
2. Read the following information to learn more about effective communication in is the result of both the
collaborative groups. All members of a group need to communicate effectively to speaker and the listener
help the group work smoothly to achieve its goals. Group members should allow making an effort.
opportunities for everyone to participate. To help ensure a successful group
experience, follow these guidelines.
As a Speaker: My Notes
• Come prepared to the discussion, having read or researched the material being
studied.
• Organize your thoughts before speaking.
• Ask questions to clarify and to connect to others’ ideas.
• Respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence,
observations, anecdotes, analogies, illustrations, and ideas.

• Use an appropriate level of formality for classroom discussions, as well as
appropriate eye contact, a variety of natural gestures, clear speaking rate,
adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.
As a Listener:
• Listen to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate others’ ideas.
• Avoid barriers to listening such as daydreaming, fidgeting, or having side
conversations.
• Listen actively by taking notes, summarizing, asking questions, and making
comments.
Collaborative Discussions
3. Following are quotations about the topic of hope and despair. With your group, take
turns reading each quotation aloud and sharing an interpretation of its meaning.
When other group members share their interpretations, listen actively to understand
them, and ask questions to clarify your understanding. As you discuss each
SAMPLE
quotation, comment on what the quotation actually says, as well as any meanings
that might be inferred from it. Practice using the appropriate register, vocabulary,
tone, and voice in your responses, comments, and questions to the group.

3.2
Quotation Interpretation
“When I despair, I remember that all through history

the way of truth and love has always won. There have
been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem
invincible, but in the end, they always fall—think of it,
always.” —Mahatma Gandhi
“The road that is built in hope is more pleasant to the

traveler than the road built in despair, even though they
both lead to the same destination.” —Marion Zimmer
Bradley
“The difference between hope and despair is a different

way of telling stories from the same facts.” —Alain de
Botton
“My theory has always been, that if we are to dream, the

flatteries of hope are as cheap, and pleasanter, than the
gloom of despair.” —Thomas Jefferson
“There is no despair so absolute as that which comes

with the first moments of our first great sorrow, when
we have not yet known what it is to have suffered and
be healed, to have despaired and have recovered hope.”
—George Eliot
4. Reflect on your group’s discussion of the quotes. Identify challenges and set specific goals for

improving your speaking, listening, and reading skills.
Challenges Goals
Speaking
Listening
Reading
SAMPLE
3.2
Forming Literature Circles WORD CONNECTIONS
5. For this activity, you will be reading and discussing the texts included in the
Literature Circle Text Collection. In your discussion group, choose a different Etymology
Holocaust text for each group member to preview. The word holocaust comes
from the Greek words holos,
6. Form a new group with other students who are previewing the same Holocaust meaning “whole” or “entire,”
text. Use the following graphic organizer to preview the text. and caustos, meaning “burn.”
During World War II, the mass
Title: Author: killing of European Jews, Roma,
Slavs, and people with physical
or mental disabilities during
Genre: Length: Hitler’s regime was referred to
as a holocaust. It wasn’t until
Predictions based on title and images: 1957, however, that it became
a proper name, Holocaust.
My Notes
Summary of the information provided in the description or review:
Information about the author or poet:

Personal response after reading a passage:

This text sounds ...

This text reminds me of ...

Someone who would like this text ...
7. Go back to your original discussion group and take turns presenting your
previews. Use the graphic organizer that follows to take notes on each text as
you hear it described. If needed, continue on a new page in your Reader/Writer
SAMPLE
Notebook.

3.2
Text Preview Note-Taking Graphic Organizer
An Interesting Point
Title My Thoughts/Comments/Questions
Made About the Text
Composing Letters
8. Work with a partner to discuss the following model letter. Note the different sections of the
letter, such as the date, greeting, body, and closing. Then discuss the purpose of the letter.
October 17, 2020

Dear Principal Clark,
I am writing on behalf of a group of students who would like to begin a poetry group here at

Edison Junior High. The school supports other groups that reflect a variety of interests, but
the school has no group for students who love to read and write literary poems.
A poetry group would allow us to meet on school grounds to discuss and share poetry. It
would allow us to build our interest in literature and our skills as writers. It would allow us to
offer each other peer reviews and other advice on our writing.
You might think that a poetry group appeals to only a small population of students, but don’t
let that stop you from approving the group. We would be just as pleased with a writers group
that includes all genres, including short stories, plays, and nonfiction.
Please see the attached sheet for the signatures of the seven students who are already
interested in joining the group.
Sincerely,
Jay Garcia, 8th grade
SAMPLE
3.2
9. Now work independently to write a letter to your teacher that explains your opinion about
your three choices from the Text Preview. Use the format of a letter that follows. Be sure
to explain why you made your choices. Your teacher will use the information in your letter
while creating the Literature Circle groups. Be aware that some, but not necessarily all of your
choices will be on your group’s reading list.
[Class]
[Date]
Dear [teacher],
[explain first choice]
[explain second choice]
[explain third choice]
Sincerely,
[name]
10. Collaborate with your assigned Literature Circle group to create a plan for reading your
Holocaust texts using a chart like the one that follows. Be sure to set clear goals for reading,
as well as deadlines for meeting those goals.
Reading Schedule
Text 1:
Text 2:
Text 3:
Reading
Date Assigned Date Due Role Number of Journal Entries
Selection
11. Before each Literature Circle meeting, collaborate on an agenda that includes clear goals and
deadlines for the meeting. While conducting your meeting, set time limits for speakers, take
notes when group members are speaking , and vote on any key issues that arise.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Understanding Literature
3.3 Circle Discussions
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Diffusing • Analyze Literature Circle role descriptions and demonstrate an
Literature Circles understanding of one role by creating a résumé of the skills needed to
Questioning the Text perform it.
Summarizing • Read a narrative with the purpose of learning more about the Holocaust.
Note-taking • Practice Literature Circle roles by participating in a collaborative
Discussion Groups discussion.
Preview
In this activity, you will learn about the roles in a Literature Circle, describe
My Notes one role in depth, and practice your role in a discussion about a Holocaust
narrative.
Understanding Literature Circle Roles

Read the following information about Literature Circle roles. For each role, think
about the skills required and consider your personal strengths.
Discussion Leader
Your job is to develop a list of questions you think your group should discuss
about the reading selection. Use your knowledge of Levels of Questions to create
thought-provoking, interpretive (Level 2), and universal (Level 3) questions
that connect to understanding the content and themes of the text. Try to create
questions that encourage your group to consider many ideas. Help your group
to explore these important ideas and share their reactions. You are in charge of
facilitating the day’s discussion.
Diction Detective
Your job is to carefully examine the diction (word choice) in the reading selection.

Search for words, phrases, and lines or passages that are especially descriptive,
powerful, funny, thought-provoking, surprising, or even confusing. List the words
or phrases and explain why you selected them. Then analyze the intended effect,
asking and answering questions such as the following: What is the author trying to
say? How does the diction help the author achieve his or her purpose? What tone
do the words indicate?
Bridge Builder
Your job is to build bridges between the events of the text and other people,
places, or events in school, the community, or your own life. Look for connections
between the text, yourself, other texts, and the world. Also, when reading a
narrative, make connections between what has happened before and what might
happen as the narrative continues. Look for the character’s internal and external
conflicts and the ways that these conflicts influence his or her actions. When
reading poetry, make connections between the beginning and ending of the
poem. Is there a shift in the narrator’s attitude or perspective about the subject
of the poem?
SAMPLE
3.3
Reporter
ACADEMIC
VOCABULA RY
Your job is to identify and report on the key points of the reading assignment. When
reading a narrative, make a list or write a summary that describes how the setting, A résumé is a brief
written account of
plot, point of view, and characters are developed in the reading selection. Consider
personal, educational,
character interactions, major events that occur, and shifts in the setting or mood
and professional
that seem significant. When reading poetry, consider the context of the poem. What
qualifications and
does the reader know about the poet? What are the circumstances surrounding the
experience, prepared by
text? Who is the target audience? Share your report at the beginning of the group an applicant for a job.
meeting to help your group focus on the key ideas presented in the reading. Like
that of a newspaper reporter, your report must be concise yet thorough.
Artist
Your job is to create an illustration to clarify information, communicate an
important idea (e.g., about setting, character, conflict, or theme), and/or to add
interest to the discussion. It can be a sketch, cartoon, diagram, flowchart, or a My Notes
piece that uses visual techniques for effect. Show your illustration to the group
without any explanation. Ask each group member to respond, either by making a
comment or asking a question. After everyone has responded, explain your picture
and answer any questions that have not been answered.
Assigning Literature Circle Roles

1. Create a résumé using the following template to apply for a role.
Name:
Role (Job Description): Choose one of the roles and summarize the
requirements.
Skills: Describe the skills you have that will help you perform this role (e.g.,
reading, artistic skills, etc.).
Experience: Describe similar experiences you have had and how they will help
you in this role.
Activities: Describe any classwork or extracurricular activities that have

prepared you for the role.
2. Use your résumés to distribute role assignments in your group. Record these
assignments on your reading schedule.
3. Create a table tent for your role by folding an index card or construction paper.
On the side facing your group, write the role title and a symbolic image. On
the side facing you, write a description of your role and bullet points listing
the requirements. Be specific so that the next person who has this role will
understand what to do.
SAMPLE
3.3
Practicing Literature Circle Roles
4. Before you begin reading, think about these questions: How old do you think someone should
be when they first learn about the Holocaust? Why would someone write a children’s book
about such a disturbing subject?
5. Create a double-entry journal in your Reader/Writer Notebook, keeping your Literature Circle
role in mind. For example, the discussion leader may want to record passages that inspire
questions, while the artist might record interesting imagery.
6. After you read, use the notes from your double-entry journal to prepare for your role. When
everyone in the group is ready, practice conducting a Literature Circle meeting. Before you
begin your discussion, collaborate on an agenda that establishes your goals, deadlines,
and time limits for speakers. As you listen, take notes on and summarize interesting ideas
presented by group members, and form questions and comments in response. As you respond
to others, use an appropriate register, vocabulary, tone, and voice. If any key issues come up,
vote in a democratic fashion.
Discussion Note-Taking Graphic Organizer
An Interesting Point Made by a My Thoughts/Comments/Questions

Member of My Group
7. Reflect on your discussion. Review your responses in the graphic organizer.

• What contributed most to your understanding or appreciation of the text?
• What did you learn about the Holocaust through the narrative and discussion?
SAMPLE
3.3
LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Combining Sentences
Combining sentences adds variety and interest to your speaking and writing. It also helps
ideas move smoothly from one to the next.
One way to combine sentences is by using conjunctions. There are two kinds of conjunctions,
and each is used to create a specific type of sentence.
Coordinating Conjunctions
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Use a coordinating conjunction when combining two complete sentences to create a
compound sentence. Always use a comma when creating a compound sentence.
Authorities took people from their homes. Family members were separated from one
another.
Authorities took people from their homes, and family members were separated from one
another.
Remembering the word FANBOYS can help you remember the seven coordinating
conjunctions.
Subordinating Conjunctions
Single word examples: after, although, as, because, before, if, since, unless, until, when, while
Multiple word examples: as if, as soon as, as though, even though, no matter how, so that
Use a subordinating conjunction to make one of the sentences dependent on the other. When
combining two complete sentences in which one has been made dependent on the other, the
result is a complex sentence.
The Christians in Holland are also living in fear. Their sons are being sent to Germany.
The Christians in Holland are also living in fear because their sons are being sent to
Germany.
As you can see, because their sons are being sent to Germany is not a full sentence. It is
dependent on the first sentence and is subordinate to it.
Always use a comma when you place the dependent clause before the independent clause
when combining sentences.
Because their sons are being sent to Germany, the Christians in Holland are also living in fear.
PRACTICE Combine these two sentences. First make a compound sentence, and then make a
complex sentence.
I wanted to come back to warn you. No one is listening to me.

Write two short sentences about facts you learned in your reading or discussion about the
Holocaust. Then combine the ideas from the two sentences into one longer sentence.
Sentence 1:
SAMPLE
Sentence 2:
Combined Sentence:

ACTIVITY
3.4 Making Thematic Connections
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Close Reading • Read and analyze an excerpt from a memoir and a poem.
Chunking the Text
• Compare thematic development in two literary texts in different genres.
Marking the Text
• Participate collaboratively in a discussion to analyze and compare
Choral Reading
themes of literary texts.
Rereading
Discussion Groups
about the theme of standing up for others.
Preview
In this lesson, you will read an excerpt from a memoir and a poem about
My Notes the Holocaust. Then you will compare the themes of the literary works in a
collaborative discussion.
Foreshadowing
As you learned in Unit 2, writers often use techniques such as foreshadowing
and flashbacks to add interest to their narratives. Instead of using a linear plot in
which each event happens in chronological order, they develop a plot that moves
backward and forward in time. The excerpt that you are about to read is an example
of foreshadowing. When you read the About the Author on Elie Wiesel, think about
how knowing this information about his life helps you identify and analyze the
foreshadowing in the excerpt.

• As you read, underline any examples you find in which people are being
separated from each other.

About the Author
Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) was a teenager in 1944
when he and his whole family were taken from
their home to the Auschwitz concentration camp
and later to Buchenwald. Wiesel wrote his
internationally acclaimed memoir Night about
his experiences in the camps. In addition to
writing many other books, Wiesel became an
activist who spoke out about injustices in many
countries around the world. He was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
SAMPLE
3.4
Memoir
KNOWLEDGE
Night
QUEST
from Knowledge Question:
Why should people stand up
for each other?
by Elie Wiesel In Activity 3.4, you will read
a memoir and a poem on the
1 AND THEN, one day all foreign Jews were expelled from Sighet.1 And theme of separating people so
Moishe the Beadle2 was a foreigner. they don’t stand up for each
other. While you read and
2 Crammed into cattle cars by the Hungarian police, they cried silently.
build knowledge about the
Standing on the station platform, we too were crying. The train disappeared Holocaust and how the Nazis
over the horizon; all that was left was thick, dirty smoke. separated people, think about
your answer to the Knowledge
3 Behind me, someone said, sighing, “What do you expect? That’s war …”
Question.
4 The deportees were quickly forgotten. A few days after they left, it was
rumored that they were in Galicia,3 working, and even that they were content
with their fate. GRAMMAR & USAGE
5 Days went by. Then weeks and months. Life was normal again. A calm, Participle Verb Forms
reassuring wind blew through our homes. The shopkeepers were doing good The participle forms of verbs
business, the students lived among their books, and the children played in the can be used as adjectives.
streets. There are two participial
forms: present (ending
6 One day, as I was about to enter the synagogue, I saw Moishe the Beadle in -ing) and past (usually
sitting on a bench near the entrance. ending in -d ). Note the use of
these participles as adjectives
7 He told me what had happened to him and his companions. The train in the text: “reassuring
with the deportees had crossed the Hungarian border and, once in Polish wind”(paragraph 5) and
territory, had been taken over by the Gestapo.4 The train had stopped. The Jews “waiting trucks”
were ordered to get off and onto waiting trucks. The trucks headed toward a (paragraph 7).
forest. There everybody was ordered to get out. They were forced to dig huge A participle may occur in a
participial phrase, which
trenches. When they had finished their work, the men from the Gestapo began
includes the participle plus any
theirs. Without passion or haste, they shot their prisoners, who were forced to complements and modifiers.
approach the trench one by one and offer their necks. Infants were tossed in The whole phrase serves as
the air and used as targets for the machine guns. This took place in the Galician an adjective. For example:
forest, near Kolomay. How had he, Moishe the Beadle, been able to escape? By a “Crammed into cattle cars by
miracle. He was wounded in the leg and left for dead … the Hungarian police, they…”
(paragraph 2).
8 Day after day, night after night, he went from one Jewish house to the As you read the memoir,
next, telling his story and that of Malka, the young girl who lay dying for three look for more examples of
days, and that of Tobie, the tailor who begged to die before his sons were killed. participles and participial
phrases.
9 Moishe was not the same. The joy in his eyes was gone. He no longer sang.
He no longer mentioned either God or Kabbalah5. He spoke only of what he
1 Sighet: a town in Romania

2 Beadle: a minor church official; a caretaker of a synagogue
3 Galicia: a former province of Austria, now in parts of Poland and Ukraine synagogue: a building that
SAMPLE
4 Gestapo: the secret police in Nazi Germany houses Jewish religious services
5 Kabbalah: a Jewish religious tradition that strives to explain how the universe works

3.4
had seen. But people not only refused to believe his tales, they refused to listen.
Some even insinuated that he only wanted their pity, that he was imagining
things. Others flatly said that he had gone mad.
10 As for Moishe, he wept and pleaded:
11 “Jews, listen to me! That’s all I ask of you. No money. No pity. Just listen
to me!” he kept shouting in the synagogue, between the prayer at dusk and the
evening prayer.
12 Even I did not believe him. I often sat with him, after services, and
listening to his tales, trying to understand his grief. But all I felt was pity.
13 “They think I’m mad,” he whispered, and tears, like drops of wax, flowed
from his eyes.
14 Once, I asked him the question: “Why do you want people to believe you
Today this historical train car
so much? In your place I would not care whether they believed me or not …”
stands as a memorial at the site 15 He closed his eyes, as if to escape time.
of the Auschwitz II–Birkenau
concentration camp. 16 “You don’t understand,” he said in despair. “You cannot understand. I was
saved miraculously. I succeeded in coming back. Where did I get my strength?
I wanted to return to Sighet to describe to you my death so you might ready
yourselves while there is still time. Life? I no longer care to live. I am alone. But
My Notes I wanted to come back to warn you. Only no one is listening to me. …”
17 This was toward the end of 1942.
18 Thereafter life seemed normal once again. London radio, which we

listened to every evening, announced encouraging news: the daily bombings of
Germany and Stalingrad, the preparation of the Second Front. And so we, the
Jews of Sighet, waited for better days that surely were soon to come.

Knowledge Quest
• Which part of the memoir stands out to you? Why?
• What details do you notice about the narrator, Elie Wiesel?
SAMPLE
3.4
Answer the following questions to expand on the sentence provided.
They refused to believe Moishe’s stories.
Who?
When?
Why?
Use your responses to write an expanded sentence:

your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the memoir in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. What does the use of the pronouns they and we in paragraph 2 suggest about the narrator’s
point of view? How does this point of view reflect the theme of the excerpt?
2. When the foreign Jews are deported from Sighet, one person says, “‘What do you expect?
That’s war …’” (paragraph 3). How does the wartime setting affect the characters’ beliefs and
emotions? What evidence can you find of how the setting affects the characters’ actions?
SAMPLE
3.4
3. Identify the word insinuated in paragraph 9. Work with a partner to identify context clues in
the passage that reveal the word’s meaning. Then write a dictionary entry for insinuated that
includes its meaning, syllables, and part of speech. Then use a print or online dictionary to
confirm the details of your entry, revising as necessary.
4. What is Moishe the Beadle’s motivation for returning to Sighet? What is the effect of his
return?
5. Reread the About the Author at the beginning of this activity. How does its information help to
reveal that this excerpt is an example of foreshadowing?
6. KQ The footnote for the word Gestapo in paragraph 7 is defined as “the secret police in

Germany.” What does this tell you about what the Nazis didn’t want others to know?
7. KQ What did you learn about standing up for others who are being treated badly from
Wiesel’s memoir? How was this conveyed by his use of foreshadowing?
SAMPLE
3.4
• As you read, underline the groups that the Nazis separated people into. Also
INDEPENDENT
circle any of the group names that are unfamiliar. READING LINK
Read and Respond
by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary. As you read independently,
look for examples of flashback
and foreshadowing. Write
About the Author down two or three examples,
along with a brief description of
Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) was a German how each illustrates the literary
Protestant pastor. During World War II, he opposed device.
Hitler’s religious policies and was sent to concentration
camps. He survived and, after the war, joined the World
Peace Movement. This poem is his response to the
question “How could it happen?”
Poetry
First They Came for

KNOWLEDGE
QUEST
Knowledge Question:
the Communists
Why should people stand up
for each other?
by Martin Niemöller
When the Nazis came for the communists,

I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,

5 I remained silent; WORD CONNECTIONS
I was not a social democrat. Roots and Affixes
The Latin root commun in
communist means “common.”
When they came for the trade unionists,
There are a few distinctions in
I did not speak out; the definition of common. In
I was not a trade unionist. this case it refers to something
that is shared or owned
together by several people or
10 When they came for the Jews, groups. In communism, land
and factories are owned by the
I did not speak out;
community.
I was not a Jew. To explore this root further,
determine the meaning of
communal, which also includes
When they came for me,
SAMPLE
the root commun, and use the
there was no one left to speak out. word in a sentence.

3.4
Knowledge Quest
• What are your first thoughts about the poem?
• What emotion do you feel after reading the poem’s final lines?

your responses.
8. How does each stanza contribute to a developing sense of doom? Which words does the poet
use to build the mood in the poem?
9. Describe the poet’s use of punctuation. What is the effect of using punctuation in this way?
10. Why do you think the poet ends the poem with a two-line stanza rather than a three-line stanza
like the others? How does this change in the stanza’s length reflect his message?

11. KQ What connotations does the word communist have in the poem? How are the
connotations different from the denotation of the word?
SAMPLE
3.4
12. KQ What is the poet’s reason for not “speaking out”? How is this reason
similar to Wiesel’s “Night”? How is this reason deceiving?

Use your knowledge of the three texts about the Holocaust to discuss with a READING LINK
partner the role that bystanders played in the Holocaust. Why should people You can continue to build
stand up for each other? Be sure to: your knowledge about the
Holocaust and the importance
• Explain your answer to your partner, be specific and use details. of being an upstander by
• When your partner explains his or her answer, ask for clarification by reading informational texts at
posing follow-up questions as needed. ZINC Reading Labs. Search for
keywords such as Holocaust,
• After the discussion, write down the ideas you talked about.
activists, or bullying.
You’ve been reading texts about how the Nazis singled out Jews, along with
other groups they deemed undesirable or dangerous, for arrest, detainment,
and later extermination. You have also been learning about standing up
for others. Imagine seeing someone at school being bullied by classmates.
Making sure that you remain safe, what steps could you and your friends take?
Whom could you ask for help? How could you get their help quickly to prevent
physical or emotional harm to the one being bullied? Discuss the risks and
benefits with a small group of peers. Use the Round Table Discussion graphic
organizer to record everyone’s ideas for a thoughtful decision-making process
that you and your friends could follow as upstanders. When you have finalized
your plan, record it in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

13. Work collaboratively while participating in a Literature Circle discussion about
SAMPLE
the two texts you read in this activity. Use the descriptions of each Literature
Circle role in Activity 3.3 to guide your group’s thinking and analysis before
completing the following compare-contrast chart.

3.4
14. Now that you participated in a Literature Circle discussion, use your ideas from the discussion
to compare and contrast both texts. Consider each text’s structure, language, and theme. Then
record your ideas in the following Compare-Contrast graphic organizer.
“First They Came for the

Excerpt from Night Communists”
Structure:
How are the ideas presented? How are
events or ideas organized? What is the
genre of the text?
Language:
How do the words make you feel? Why
might the author have chosen one word
over another?
Theme:
How are the events described in Night
similar to those described in the poem?
What lesson has each narrator learned
from experiencing these events?

Use details from the graphic organizer to complete the following sentences.
Although the texts are structured differently,
While the excerpt from Night contains descriptive language,
Even though the texts are different genres,
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Analyzing an Allegory 3.5

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Use sensory and other descriptive details to create mental images of a Oral Interpretation
story as it is read aloud. Think-Pair-Share
• Identify and analyze connections among the themes of Holocaust texts Graphic Organizer
in multiple genres.
• Work collaboratively to plan and perform a dramatic interpretation of an
assigned passage.
My Notes
Preview
In this lesson, you will think about how a children’s story connects to the
themes of other texts about the Holocaust, and you will work in a group to
present a dramatic interpretation of a passage.

• As you listen to the story, make a list in your Reader/Writer Notebook of any
unfamiliar words and write down any questions that you have.
• Make notes of any connections that you notice among the three texts about the
Holocaust that you have studied so far.
About the Author

Eve Bunting (1928–) was born in Ireland and grew up in a household with
parents who loved to read. In 1958, she moved to California with her
husband and three young children. After taking a writing class, Bunting
started to get her children’s stories and books published. Several of her
books have received awards. Even though picture books are her favorite
genre, she often writes about serious and difficult topics. As a result, her
books are enjoyed by young readers and adults alike.
Making Observations
• What happens in the story?
• What do the characters and events remind you of?
SAMPLE
3.5
• Listen to your teacher read the story again, and use details from the story to complete the
following chart.
• Write any additional questions you have about the story in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
How do the other animals respond to How do the other animals respond after the Terrible
the demand of the Terrible Things? Things have taken the animals?
When the Terrible Things come for “every creature with feathers on its back”
Frogs, squirrels, porcupines, rabbits, fish: Porcupine, squirrels:
Little Rabbit:
Big Rabbit:
When the Terrible Things come for “every bushy-tailed creature”
Frogs, porcupines, fish, rabbits: Little Rabbit:

Big Rabbit:
SAMPLE
3.5
How do the other animals respond to the demand of How do the other animals respond after the Terrible
the Terrible Things? Things have taken the animals?
When the Terrible Things come for “every creature that swims”
Rabbits, porcupines: Little Rabbit:
Big Rabbit:
When the Terrible Things come for “every creature that sprouts quills”
Rabbits: Little Rabbit:
Big Rabbit:
When the Terrible Things come for “any creature that is white”
Little Rabbit:
1. How are the Little Rabbit, Wiesel, and the speaker in the poem “First They Came for the
Communists” similar? How are their actions and desires similar?
SAMPLE
3.5
2. Why would authors choose to use an allegory to tell a story?
3. After listening and taking notes, meet with your Literature Circle groups and, using your notes
and insights, discuss how this text connects to the previous two texts you have read. Discuss
the three different genres presented and why they are effective and appropriate for the topic,
audience, and purpose.

Reflect on your Literature Circle discussion. What connections can you make among the texts that
you have read so far in this unit.
Planning a Dramatic Performance

4. Work collaboratively to plan and perform a dramatic interpretation of your assigned passage.
Mark the text for pauses, emphasis, volume, and tone to convey important ideas and to add
interest.
5. Rehearse your interpretation, and then present to the other group that shares your passage.
Use an appropriate register, vocabulary, tone, and voice.
6. Reflect on your group’s dramatic interpretation. What did your group do well? What will you do

differently next time?

Write a paragraph explaining how the theme of this story is similar to the theme of Wiesel’s
excerpt and Niemöller’s poem. Be sure to:
• Begin with a topic sentence that responds to the prompt and states a theme.
• Provide textual evidence from the texts and commentary for support.
• Use precise diction to inform or explain.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Dangerous Diction 3.6

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Use print and digital resources to explain the meaning, word origin, and Graphic Organizer
other aspects of Holocaust-related vocabulary. Discussion Groups
• Participate collaboratively in a discussion about the Holocaust using
newly acquired vocabulary.
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
Preview Euphemisms are offensive
In this lesson, you will think carefully about the language associated with expressions that are
the Holocaust and use Holocaust-related vocabulary in a group discussion. substituted for ideas that
are considered too harsh or
blunt. A common example
Understanding Euphemism of a euphemism is saying
that something fell off the
The Nazis deliberately used euphemisms to disguise the true nature of their crimes.
back of a truck when it was
Euphemisms replace disturbing words using diction with more positive connotations.
actually stolen.
1. Work with a small group to analyze how the Nazis manipulated language to
disguise the horror of their policies. Research the term euphemism and how
they were used in Nazi Germany. If doing an online search, use effective search
terms to find the true meanings of the terms in this graphic organizer.
Euphemism Denotation Meaning in Context of Analyze the Difference in

(Literal Definition) the Holocaust Connotation
relocation
disinfecting or delousing
centers
camp
The Final Solution
2. To discuss the Holocaust, you will need to be familiar with Holocaust-related

vocabulary. In your Literature Circle groups, use print or digital resources to
research and explain each of the terms listed on the following. Record as much
information as possible about each term, including its meaning, pronunciation,
syllables, and part of speech. Also, investigate each term’s origin if possible,
SAMPLE
explaining any Greek or Latin roots or other word parts. Then synthesize the
information to write a thorough explanation of each term.

3.6
Holocaust Vocabulary Definition/Explanation
antisemitism
concentration camp
death camp
genocide
gestapo
Holocaust
Nazi
persecution
propaganda
SS (Schutzstaffel)

Star of David
WORD CONNECTIONS
3. In your Literature Circle groups, hold a discussion that connects the above
Etymology terms to the Holocaust texts you have already studied. The Discussion
Euphemism contains the Greek Leader in your group should note each “hit,” or each time a group member
prefix eu-, meaning “well” or appropriately uses one of the terms in a response. At the end of the
“pleasing,” and the Greek root discussion, add up the hits to see how well your group did at using newly
pheme, which has the meaning acquired vocabulary in discussion.
of “speak.” A person who uses
a euphemism speaks with Check Your Understanding
pleasing words.
Use your growing knowledge of the Holocaust to write five sentences on the topic,
People in ancient Greece were
with each of your sentences using one of the vocabulary words in the chart. Write
superstitious about using
two statements, one question, one command, and one exclamation.
certain words in religious
ceremonies. Euphemisms
SAMPLE
were used instead to be more
pleasing.

ACTIVITY
Exploring the Museum 3.7

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Summarize information gathered from a Holocaust website and Oral Reading
contribute events to a historical time line. Note-taking
• Work within a group to choose talking points and plan a collaborative Discussion Groups
presentation to present them. Graphic Organizer
• Organize a draft with a purposeful structure, including an introduction, Summarizing
transitions, and a conclusion.
Preview
In this lesson, you will gather information about the Holocaust from a My Notes
website and work with a group to turn that information into a presentation.
Researching the Holocaust

1. Setting (time and place) is important in any story, but why is it especially
important in a Holocaust narrative?
2. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., has a

large collection of primary and secondary sources about the events and people
of the Holocaust. Work collaboratively to research and take notes on your
assigned topics by exploring the museum’s website, starting with the page
“The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students.” Record the sources you use and
differentiate whether they are primary or secondary resources.
3. Each of the topics on the Learning Site links to a different web page. Visit the
website to explore your topics. Take notes on a graphic organizer like the one
that follows in order to prepare your talking points for a presentation on the
Holocaust. Your talking points should contain interesting information that

leads to an exploration of the theme, or central idea.
Step 4 has a list of topics about the Holocaust. Your teacher will assign each
group a topic (column) and individual subjects within that topic to research.
As you research, neatly copy your key dates and events onto individual index
cards to add to the collaborative time line after your presentation.
My Group’s Topic:
Topic 1: Topic 2:
Notes for Talking Points: Notes for Talking Points:
Summaries and Dates of Key Summaries and Dates of Key Events:
SAMPLE
Events:

3.7
4. Mark the chart to indicate your assignment by circling the title of your group’s topic (column)
and highlighting or placing a check mark by the topics you are responsible for.
Nazi Rule Jews in Prewar The “Final Nazi Camp System Rescue and
Germany Solution” Resistance
• Hitler Comes to • Jewish Life in • Ghettos in Poland • Prisoners of • Rescue in

Power Europe Before • Life in the the Camps Denmark
• The Nazi Terror the Holocaust Ghettos • “Enemies of • Jewish Partisans
Begins • Antisemitism • Mobile Killing the State” • The Warsaw
• SS Police State • The Boycott Squads • Forced Labor Ghetto Uprising
• Nazi Propaganda of Jewish • The Wannsee • Death Marches • Killing Center
and Censorship Businesses Conference • Liberation Revolts
• Nazi Racism • The Nuremberg and the “Final • The Survivors • The War Refugee
Race Laws Solution” Board
• World War II in • The Nuremberg
Europe • The “Night of • At the Killing Trials • Resistance Inside
Broken Glass” Centers Germany
• The Murder of the
Handicapped • The Evian • Deportations
• German Rule in Conference • Auschwitz
Occupied Europe • Voyage of the
St. Louis
• Locating
the Victims
Source: Copyright © United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
5. Gather with your group and present the results of your research. Work together to plan
a collaborative presentation based on your group’s most interesting or important talking
points. Decide which point(s) each person will discuss, how long each person will speak,
who will present the introduction and conclusion, and which types of delivery will be most
effective. Also, plan how to transition effectively between talking points. Once everyone has

an assignment, take time to prepare individual talking points. Then return to the group and
rehearse putting the presentation together. Take notes in the following outline to organize
your presentation.
SAMPLE
3.7
Organization of Presentation Assignment
Introduction: Begin with a dramatic interpretation of Dramatic Interpretation:

a startling fact, statistic, or anecdote from the site and Preview:
preview what is to follow in the presentation.
Transition:
Talking Point 1: Topic:
Transition:
Transition:
Transition:
Conclusion: Summarize a thoughtful question or Brief Summary:

thematic connection. Question or Connection:
6. As you rehearse your presentation, use this chart to evaluate yourself and the rest of
your group.
Element of Expressive Oral Proficient Emerging

Reading/Speaking
Enunciation: Enunciation is clear, correct, and Mumbling, incorrect or indistinct

Pronunciation of words effective throughout the reading pronunciation hinders the listener’s
and enhances the listener’s understanding.
understanding.
Pitch: Variety in vocal highs and Mostly monotone

Vocal highs and lows lows enhances the listener’s
understanding of the passage.
Volume: Variety in volume enhances the Too quiet

Variety in volume listener’s understanding of the
passage.
Tempo: Appropriate pacing enhances the Too fast or too slow

Appropriate pacing (fast or slow) listener’s understanding of the
passage.
Phrasing: Pauses and emphasis enhance the No pauses or emphasized words

Pausing at appropriate points and listener’s understanding of the
adding emphasis to some words
SAMPLE
passage.

3.7
7. Deliver your presentation and add the information from your index cards to the
collaborative time line.
8. As you view the other presentations, take notes in this chart, drawing a line under each new
presentation.
Presentation Topic and Facts and Information My Opinion and Questions I Still Have
Speaker Names About the Topic Evaluation of the Talking
Points

9. Use the notes and outline from your presentation to draft an informational essay.
10. Reflect on your group’s collaborative presentation:

• What did your group do well?
• What will you do differently next time?

In your Reader/Writer Notebook, draw three conclusions about the Holocaust. Then make a list of
SAMPLE
any additional questions you have about the presentations or timeline.

ACTIVITY
Presenting Voices 3.8

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Choose a specific Holocaust victim and gather relevant biographical Note-taking
information about him or her through research. Graphic Organizer
• Identify active and passive voice, and use each voice correctly to achieve Drafting
an appropriate effect. Adding
• Plan, write, and revise a draft that tells the story of a person’s life. Substituting
Oral Reading
Preview
In this lesson, you will research the life of a specific Holocaust victim and
use the information to draft a narrative telling their life story. WORD CONNECTIONS
Roots and Affixes
Perpetrator contains the Latin
Researching the Holocaust root petrare, which means “to
1. During the Holocaust, many people fit into one of the following categories based bring about.” It derives from
on either their circumstances or decisions that they made. Try to think of individual pater, which means “father,”
examples of each from your reading, research, and/or prior knowledge. Which as seen in paternity and
group do you think was the largest? Which was the smallest? patriarch. Adding the suffix
-or, which means “one that
Victims:
performs a specific action,”
Perpetrators:
makes perpetrator refer to
the person who brings about,
Rescuers:
or commits, a certain action.
Bystanders:
It is commonly associated
with doing something
wrong or illegal.

Write three questions about this image.
INDEPENDENT
READING LINK
Read and Respond
Artifacts featured at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., are primary In the narrative you are reading
sources that help to tell the story of the Holocaust. independently, find a few
instances where the author
Question 1. uses the active voice and a
few uses of the passive voice.
Question 2. Rewrite each sentence in the
SAMPLE
other voice.
Question 3.

3.8
2. Choose an ID card from the Holocaust Museum website. Take notes on each section of your
card, using the chart to organize information. As you learn about your chosen person, try to
see the world through his or her eyes. Then in preparation for the Narrative Writing Prompt,
present the results of your research to your group.
Name:
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Biographical Background:
Experiences from 1933 to 1939:
War Years:
Future and Fate:

LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
When writing or speaking, it is usually better to use active voice instead of passive voice.
However, skilled writers and speakers use voice for effect, and sometimes the passive voice
works better. Study these examples. How is the effect different in each sentence?
Passive: Relocation camps were used to destroy whole villages.
Active: The Nazis used the camps to empty whole villages of their citizens.
Notice that the passive voice sentence does not mention the people who were doing the
destroying. It has a softer effect. The active voice sentence is more engaging and powerful.
Depending on what tone the writer wants to create, either sentence could be effective.
PRACTICE Find some examples of active and passive voice in your reading or writing. Write
several examples in your Reader/Writer Notebook and try changing them to the opposite
SAMPLE
voice to see which has more impact.

3.8
WORD CONNECTIONS
Narrative Writing Prompt
Using the information you learned in your research about a Holocaust victim, Roots and Affixes
draft a story about the victim’s experiences. Be sure to: Both pronounce and enunciate
contain the Latin root nuntius,
• Use narrative techniques (dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection) to which means “messenger.”
develop events and characters. There is a delicate distinction
• Establish a context and use first-person point of view (I). between the two words. To
• Sequence events logically and naturally using your notes as a guide. pronounce means “to say
words correctly.” To enunciate
• Use active and passive voice effectively.
means “to say words clearly as
you are pronouncing them.”
The word monotone includes
3. Revise your writing to show your understanding of voice and mood by
the prefix mono-, meaning
adding or substituting for effect. Also revisit the organizational outline
“one,” as in monologue,
introduced in Activity 3.7 Step 5. Then check your work to be sure you have
monomania, and monocle.
included transitions to convey sequence and signal shifts and to connect the Thus monotone means “one
relationships among experiences and events. Reflect on your editing: How tone,” or “without inflection.”
does using voice and mood for effect strengthen your writing?
My Notes
Presenting the Narrative

4. Revisit the evaluation criteria introduced in Activity 3.7 Step 6 before you
prepare for your oral reading. Remember to enunciate clearly by pronouncing
words correctly, to vary your pitch as to not be monotone, to vary your volume,
to pace yourself, and to pause at appropriate points for emphasis.
5. Prepare and present an oral reading of your revised narrative to a small group
of your peers. Use the chart in Activity 3.7 Step 6 to provide feedback about
each speaker’s strengths and weaknesses.

How did the process of researching a person from the Holocaust and trying
to see the world from that person’s perspective add to your understanding of
the Holocaust? What evidence supported your understanding of the Holocaust
experience? Discuss with a partner.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
3.9 Analyzing Theme in Film
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Predicting • Analyze film clips from a movie about the Holocaust and note details
Graphic Organizer about setting, characters, plot, and mood.
Drafting • Explain how screenwriters use such literary elements as setting,
Oral Reading character, plot, and mood to develop a theme.
Discussion Groups • Write an informational text on the Holocaust and present an effective
oral reading of the written draft.
Preview
My Notes In this lesson, you will watch film clips from a movie about the Holocaust
and think about how its theme is developed through literary elements.
Then you will write an informational essay and present it.
About the Film

Life Is Beautiful is a fictional story
about a family in Italy that is sent
to a concentration camp. The
father and son are Jewish, but the
mother is not. The father tries to
protect his son from the ugly
realities of the Holocaust by
making it seem as if they are
playing a game whose prize
is a real tank. Life Is Beautiful
was released in the United States
in 1997 and received wide acclaim and numerous awards, including three
Academy Awards. The Academy Award for Best Actor went to Roberto
Benigni, who cowrote, directed, and starred in the film.

Finding Hope in Times of Despair
1. Return to Activity 3.2 and reread the quotes. Notice that each speaker uses
the opposites of hope and despair to say something about life. How do you
think this conflict between opposites might be portrayed in film?
2. Based on the information in the About the Film, predict conflicts that the
father might encounter as he tries to convince his son that the concentration
camp is just a game.
3. Work in groups of four to take notes on setting, character, plot, and mood
in each film clip. Share notes and trade jobs after each clip to complete the
following graphic organizer.
SAMPLE
3.9
Setting Character(s) Plot Mood
Clip 1
Clip 2
Clip 3
Clip 4
SAMPLE
3.9
Was the mood of the film appropriate for the topic of the film? Why or why not? Discuss your
opinions in a small group using the following discussion prompts.
Discussion Prompts:
A. What is your reaction to a film about the Holocaust that has so much comedy in it?
B. What aspects of the Holocaust, as portrayed in the film, are similar to or different from what you
learned in your research?
C. How and when did the mood change during the film clips, and what settings, characters, or
events caused those shifts? Consider the following image of the scene in your discussion.
Roberto Benigni in the film Life Is Beautiful, which he cowrote, directed, and starred in.

One of the themes of Life Is Beautiful is the ability to find the good in a very difficult situation.
Write a draft of an informational essay that describes some of the ways Holocaust victims
found hope in the dark reality of their lives. Make sure you use at least two examples from
the movie and/or the texts in your writing. Be sure to:
• Begin with a meaningful topic sentence that responds to the prompt.
• Provide two or more examples from the movie and/or texts.
• Combine simple sentences, when possible, to create more complex sentences, and use
transitions to connect ideas.
• Provide a conclusion that summarizes your response.
Prepare and present an oral reading of your written draft. Use the chart in Activity 3.7 to
guide your preparation. Present your response to another pair of students. Provide feedback
about ideas and oral reading.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Dramatic Tone Shifts 3.10

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Understand and identify the features of the drama genre. Skimming/Scanning
Marking the Text
• Analyze how dialogue and other features of drama are used in a play to
develop character and plot, convey tone, and reveal theme. Close Reading
Oral Reading
Preview Discussion Groups
In this lesson, you will read an excerpt from a play and think about how its Drafting
features work together to tell a story and share a message.
LITERARY
VOCABULARY
Genre Study: Drama
Drama is a genre of
Just like a short story or novel, a play tells a story through literary elements like literature that is intended
characters, setting, and plot. However, unlike prose fiction, drama presents these to be performed before an
elements through a special structure. These structural differences allow the drama audience. A drama is driven
to be performed onstage with actors. Take a look at the following chart. by characters’ words and
actions. The setting of a
Element of Drama Definition Example drama can be established
through props and
Cast of Characters A list of the characters Families living in the costumes.
that appear in a play, hidden attic:
usually presented at Mr. Frank and Mrs.
the beginning Frank: Anne and
Margot Frank’s parents My Notes
Stage Directions Directions to the actors (Night. Everyone is
about how to act out asleep. Suddenly, Mrs.
each part of the play, Frank sits up in bed.)
usually presented in
italic type
Dialogue The words that the Mrs. Frank: (In a

characters speak to whisper.) Otto. Listen.
each other, which The rat!
move along the action
of the play
Acts The main sections of Act 1

a play
Scenes Smaller sections of Act 2, Scene 2

a play that happen
within an act
SAMPLE
3.10
• As you read, look for elements of drama in the text. Label elements “C” for cast
of characters, “SD” for stage directions, and “D” for dialogue.
• Record questions you have about the play or the genre.
About the Authors

Frances Goodrich (1891–1984) and Albert Hackett
(1900–1995) were both writers and actors; they
married in 1931. Together they wrote numerous plays
and film screenplays. In 1955 they adapted Anne
Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl for the stage, where
it received several Tony Award nominations, including
a win for best play. The play also was awarded the
Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1956.
Drama
The Diary of
from
Anne Frank
Families living in the hidden attic:

Mr. Frank and Mrs. Frank: Anne and Margot Frank’s parents

Margot and Anne: sisters, 18 and 13 years old
Mr. van Daan and Mrs. van Daan: Mr. van Daan worked with Otto Frank
5 in Amsterdam
Peter van Daan: their son
Mr. Dussel: older; dentist who also lives in the attic
Others:
Miep Gies: close friend of the Frank family
INDEPENDENT
READING LINK 10 Eisenhower: the voice of the American general
Read and Connect Scene: Anne, Mr. Dussel, Mr. van Daan, Mr. Frank, Mrs. van Daan,
Find an instance in the Mrs. Frank, Margot, Peter, Miep, Eisenhower
narrative you are reading
(Night. Everyone is asleep. Suddenly, Mrs. Frank sits up in bed.)
independently where the tone
shifts dramatically. How is it MRS. FRANK: (In a whisper.) Otto. Listen. The rat!
similar to or different from
15 MR. FRANK: Edith, please. Go back to sleep. (He turns over. Mrs. Frank gets
the tone shift in the play? What
up, quietly creeps to the main room, stands still. There is a tiny crunching
SAMPLE
language is used to indicate
a shift? sound. In the darkness, a figure is faintly illuminated, crouching over, gnawing
on something.
3.10
Mrs. Frank moves closer, turns on the light. Trembling, Mr. van Daan jumps My Notes
20 to his feet. He is clutching a piece of bread.)
RS. FRANK: My God, I don’t believe it! The bread! He’s stealing the bread!
M
(Pointing at Mr. van Daan.) Otto, look!
MR. VAN DAAN: No, no. Quiet.
MR. FRANK: (As everyone comes into the main room in their nightclothes.)
25 Hermann, for God’s sake!
MRS. VAN DAAN: (Opening her eyes sleepily.) What is it? What’s going on?
MRS. FRANK: It’s your husband. Stealing our bread!
MRS. VAN DAAN: It can’t be. Putti, what are you doing?
MR. VAN DAAN: Nothing.
30 MR. DUSSEL: It wasn’t a rat. It was him.
MR. VAN DAAN: Never before! Never before!
M
RS. FRANK: I don’t believe you. If he steals once, he’ll steal again. Every
day I watch the children get thinner. And he comes in the middle of the
night and steals food that should go to them!
35 MR. VAN DAAN: (His head in his hands.) Oh my God. My God.
MR. FRANK: Edith. Please.
MARGOT: Mama, it was only one piece of bread.
MR. VAN DAAN: (Putting the bread on the table. In a panic.) Here. (Mrs.
Frank swats the bread away.)
40 MR. FRANK: Edith, he couldn’t help himself! It could happen to any one
of us.
MRS. FRANK: (Quiet.) I want him to go.
GRAMMAR & USAGE
MRS. VAN DAAN: Go? Go where?

MRS. FRANK: Anywhere. Pronoun Antecedents
45 MRS. VAN DAAN: You don’t mean what you’re saying. An antecedent is a word or
group of words that a pronoun
M
R. DUSSEL: I understand you, Mrs. Frank. But it really would be refers to. Mrs. Frank says,
impossible for them— “They have to! I can’t take it
MRS. FRANK: They have to! I can’t take it with them here. with them here.” To whom is
she referring? The preceding
MR. FRANK: Edith, you know how upset you’ve been these past— part of the play indicates that
50 MRS. FRANK: That has nothing to do with it. Mrs. Frank is referring to the
van Daans. This statement
MR. FRANK: We’re all living under terrible strain. (Looking at Mr. van would be confusing if readers
Daan.) It won’t happen again. did not know the antecedent
(in this example, the van
MR. VAN DAAN: Never. I promise.
Daans).
MRS. FRANK: I want them to leave. As you read, notice pronouns
55 MRS. VAN DAAN: You’d put us out on the street? and make sure you know their
antecedents. Being clear about
MRS. FRANK: There are other hiding places. Miep will find something.
SAMPLE
antecedents can often improve
Don’t worry about the money. I’ll find you the money. your comprehension of a text.

3.10
MRS. VAN DAAN: Mr. Frank, you told my husband
you’d never forget what he did for you when you first
60 came to Amsterdam.
MRS. FRANK: If my husband had any obligation to
you, it’s paid for.
MR. FRANK: Edith, I’ve never seen you like this, for
God’s sake.
65 A
NNE: You can’t throw Peter out! He hasn’t done
anything.
MRS. FRANK: Peter can stay.
PETER: I wouldn’t feel right without Father.
A
NNE: Mother, please. They’ll be killed on the street.
70 MARGOT: Anne’s right. You can’t send them away.
The Diary of Anne Frank was
MRS. FRANK: They can stay till Miep finds them a place. But we’re
staged as a play for the first
time by Leon de Winter at
switching rooms. I don’t want him near the food.
the renowned Hamburg Ernst MR. DUSSEL: Let’s divide it up right now.
Deutsch Theater in Germany on M ARGOT: (As he gets a sack of potatoes.) We’re not going to divide up
August 27, 2015, starring Kristin
75 some rotten potatoes.
Suckow as Anne.
R. DUSSEL: (Dividing the potatoes into piles.) Mrs. Frank, Mr. Frank,
M
Margot, Anne, Peter, Mrs. van Daan, Mr. van Daan, myself … Mrs. Frank,
Mr. Frank …
My Notes M ARGOT: (Overlapping.) Mr. Dussel, please. Don’t! No more. No more,
80 Mr. Dussel! I beg you. I can’t bear it. (Mr. Dussel continues counting
nonstop. In tears.) Stop! I can’t take it …
MRS. FRANK: All this … all that’s happening …
MR. FRANK: Enough! Margot. Mr. Dussel. Everyone—back to your

rooms. Come, Edith. Mr. Dussel, I think the potatoes can wait. (Mr. Dussel
85 goes on counting. Tearing the sack from Mr. Dussel, the potatoes spilling.)
Just let them wait! (He holds out his hand for Mrs. Frank. They all go back
to their rooms. Peter and Mrs. van Daan pick up the scattered potatoes.
Not looking at each other, Mr. and Mrs. van Daan move to their separate
beds. The buzzer rings frantically, breaking the silence.) Miep? At this hour?
90 (Miep runs up the stairs, as everyone comes back into the main room.)
M IEP: (Out of breath.) Everyone … everyone … the most wonderful,
incredible news!
MR. FRANK: What is it?
M IEP: (Tears streaming down her cheeks.) The invasion. The invasion has
95 begun! (They stare at her, unable to grasp what she is telling them.) Did you
hear me? Did you hear what I said? The invasion! It’s happening—right now!
(As Mrs. Frank begins to cry.) I rushed to tell you before the workmen got
here. You can feel it in the streets—the excitement! This is it. They’ve landed
SAMPLE
on the coast of Normandy.
100 PETER: The British?

3.10
M
IEP: British, Americans … everyone! More than four thousand ships!
Look—I brought a map. (Quickly she unrolls a map of Normandy on the
GRAMMAR & USAGE
table.) Punctuation
M R. FRANK: (Weeping, embracing his daughters.) For over a year we’ve Punctuation helps to clarify
105 hoped for this moment. meaning in sentences. Notice
the varied punctuation in the
MIEP: (Pointing.) Cherbourg. The first city. They’re fighting for it right now. drama.
MR. DUSSEL: How many days will it take them from Normandy to the Ellipses (...) are used to show
Netherlands? pauses or to show that words
are omitted, or left out.
MR. FRANK: (Taking Mrs. Frank in his arms.) Edith, what did I tell you?
A colon (:) is used in a script
R. DUSSEL: (Placing the potatoes on the map to hold it down ashe
110 M to follow the name of the
checks the cities.) Cherbourg. Caen. Pont L’Eveque. Paris. And then … speaker. It can also be used to
Amsterdam! (Mr. van Daan breaks into a convulsive sob.) introduce a list or a statement.
An exclamation point (!) is
MRS. VAN DAAN: Putti.
used to show excitement.
M R. FRANK: Hermann, didn’t you hear what Miep said? We’ll be free A dash (—) is used to set off or
115 … soon. (Mr. Dussel turns on the radio. Amidst much static, Eisenhower’s emphasize content.
voice is heard from his broadcast of June 6, 1944.) Parentheses ( ) indicate an
ISENHOWER: (Voice-over.) People of Western Europe, a landing
E aside or additional information.
was made this morning on the coast of France by troops of the Allied Look for examples of these
types of punctuation as you
Expeditionary Force. This landing is part of the concerted United Nations
reread the play excerpt.
120 plan for the liberation of Europe …
R. FRANK: (Wiping tears from his eyes.) Listen. That’s General
M
Eisenhower. (Anne pulls Margot down to her room.) WORD CONNECTIONS
ISENHOWER: (Voice-over, fading away.) … made in conjunction with
E
Word Relationships
our great Russian allies. I have this message for all of you. Although the
Concerted and conjunction are
125 initial assault may not have been made in your own country, the hour of
similar in meaning. Concerted
your liberation is approaching. All patriots … describes the combined efforts
NNE: (Hugging Margot.) Margot, can you believe it? The invasion!
A of people or groups that work
Home. That means we could be going home. together to achieve a goal.

Think of a concert where
MARGOT: I don’t even know what home would be like anymore. I can’t musicians and singers perform
130 imagine it—we’ve been away for so long. together to make music. You
A
NNE: Oh, I can! I can imagine every little detail. And just to be outside could also say these musicians
are working in conjunction with
again. The sky, Margot! Just to walk along the canal! each other, meaning they are
ARGOT: (As they sit down on Anne’s bed.) I’m afraid to let myself
M working together at the same
think about it. To have a real meal—(They laugh together.) It doesn’t seem time to put on a great show.
125 possible! Will anything taste the same? Look the same? (Growing more
and more serious.) I don’t know if anything will ever feel normal again.
How can we go back … really?
Making Observations
• What do the stage directions tell you that the dialogue alone
does not?
convulsive: marked by violent
SAMPLE
• What happens in this excerpt of the play? shaking

3.10
responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the play in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. Quote dialogue that expresses Mrs. Frank’s anger. Why is she so angry when the scene begins?
2. Identify an example of stage directions that are essential to understanding the action in the
scene. How would the play be different if the stage directions were not included? How do they
help to develop the dramatic action in the scene?
3. After Mrs. Frank catches Mr. van Daan sneaking bread, the stage directions say, “Mrs. Frank
swats the bread away.” What does this action suggest about what motivates her? What other
example of her behavior fits this pattern?

4. Analyze this line of dialogue from the play:
MR. FRANK: Enough! Margot. Mr. Dussel. Everyone—back to your rooms.
How does Mr. Frank’s statement affect the action of the play? What happens next as a result?
What aspects of Mr. Frank’s character does his statement reveal?
What resolution in the plot does Mr. Frank’s statement cause?
SAMPLE
3.10
5. In literature, tone refers to the narrator’s attitude toward the characters, events, and other
elements of the story. Sometimes, the tone will be consistent throughout a passage, but other
times the tone can change, often in response to a character’s action or an event in the story.
In your group, discuss how and when the tone shifts in the play.
6. Use the following chart to analyze how the dialogue and stage directions help reveal the tone
and move the plot forward. In the Context column, explain where the line of dialogue fits in the
scene. In the Tone column, write a word or two to identify the tone of the play where the line is.
In the final column, explain what effect the line of dialogue has on moving forward the plot.
Line from Play Context Tone Effect on Plot
MR. VAN DAAN: (His

head in his hands.)
Oh my God. My God.
ANNE: Mother, please.

They’ll be killed on
the street.
MIEP: (Out of breath.)

Everyone … everyone
… the most wonderful,
incredible news!
MR. FRANK: (Wiping

tears from his eyes.)
Listen. That’s General
Eisenhower.
7. Decide on your roles for an oral reading of the scene with your group. Then prepare for the oral
reading by skimming/scanning the scene independently, marking and annotating your own
character’s lines:
• Mark connotative diction and label the tone you intend to use in speaking lines of dialogue.
SAMPLE
• Mark words of the dialogue that you will emphasize with a shift in volume or pitch.
• Place slash marks in places where you will pause for effect.

3.10
8. Review your marked-up lines with a partner. Follow and give advice about how to improve the
readings. Then conduct an oral reading, using your marks and annotations as a guide.

What is the mood of the play? Find evidence in the text to support your answer. Discuss with a
partner or in a small group.

Think about the characters in the scene from The Diary of Anne Frank. How does their
dialogue reveal the characters and the conflicts of the story? How does it increase the reader’s
understanding of an aspect of the Holocaust experience? Draft a response that explains how
specific dialogue is used to develop character(s) or plot and to reveal theme. Be sure to:
• Begin with a topic sentence that responds to the prompt.
• Provide textual evidence and commentary for support.
• Use transitional words and phrases to clarify how your ideas are related.
• Include a conclusion that summarizes your major points and supports your opening
statement.
LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Pronoun–Antecedent Agreement

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or another pronoun. The word or group
of words that a pronoun replaces is called its antecedent. A pronoun must agree with its
antecedent in number, gender, and person. Understanding antecedents can improve both
your reading and writing skills. In these examples, the pronoun is in bold type, and the
antecedent is underlined.
Anne and her family were excited by Miep’s news.

The Allied troops had landed, and they would fight their way to the Netherlands.
As a reader, boost your comprehension by knowing what or whom is being referred to. As a
writer, use clear pronoun–antecedent agreement to help the reader understand your meaning
and message.
PRACTICE Identify the pronouns and their antecedents in the following sentences. If you find
an error in agreement, rewrite the sentence with correct pronoun–antecedent agreement.
1. Mrs. Frank wanted Mr. van Daan and their whole family to leave the annex.
2. But then, Anne defended Peter because she considered him to be his friend. her friend
3. After the news of the invasion, Anne and her sister Margot dreamed of returning to
their home. correct
Look for examples of incorrect pronoun–antecedent agreement when you edit your
informational essay. Revise each trouble spot to clarify what the pronoun is referring to.
SAMPLE
Using Punctuation Within Sentences LC 3.10
Learning Targets
• Recognize how punctuation marks are used to indicate pauses and breaks within
sentences, including in dialogue.
• Correctly punctuate dialogue when crafting a brief dramatic scene.
Preview
In this lesson, you will learn how to use punctuation marks in sentences and dialogue, and
you will practice the skill by writing a short dramatic scene of your own.
Recognizing Punctuation Marks Within Sentences

Punctuation marks make texts easier to read and understand. They can show a writer’s tone as well
as organize thoughts. You already use many different punctuation marks in your formal writing.
1. Write a brief explanation of how each of these punctuation marks is used.
period (.):
question mark (?):
exclamation point (!):
comma (,):
ellipsis (...):
dash (—): A dash sometimes represents a sudden interruption in someone’s thought or speech.
2. Read the following lines of dialogue taken from The Diary of Anne Frank (Activity 3.10). After
each line, describe what the purpose or function of each punctuation mark is.
MR. FRANK: Edith, you know how upset you’ve been these past—
MRS. FRANK: That has nothing to do with it.
dash (—): The dash indicates that Mr. Frank’s dialogue is suddenly interrupted by Mrs. Frank’s
dialogue.
MIEP: British, Americans ... everyone! More than four thousand ships! Look—I brought a map.
ellipsis (...):
dash (—):
Punctuating Pauses
A long sentence without internal punctuation—that is, punctuation that appears inside the
sentence—runs the risk of being confusing to readers. Internal punctuation marks can clarify ideas
in a sentence. They can also be used to create pauses that make dialogue sound more realistic.
Quick Guide to Internal Punctuation
Comma (,) indicates a brief pause in a sentence Well, I didn’t think about it that way.
Ellipsis (...) indicates thought or speech that I wonder if ... I don’t know if it’ll work,
trails off or pauses but ... sure, let’s try it.
Dash (—) indicates a sudden break or If you push the start button first—
SAMPLE
interruption in thought or speech hey, are you paying attention to my
instructions?

LC 3.10
3. Work with a partner to revise each of these sentences, using the punctuation mark indicated
after the sentence.
a. And then she opened up my book / Hey! / Did you just see that?
Dash (—):
b. The rocket wasn’t tested / so I wonder if it will even succeed.
Comma (,):
c. There’s a way this plan can work / If we put our heads together / Yeah, we’ll have some ideas.
Ellipsis (...):
4. Rewrite the following lines of dialogue to include appropriate internal punctuation, based
on context.
a. I’m just not sure. It’s not coming to me. Maybe if I sleep on that idea for tonight.
b. The way the performers are staging the action is incredible. Whoa! Did you see that?
c. Joe may not appreciate that option so I will reconsider our plans for tonight.
Editing
Sometimes writers do not choose the most appropriate punctuation in their first drafts. Read the
following student paragraph, and decide how to edit each numbered sentence.
The Diary of Anne Frank is a drama written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. [1]
Together the two writers adapted Anne Frank’s book for the stage. [2] One of the greatest
accomplishments of their work is how natural the dialogue sounds it feels like you’re right
there in the room with the characters! For example, Mrs. Frank says, “If he steals once, he’ll
steal again ... And he comes in the middle of the night and steals food that should go to
them!” [3] The tone and punctuation really make the emotion of the scene very clear so it

becomes much more believable. [4] In real life, people interrupt each other all the time so
characters in a play should do the same to make the scenes realistic.

What question(s) can you ask yourself whenever you write in order to ensure you are using internal
punctuation correctly? Add the question(s) to your Editor’s Checklist.
Practice
Reread the excerpt from The Diary of Anne Frank from Activity 3.10, and notice how the playwrights’
use special punctuation to make the characters’ dialogue believable. Then craft a small scene from
your own imagination. Be sure to:
• Include dialogue for at least three characters in your scene.
SAMPLE
• Use ellipses, dashes, or commas to indicate pauses, sudden interruptions, or dialogue that trails off.
• Ask a partner to review your work for correct use of punctuation.

ACTIVITY
A Tale of Survival and Hope 3.11

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze literary elements in an excerpt of historical fiction about the Marking the Text
Holocaust. Note-taking
• Understand how setting affects other story elements, such as character, Graphic Organizer
plot, and theme. Outlining
• Collaborate to plan a panel discussion about the thematic focus of a Summarizing
passage. Rehearsal
Preview
In this lesson, you will read an excerpt from a historical novel based on a
true story about Yanek Gruener, a Jewish boy in 1930s Poland who is taken
My Notes
prisoner by the Nazis. You will also collaborate in a panel about theme.
Making Adjustments While Reading

While reading complex texts, readers sometimes need to pause and make
adjustments when their understanding breaks down. When you don’t understand
something you are reading, try the following adjustments:
• Reread the word, phrase, or sentence that you do not understand. Reread out
loud to see if hearing the sentence helps you understand it.
• Use your background knowledge to make sense of what you are reading.
• Ask questions about the text. Jot down questions in the My Notes section, and
return to them later to see if you know the answer after reading more of the
text.
• Use annotations, like metacognitive markers, to note parts of the text where
you have questions or comments.

• As you read, underline the words that describe characters and highlight text
that relates to the setting.
About the Author

Alan Gratz (b. 1972) is an American author of young
adult fiction. Gratz has published over a dozen novels,
including Prisoner B-3087 and Code of Honor. His
work has received many awards, including a YALSA
award for Best Fiction for Young Readers for Prisoner
B-3087. His novel Refugee spent over 6 months on
the New York Times bestseller list. Gratz has traveled
across the world to teach writing, including to Japan
and Indonesia, and is now settled in Asheville, North
Carolina with his wife and children.
SAMPLE
3.11
My Notes Novel
Prisoner B-3087
from
by Alan Gratz
1 After the shower nothing seemed to matter as much to me. I knew it was
a game to the Nazis—kill us, don’t kill us, to them it didn’t really matter—but
even so, I was glad I had made it through.
2 I had been ready to die. But when water came out of those showers, not
gas, it was like I was born again. I had survived, and I would keep surviving.
3 I was alive.
4 The Nazis lined us up, still naked and shivering. First they shaved our
heads. With our hair gone, we all looked alike—young and old. Next they
marched us to a different room, where soldiers waited at tables with what
looked like big oversized pencils with wires attached to them. As we worked our
way toward them, person after person, I could hear screams of pain ahead of us.
I had no idea what they were doing to us, but they weren’t killing us. That was
all that mattered, I told myself. I could handle pain.
5 By the time I got to the head of the line, I understood what was
happening. We were being tattooed. I watched as the man ahead of me had
letters and numbers carved into his skin in black ink with an electric needle.
When it was my turn, the Nazi with the tattoo pencil grabbed my arm and
started to write. The pain was awful as he dragged the vibrating needle over
my skin, but I knew better than to cry out or beg him to stop. Besides, nothing
could be worse than what had already happened to me. I had been in a gas
chamber. I had looked up into the showerhead and waited for death to come,

WORD CONNECTIONS and it had passed me by. I was alive. A tattoo was nothing to me. Not in that
moment.
Multiple Meaning Words
The word chamber has several 6 B-3087.
meanings, both as a noun
and a verb. As a noun, it can 7 That’s what the Nazis carved into my skin, B for Birkenau, 3087 for my
refer to a private bedroom, prisoner number. That was the mark they put on me, a mark I would have for
or a more formal room like a as long as I lived. B-3087. That was who I was to them. Not Yanek Gruener,
courtroom, or a meeting hall son of Oskar and Mina. Not Yanek Gruener of 20 Krakusa Street, Podgórze,
where business is conducted. Krakóv. Not Yanek Gruener who loved books and science and American
It can also refer to an enclosed
movies.
space, such as the chambers
of a human heart. As a verb, it 8 I was Prisoner B-3087.
can refer to the act of placing
something in a chamber or 9 But I was alive.
housing something.
10 After the room where we were tattooed, we were taken to another room
with a huge pile of old, used prisoner uniforms, and told to find something that
fit. The soldiers made us run, beating us with clubs if we took too long to find
SAMPLE
3.11
new pants and a shirt, so we took whatever we could as fast as we could. I ended My Notes
up with pants that were too short and a shirt that was too big, but I was lucky to
get a pair of wooden shoes that fit. That was important. Shoes were everything
in the camps. I moved fast and wasn’t beaten. I could play the game as well as
anybody. I had made it this far, hadn’t I? I was alive.
11 When we were showered and tattooed and dressed again, we were
taken to our new barracks. They were worse than any barracks I’d seen yet.
The ground at Birkenau was like a swamp, wet and thick with mud, and there
were no floors in the barracks. There was no heat or electric light either. The
bunks weren’t beds but shelves, stacked three tall on top of one another, and
they stuffed us in again as they had on the trains. There were no mattresses,
no pillows, no blankets. Just old, wet straw, when there was anything at all.
There were so many of us we could only all lie one direction or we couldn’t
lie down at all. It didn’t matter. I was alive. I couldn’t help thinking it over and
over again.
12 I felt something at my feet, deep inside the shelf, and I reached down to
get it. It was a scrap of colorful cloth, a bandanna or a handkerchief, probably
left there by one of the gypsies who’d slept in these bunks before us. I tucked
the scrap up under my head, hoping to use it as a bit of pillow against my ear,
but there was something hard inside it. I unknotted the cloth and found an
object hidden within: a little wooden horse. It was a simple children’s toy, a
rough carving that just hinted at four legs and a head, but it was smooth and
dark like it had been played with. Some gypsy boy or a girl had loved this
horse. Had somehow kept it with them always, right up until the very end.
Had they known they were going to die? Had they left their little horse behind
so it wouldn’t die with them? So some part of them might survive and be
remembered?
13 “We have a boy who is thirteen today,” a man on my shelf said. I raised my
head, as did one or two others. “Who will stand with him?”
14 No one stirred.
15 “Are there not ten men here who will make a minyan with us?”
16 “Be quiet,” someone told him. “Go to sleep.”
17 “How can you care about such things in a place like this?” someone else
asked.
18 “It is even more important here and now,” the man said.
19 Someone scoffed. “Tomorrow he will be dead. We all will. None of it minyan: group of at least 10
matters anymore.” Jews of-age needed for public
worship
20 I was tired, and starving, and my arm burned from the tattoo. But bar mitzvah: Jewish religious
suddenly I thought standing in a minyan for somebody’s bar mitzvah was ceremony held when a
the most important thing in the world. Worth losing sleep over. Worth being boy turns thirteen, and is
punished or killed. recognized as an adult member
SAMPLE
of the faith

3.11
My Notes 21 “I’ll do it,” I said. The men around me were quiet for a minute after I
spoke, and then someone else said yes. And another. And another. When
there were ten of us, we climbed down onto the muddy floor, and the man
who had first spoken began to pray. More men came down then, more than
ten, until we filled the whole ground. The boy looked so young, but I knew
I could be only one or two years older than he was. With a start, I realized I
had probably missed my own birthday. I was fifteen now, maybe even sixteen.
It was winter, but I had no idea what month it was, let alone what day. I had
been in concentration camps for more than two years. I looked at the boy and
remembered my own hasty bar mitzvah in Krakóv. I had been so young then, a
lifetime ago.
22 The ceremony was fast so we wouldn’t be caught. When it was over, the
men all whispered “Mazel tov” and climbed back onto their shelves. I went
up to the boy and pressed the wooden horse into his hands, the only present
I could give him. The boy looked at me with big, round eyes. Had I ever been
so young? “We are alive,” I told him. “We are alive, and that is all that matters.
We cannot let them tear us from the pages of the world.”
Making Observations
• What are some details you notice about the setting of the story?
• What characters do you meet in the story?
SAMPLE
3.11
• Return to the text as you respond to the following questions. Use evidence from the text to
support your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the excerpt in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. Examine the description in the first three paragraphs. What can you infer about why the
narrator’s shower made him feel like he was “born again”?
2. What can you infer about the setting of the narrative? Provide details that helped you form
your inferences.
3. Reread the conversation that takes place over paragraphs 13 through 20. How does the setting
affect the characters’ feelings about the boy’s birthday?
4. Reread paragraph 21. What does the narrator’s willingness to stand with the boy reveal about
his character?
5. Reread paragraph 22. How do the narrator’s comments reveal the excerpt’s theme?
SAMPLE
3.11
6. Both the narrator and the boy in the story had a thirteenth birthday. In the Jewish tradition,
when a boy turns thirteen, he is given a bar mitzvah, a ritual to mark a boy’s coming of age.
How were the two boy’s birthdays different? Working with a partner, use a Venn diagram like
the one that follows to compare and contrast the two characters’ thirteenth birthdays.
7. How does the boy’s thirteenth birthday become a symbol of hope for the characters?
SAMPLE
3.11
8. Fill in the following graphic organizer with information from the passage. Use your notes to
prepare talking points that will guide a meaningful discussion of the text. Be sure to:
• Discuss how interactions between characters, events (plot), or place (setting) contribute to
the development of a theme.
• Include details from the text, commentary (analysis), and questions to spark discussion.
Character 1: Character 2: Setting:
Summary of the Plot

Beginning: Middle: End:
Theme:
9. Work collaboratively to prepare the content of your panel discussion. Use the outline to plan your presentation.
Draft an introduction and conclusion, and select and arrange talking points. Assign a speaker to each part of the
presentation, and set a time limit for each. Have speakers practice using eye contact, gestures, and appropriate
speaking rate and volume. When other groups present their panel discussions, listen actively to understand their
points and share questions and comments, if possible.
SAMPLE
3.11
Organization of Presentation Assignment
Introduction: Begin with a dramatic Dramatic Interpretation:

interpretation of an important
section of the narrative, and preview
what is to follow in the presentation. Preview:
Transition:
Transition:
Conclusion: Summarize the main Brief Summary:

points of your discussion. Connect
the story to the theme of “finding
hope in times of despair.” Connection to Theme:
10. Review the criteria from the Embedded Assessment Scoring Guide to prepare the delivery of
your panel discussion.

11. After rehearsing your panel discussion, present it to another group. Use the Scoring Guide to
provide specific feedback and suggestions for improvement. Focus on the quality of speakers’
interpretation and evidence.

Quickwrite: How do you think the narrator will continue to affect the other boy’s life in the story?
Use text details to make predictions in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

Write a short, objective summary of the excerpt from Prisoner B-3087, including its theme
and how the characters, setting, and plot relate to the theme. Be sure to:
• Include a topic sentence that states the theme.
• Include details and quotes from the text in the summary.
SAMPLE
• Explain how characters, setting, and plot relate to the theme.

ACTIVITY
Creating a Memorable Opening 3.12

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Read an excerpt from a diary and choose impactful language to use in a
found poem. Close Reading
Rereading
• Work collaboratively to analyze the content and structure of a
found poem. Discussion Groups
• Present an oral reading of a found poem and listen actively to a partner’s

presentation, asking questions and making comments as appropriate.
Preview My Notes
In this lesson, you will read an excerpt from Anne Frank’s diary and create
a found poem from its words. You will then present an oral reading of your
own found poem to a partner.

• As you read, circle examples of impactful language to use in a found poem.
About the Author

Anne Frank (1929–1945) is one of the
Holocaust’s most famous victims. The Frank
family fled Germany for Amsterdam, but
eventually the Nazis also occupied the
Netherlands. The family spent two years in
hiding, during which Anne wrote of her
thoughts and feelings to her imaginary friend,
Kitty. The German authorities found the family’s
hiding place and sent them to concentration

camps, where Anne perished at age 15. Her
diary was found years later, and it continues to
be read today as a moving narrative from
the Holocaust.
SAMPLE
3.12
My Notes Diary
from
by Anne Frank
Dearest Kitty,
1 This morning I was constantly interrupted, and as a result I haven’t been
able to finish a single thing I’ve begun.
2 We have a new pastime, namely, filling packages with powdered gravy. The
gravy is one of Gies & Co.’s products. Mr. Kugler hasn’t been able to find anyone
else to fill the packages, and besides, it’s cheaper if we do the job. It’s the kind of
work they do in prisons. It’s incredibly boring and makes us dizzy and giggly.
3 Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor
helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. They’re allowed to take
only a knapsack and a little cash with them, and even then, they’re robbed of
these possessions on the way. Families are torn apart; men, women and children
are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have
disappeared. Women return from shopping to find their houses sealed, their
families gone. The Christians in Holland are also living in fear because their sons
are being sent to Germany. Everyone is scared. Every night hundreds of planes
pass over Holland on their way to German cities, to sow their bombs on German
soil. Every hour hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of people are being killed in
Russia and Africa. No one can keep out of the conflict, the entire world is at war,
and even though the Allies are doing better, the end is nowhere in sight.

4 As for us, we’re quite fortunate. Luckier than millions of people. It’s quiet
and safe here, and we’re using our money to buy food. We’re so selfish that we
talk about ‘‘after the war’’ and look forward to new clothes and shoes, when
actually we should be saving every penny to help others when the war is over, to
salvage whatever we can.
5 The children in this neighborhood run around in thin shirts and wooden
shoes. They have no coats, no socks, no caps and no one to help them. Gnawing
on a carrot to still their hunger pangs, they walk from their cold houses through
cold streets to an even colder classroom. Things have gotten so bad in Holland
that hordes of children stop passersby in the streets to beg for a piece of bread.
6 I could spend hours telling you about the suffering the war has brought,
but I’d only make myself more dejected. All we can do is wait, as calmly as
possible, for it to end. Jews and Christians alike are waiting, the whole world is
waiting, and many are waiting for death.
Yours,
Anne
SAMPLE
3.12
Making Observations
• What questions do you have about the first few paragraphs?
• What emotions do you feel after reading the diary so far?

your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the diary entry in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. Why does Anne feel that she is fortunate? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
2. Analyze Anne Frank’s language in the excerpt. What mood does the language create? Why?
Include examples from the text in your response.
3. Based on the mood Frank portrays in this passage, what is the meaning of the word dejected in
paragraph 6? Include examples of context clues that helped you uncover the meaning.

4. In a previous activity, you read a play based on Anne Frank’s diary. Identify the point of view
used in each text. What could you learn from her diary that you could not learn from the play?
SAMPLE
3.12
5. The opening three paragraphs of the diary entry have been transformed into a
LITERARY model of a found poem. With a partner, conduct an oral reading using choral
VOCABULARY
A found poem is verse that reading for effect.

is created from a prose text
by using the original words, “Wednesday, 13 January, 1943”
phrases, images, and/or
sentences but manipulating
Everyone is afraid:
them and reformatting them
into poetic lines.
It is terrible outside.
Day and night
more of those poor miserable people
are being dragged off.
Families are torn apart.

Children coming home from school
find that their parents
have disappeared.
Women
return from shopping to find
their homes shut up and
their families gone.
The Dutch people,

their sons are being sent

to Germany.
Everyone is afraid …
6. The author of the found poem selected particular lines from the text and then
transformed them into poetry. How does this transformation change the power
of the language?
INDEPENDENT
READING LINK
Read and Respond
Choose a passage from the
Holocaust narrative you are 7. How does the structure of the lines in the found poem transform the text from
reading independently to prose to poetry? Which lines stand out? Why?
transform into a found poem.
Perform an oral reading of your
poem at the final Literature
Circle meeting.
SAMPLE
3.12
8. How would a dramatic interpretation of this found poem successfully open a panel
discussion about the Holocaust?
9. Reread the diary entry again, highlighting words, phrases, and images you think are
important. Then create your own found poem using the words and images you find
compelling.

Plan a dramatic interpretation (i.e., oral reading) of the found poem you created. Present your
oral reading to a partner and listen and provide feedback to your partner’s oral reading.

Respond to the first Reflection question in Embedded Assessment 1 as it relates to your
independent reading narrative: How was the theme or central idea of “finding hope in times of
despair” developed in the narrative you read independently?
SAMPLE
EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
1 Presenting Voices of the Holocaust
ASSIGNMENT
Present a panel discussion that includes an oral reading of a significant passage from the
texts read by your group. Your discussion should explain how the theme or central idea of
“finding hope in times of despair” is developed in each text.
Planning: Discuss your ■■ How was the theme or central idea of “finding hope in times of despair”
ideas with your group to developed in your Holocaust texts?
prepare a focus for your ■■ If you read a narrative, how did supporting details such as character, point
panel discussion. of view, plot, and setting contribute to the theme? If you read a poem, how
did the language and structure contribute to the theme?
■■ How will you find a significant passage for your oral reading that will help
communicate the idea of “finding hope in times of despair”?
■■ How will you assign talking points to each group member to include an
introduction, at least two supporting details, and a conclusion?
Drafting: Write a draft of ■■ How will the introductory talking point present a hook, summary of the text,
your talking point(s) that and thematic statement?
includes details from the ■■ How will the supporting talking points explain how literary elements
text, commentary (analysis), contributed to theme?
and discussion questions. ■■ How will the concluding talking point restate the theme, summarize the
main points of the discussion, and elicit textual connections (text to self,
text, or world) from the entire group?
Rehearsing: Rehearse and ■■ How will you prepare notes to provide constructive feedback and build on
revise your panel discussion ideas and questions presented by other group members?
to improve the final ■■ How will your group create smooth transitions between speakers?
presentation. ■■ How will you include your oral reading as you introduce and develop your

explanation?
■■ How will you use appropriate register, vocabulary, tone, and voice in order
to establish and maintain a formal style?
■■ How will you use eye contact, volume, and pronunciation to express your
ideas clearly?
Reflection
• How was the theme or central idea of “finding hope in times of despair” developed in the
different Holocaust texts that you heard about in the panel discussions?
• What did you learn from studying and discussing texts about the Holocaust that you can
apply to your own life?
SAMPLE
EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
1
SCORING GUIDE
Scoring
Criteria
Ideas The discussion The discussion The discussion The discussion

• includes an effective • includes an oral • includes an ineffective • does not include
oral reading of a reading of a text passage or reading of an oral reading of
significant text passage a passage a passage
passage • presents adequate • presents unfocused or • does not explain how
• presents a variety of ideas to explain how undeveloped ideas to literary elements
significant ideas to literary elements explain how literary contribute to the
explain how literary contribute to the elements contribute development of a
elements contribute development of a to the development of theme
to the development of theme a theme • provides minimal or
a theme • provides sufficient • provides insufficient irrelevant details.
• provides relevant elaboration to or weak details to
elaboration to develop the topic, develop the topic.
develop the topic, including textual
including textual evidence, details,
evidence, details, commentary, and
commentary, and questions.
questions.
Structure The discussion The discussion The discussion The discussion

• demonstrates strong • demonstrates • demonstrates • demonstrates little or
evidence of effective sufficient evidence insufficient evidence no collaboration and/
collaboration and of collaboration and of collaboration and or preparation
preparation preparation preparation • lacks any obvious
• follows a logical and • follows an adequate • follows an uneven organizational
smooth organizational organizational or ineffective structure
structure structure organizational • does not use
• uses transitional • uses transitional structure transitional

strategies effectively strategies to create • uses transitional strategies.
and purposefully. cohesion and clarify strategies
relationships. inconsistently.
Use of The speaker The speaker The speaker The speaker

Language • communicates • communicates • communicates • does not
effectively with group appropriately with inappropriately or communicate well
members and the group members and inconsistently with with the group or
audience the audience group members and/ audience
• uses consistently • uses sufficiently or the audience • uses flawed,
precise diction and precise diction and • uses insufficiently confusing, or basic
academic language academic language precise diction and diction and language
• demonstrates deep • demonstrates academic language • has frequent errors
command of the adequate command • demonstrates in standard English
conventions of of the conventions partial command grammar, usage, and
standard English of standard English of the conventions language.
SAMPLE
grammar, usage, and grammar, usage, and of standard English
language (including language (including grammar, usage, and
active/passive voice). active/passive voice). language.

Literature Circle Text Collection
TEXT CONTENTS
1 Novel: Excerpt from Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry �� 283
2 Memoir: Excerpt from In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust

Rescuer, by Irene Gut Opdyke with Jennifer Armstrong �� 285
3 Poetry: “The Butterfly,” by Pavel Friedmann �� 289
4 Poetry: “On a Sunny Evening,” by Anonymous �� 290
5 Novel: Excerpt from The Devil’s Arithmetic,

by Jane Yolen �� 291
6 Interview: Excerpt from “Life After the Holocaust: Stories of

Holocaust Survivors After the War,” an Interview Transcript with
Thomas Buergenthal, by Joan Ringelheim and Neenah Ellis �� 294
7 Poetry: “1980,” by Abraham Sutzkever �� 299
SAMPLE
Text
1
About the Author

Lois Lowry (1937–) was born in Hawaii and grew up in New York,
Pennsylvania, and Tokyo. She has written over forty books for
young people and has received numerous awards for her writing,
including two Newbery Medals for her books Number the Stars
and The Giver. Lois Lowry was inspired to write Number the Stars
after listening to stories told by her friend Annelise, who grew up
in Denmark during World War II. Though Denmark surrendered
to Germany, organized resistance groups and ordinary citizens
helped almost all Jewish people in the country (over seven
thousand people) escape to safety in Sweden.
Novel
from
Number the Stars

by Lois Lowry
1 “Now,” Peter said, looking at his watch, “I will lead the first group. You, and you, and you.”
He gestured to the old man and to the young people with their baby.
2 “Inge,” he said. Annemarie realized that it was the first time that she had heard Peter
Neilsen call her mother by her first name; before it had always been “Mrs. Johansen”; or in
the old days, during the merriment and excitement of his engagement to Lise, it had been,
occasionally, “Mama.” Now it was Inge. It was as if he had moved beyond his own youth and
had taken his place in the world of adults. Her mother nodded and waited for his instructions.
3 “You wait twenty minutes, and then bring the Rosens. Don’t come sooner. We must be
separate on the path so there is less chance of being seen.”
4 Mrs. Johansen nodded again.
5 “Come directly back to the house after you have seen the Rosens safely to Henrik. Stay in
the shadows and on the back path—you know that, of course.”
6 “By the time you get the Rosens to the boat,” Peter went on, “I will be gone. As soon as I
deliver my group, I must move on. There is other work to be done tonight.”
7 He turned to Annemarie. “So I will say goodbye to you now.”
8 Annemarie went to him and gave him a hug. “But we will see you again soon?” she asked.
9 “I hope so,” Peter said. “Very soon. Don’t grow much more, or you will be taller than I am,
little Longlegs!”
10 Annemarie smiled, but Peter’s comment was no longer the lighthearted fun of the past. It
was only a brief grasp at something that had gone.
SAMPLE
11 Peter kissed Mama wordlessly. Then he wished the Rosens Godspeed, and he led the
others through the door.

12 Mama, Annemarie, and the Rosens sat in silence. There was a slight commotion outside
the door and Mama went quickly to look out. In a moment she was back.
13 “It’s all right,” she said, in response to their looks. “The old man stumbled a bit. But Peter
helped him up. He didn’t seem to be hurt. Maybe just his pride,” she added, smiling a bit.
14 It was an odd word: pride. Annemarie looked at the Rosens, sitting there, wearing the
misshapen, ill-fitting clothing, holding ragged blankets folded in their arms, their faces drawn
and tired. She remembered the earlier, happier times: Mrs. Rosen, her hair neatly combed and
covered, lighting the Sabbath candles, saying the ancient prayer. And Mr. Rosen, sitting in the
big chair in their living room, studying his thick books, correcting papers, adjusting his glasses,
looking up now and then to complain good-naturedly about the lack of decent light. She
remembered Ellen in the school play, moving confidently across the stage, her gestures sure, her
voice clear.
15 All of those things, those sources of pride—the candlesticks, the books, the daydreams of
theater—they had all been left behind in Copenhagen. They had nothing with them now; there
was only the clothing of unknown people for warmth, the food from Henrik’s farm for survival,
and the dark path ahead, through the woods, to freedom.
16 Annemarie realized, though she had not really been told, that Uncle Henrik was going to
take them, in his boat, across the sea to Sweden. She knew how frightened Mrs. Rosen was of
the sea: its width, its depth, its cold. She knew how frightened Ellen was of the soldiers, with
their guns and boots, who were certainly looking for them. And she knew how frightened they
all must be of the future.
17 But their shoulders were as straight as they had been in the past: in the classroom, on
the stage, at the Sabbath table. So there were other sources, too, of pride, and they had not left
everything behind.
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Text
2
About the Author

Irene Gut Opdyke (1918–2003) was born in Kozienice, Poland.
While working for Nazi officers, she risked her life to save the lives
of twelve Jews. When asked about her experiences later, she said,
“You have to think with your heart and not with your head.” She has
been honored by many organizations and has received the Israel
Medal of Honor and the Commander’s Cross, the Polish Medal of
Honor.
Memoir
In My Hands: Memories
from

of a Holocaust Rescuer
by Irene Gut Opdyke with Jennifer Armstrong
The Villa
1 The instant I was able to get away after breakfast, I walked to the villa as quickly as I
could—quickly enough to put a stitch in my side and to break a sweat in the heat. I unlocked
the door and burst inside, dreading the sound of painters bumping ladders against the
furniture. But it was silent. I was in time—assuming that my friends were indeed waiting in the
basement. The smell of cabbage and potatoes lingered in the air.

2 Almost fearing what I might find, I opened the basement door and clattered down the
stairs, my shoes making a racket on the wooden steps. “Hoo-ee! It’s Irene!” I called out.
3 The first room was empty. Trying not to worry, I opened the door to the furnace room,
praying to find my six friends—and Henry Weinbaum. The door creaked as it swung open into
the gloom, and I called out again.
4 “It’s Irene!”
5 There was an almost audible sigh of relief. One by one, figures emerged from the shadows:
Ida, Lazar, Clara, Thomas, Fanka, Moses Steiner, and a young, handsome fellow I took to be
Henry Weinbaum. I shook hands with them all silently, suddenly overcome with emotion. They
were all there; they were safe and alive. And then, to my surprise, I found three strangers, who
greeted me with an odd mixture of sheepishness and defiance.
6 “I’m Joseph Weiss,” the eldest of the three said. “And this is Marian Wilner and Alex
Rosen. Henry told us.”
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7 For a moment I was at a loss. I had ten lives in my hands now! But there wasn’t time for
lengthy introductions. The soldiers from the plant were due any minute to start painting.

8 “Hurry, everyone,” I said. “You’ll have time to stay in the attic until the house is painted.
I’ll check on you as often as I can. I don’t need to tell you not to make any noise at all.”
9 This was met with grim nods all around. Then we made our way upstairs. The attic was
musty; dust swirled in a shaft of light from the high window, and the air smelled of mouse
droppings. “Shoes off,” I said. “Don’t walk around unless you absolutely must.”
10 I locked them in just as trucks ground to a halt out on the street.
11 I kicked the basement door shut on my way to let in the soldiers, and then unlocked the
front door.
12 “This way,” I said, stepping aside to usher them in with their painting equipment and drop
cloths. When I glanced outside, I saw the major climbing out of a car.
13 “Guten Tag, Irene,” he called cheerily.
14 I bobbed my head. “Herr Major.”
15 “This is splendid,” he said, rubbing his hands together as he came inside. “I’ll move in in
a week or so, when all the painting and repairs are finished, but in the meantime, I’d like you to
move in right away, so that you can oversee things. Don’t worry about your duties at the hotel—
if you can serve dinner, Schulz can manage without you the rest of the time.”
16 As he spoke, Major Rügemer strolled back and forth across the hallway, glancing into the
rooms and nodding his approval. His footsteps echoed off the walls, and he muttered, “Ja, ja,
ausgezeichnet,” under his breath. Then, when another truckload of soldiers arrived, he went
outside to meet them and show them around the garden: There were renovations to be made
on the grounds, as well. I stood at the dining room window, watching him point out the gazebo
and indicate which shrubs and trees should be removed and where new ones should be planted.
Behind me, I could hear the painters beginning to shove furniture across the floors, exchanging
jokes and commenting on the weather and the sour cabbagey smell left behind by the previous
tenants. I heard one of them say “ ... the major’s girlfriend.”

17 I gritted my teeth and prepared to spend the day keeping the soldiers away from the attic.
18 For the next few days, while the soldiers swarmed around the villa—painting, repairing,
replanting—I contrived to smuggle food upstairs to the attic. I took fruit and cheese, cold
tea, bread and nuts. I also took up two buckets to use for toilets. The attic was stuffy from the
heat of summer, but we were reluctant to open the one window high on the wall. The fugitives
had accustomed themselves to much more discomfort than this. They were willing to sit in
the stifling heat, not speaking, just waiting. At night, when the workmen were gone and I had
returned from the hotel, I was able to give my friends some minutes of liberty. They used the
bathroom, stretched their legs, and bathed their sweating faces with cool water. But we did not
turn on any lights, and we were still as silent as ghosts.
19 It wasn’t long before the servants’ quarters had been completely refurbished; I had seen to
that. Telling the workmen that the major had ordered the work to be done from bottom to top,
I directed them to start with the basement. Then, when it was finished, I waited until dark and
triumphantly escorted my friends to their new quarters, fresh with the smell of sawdust and
new paint instead of old cooking.
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20 It was the start of a new way of life for all of us. Several of the men, being handy and
intelligent, were able to rig up a warning system. A button was installed in the floor of the foyer,

under a faded rug. From it, a wire led to a light in the basement, which would flicker on and
off when I stepped on the button. I kept the front door locked at all times, and when I went to
see who might be knocking, I had ample opportunity to signal to the people in the basement.
One flash would warn them to stand by for more news. Two flashes meant to be very careful,
and constant flashing meant danger—hide immediately. We had also found the villa’s rumored
hiding place: A tunnel led from behind the furnace to a bunker underneath the gazebo. If
there was serious danger, everyone could instantly scramble into the hole and wait for me to
give them the all clear. The cellar was kept clear of any signs of occupation. Once the men had
killed all of the rats living in the bunker under the gazebo, it could accommodate all ten people
without too much discomfort.
21 There was food in plenty; Schulz kept the major’s kitchen stocked with enough to feed a
platoon, and once again, I could not help wondering if he had an inkling of what I was doing.
I was also able to go to the Warenhaus whenever I needed to, for cigarettes, vodka, sugar, extra
household goods, anything the major might conceivably need for entertaining in his new villa.
Of course, the soldiers who ran the Warenhaus had no way of knowing that half of what I got
there went directly into the basement, and I was certainly not going to tell them!
22 The basement was cool even in the intense summer heat; there was a bathroom, and
newspapers, which I brought down after the major was finished with them. All in all, the
residents of the basement enjoyed quite a luxurious hiding place.
23 And yet it almost fell apart when the major moved in at last.
24 “The basement is finished, isn’t it?” he asked me when he arrived.
25 All the hairs on my arms prickled with alarm. “Do you have some plans for it, Major?” I
asked, keeping my voice from showing my fear.
26 He unbuttoned the top button of his tunic. “I’m sure it will do very well for my orderly.”
27 I felt the blood drain from my face, and Major Rügemer looked at me in surprise. “What is it?”
28 I did not have to fake the tears that sprang to my eyes. “Please don’t move him in here,” I
pleaded. My mind raced with explanations. “I never told you this, but at the beginning of the
war, I was captured by Russian soldiers and—and I was—” My throat closed up.
29 The major frowned at me. “You were what?”
30 They attacked me, sir.” I saw his face flush, and I hurried on, more confident. “I cannot bear to
have a young man living here. It brings back terrible memories for me. Please take pity on me.”
31 Major Rügemer dragged his handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose hard,
shaking his head in anger. “War brings out the worst, the very worst in some people! Funny,” he
went on, “I always wondered why you didn’t have a boyfriend, a pretty girl like you. I’ve never
seen you flirt with the officers the way some other girls might do.”
32 “I can do all of the work myself, Herr Major,” I pressed. “You will not feel any lack.”
33 He put his hand on my shoulder. “Of course, Irene. I wouldn’t dream of making you
unhappy.”
34 I smiled up at him. Sometimes it made me cringe inside, to get what I wanted by playing
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up my femininity. Yet I knew it was the one power I had, and I would have been a fool not to
use it. For my pretty face, for the affection he felt for me, the major would let me have my way.

35 We quickly fell into a routine. Once he had moved in, Major Rügemer left for the factory
every morning at eight-thirty. I rose at seven-thirty to start his breakfast, which he ate in the
dining room. Often, he asked me to sit and have a cup of coffee to keep him company, and we
would chat about nothing—about the nest of blackbirds in the gazebo, or the way the middle
C on the parlor piano stuck, or what kind of pickles went best with pork. Sometimes, if he was
planning to entertain, we would discuss a menu for cocktails or dinner or after-dinner drinks.
He stirred his coffee all the time in an absent way, and the spoon would clink-clink-clink
against the cup as we talked.
36 Once he left the house, I locked the front door and left the key in the lock; this would make
it impossible for the major to unlock the door from the outside and come in unexpectedly. This
was the time when my friends in the basement could begin their day, taking showers, brewing
coffee, listening to BBC war news on the radio while I cleaned the house. They read the paper
and compared the official reports from Berlin with what they heard on the BBC. I returned to the
factory every evening to serve dinner, but I always went home before the major.
37 And when he did return at night and rang the doorbell (I told him I kept the door locked
out of nervousness), I opened the door and let him into a house that gave no hint that there were
people living in the basement. It almost made me laugh, sometimes, to think of the absurdity
and irony of it. Under any circumstances, it would have been hilarious, because this was the stuff
of farce: upstairs, a deaf and snuffling codger, oblivious to the goings-on at his very feet, and
below, the hunted stowaways, dining richly off the major’s larder. They were like mice in a cheese
shop guarded by a sleeping cat. Under the circumstances, however, I never did get all the way to
laughter; a grim smile from time to time was all. This was, after all, a capital crime.
Irene Gut Opdyke with a photograph of seven of the twelve Jewish people she saved by hiding them in the
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cellar of a German major’s house where she worked as a housekeeper as a Polish Catholic teenager during
WWII.

Text
3
About
About the
the Texts
Author
II Never
Never Saw
Saw Another Butterfly is
Another Butterfly is an
an anthology
anthology ofof drawings and poetry written by children in the
Terezin
drawings and poetry written by children in the Many scholars and artists were sent to Terezin,
concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.
and although
Terezin the campcamp
concentration had terrible living
in Czechoslovakia.
conditions,
Many scholars and artists were sent tomusic,
there was a rich culture of Terezin,
poetry, and art.
and although theTens
campof had
thousands
terribleofliving
children
spent time at
conditions, Terezin,
there was aand
richover 90 percent
culture of music,
of them did not survive. The art
poetry, and art. Tens of thousands andofpoetry
children
left
spentbehind byTerezin,
time at the children was saved
and over whenof
90 percent
the camp was liberated in 1945 and after
them did not survive. The art and poetry left ten
years was finally put on exhibition
behind by the children was saved when the for the
world to see.
camp was Their poetry
liberated in 1945 and
and artafter
conveyten their
years
experiences and their emotions to readers
was finally put on exhibition for the world to
today.
see. Their poetry and art convey their experiences and their emotions to readers today.
Poetry
The Butterfly
by Pavel Friedmann
The last, the very last,

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing
against a white stone. ...
5 Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly ’way up high.

It went away I’m sure because it wished to
kiss the world good-bye.
For seven weeks I’ve lived in here,
10 Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.

The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
15 That butterfly was the last one.
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Butterflies don’t live in here,
in the ghetto.

Text
4
Poetry
On a Sunny Evening
by Anonymous
On a purple, sun-shot evening

Under wide-flowering chestnut trees
Upon the threshold full of dust
Yesterday, today, the days are all like these.
5 Trees flower forth in beauty,
Lovely, too, their very wood all gnarled and old

That I am half afraid to peer
Into their crowns of green and gold.
The sun has made a veil of gold
10 So lovely that my body aches.
Above, the heavens shriek with blue

Convinced I’ve smiled by some mistake.
The world’s abloom and seems to smile.
I want to fly but where, how high?
15 If in barbed wire, things can bloom

Why couldn’t I? I will not die!
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Text
5
About the Author

Jane Yolen (1939–) is an American author who publishes fantasy,
science fiction, and children’s books. Yolen has written over
300 books, including the The Devil’s Arithmetic, an historical fiction
novel about the Holocaust. In 1999 the book was made into a
television film starring Kirsten Dunst. Yolen has won several awards
for her writing, including the National Jewish Book Award, and
was nominated for a Nebula award for The Devil’s Arithmetic.
She spends her time between Massachusetts and Scotland, where
she spends four months of the year writing.
Novel
The Devil’s
from

Arithmetic
by Jane Yolen
1 They sat on the benches naked and cold for a long time while the barber worked on each
in turn. Hannah glanced around cautiously. With their hair gone, they all looked like little old
men. She wondered what she looked like herself, resisting the urge to put her hand up to her
head again. She would not think about it. Thinking was dangerous. In this place she would not
think, only do.
2 After a while, time seemed to lose its reality. Only the snick-snack of the scissors and the
occasional cry of the barber’s victims marked the minutes. There was a dreamlike feeling in the
room as if, Hannah thought, anything might happen next.
3 The woman in the blue dress entered the far door and stood for a long moment
examining them all with a sour face. Hannah happened to be facing the door when she entered
and, without meaning to, locked eyes with her. It was the woman who looked away first, calling
out, “Schnell! into the next room. You must have clothes.” She turned abruptly, signaling with
her hand. For the first time Hannah noticed that she had only three fingers on her right hand.
4 I wonder how she lost those fingers, Hannah thought. Was she born that way? Then
remembered she was not going to think. She rose with the others and shuffled out of the room
after them.
5 For the first time, Hannah allowed herself to feel hungry. But when she began to wonder
about when they might be fed, the still, small voice reminded her, Don’t think, do. She reached
out and found the hand of one of the children. Silently she squeezed the child’s hand for
comfort.
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6 The room they were herded into was a small, low-ceilinged place with a single window
high up under the eaves. It reminded Hannah of an attic somewhere, she couldn’t remember
where. An unadorned light bulb dangled down over several long wooden tables piled high
with rags.
7 “Shmattes!” whispered a woman behind Hannah in a hoarse voice.
8 “Choose!” bellowed the three-fingered woman in blue.
9 “Schnell!”
10 Hannah took her turn at one of the tables and started to paw through the clothes. They
were ragged and worn and smelled peculiar, with a lingering, dank odor, part old sweat and
part something else Hannah did not even want to guess at. She hesitated.
11 “Choose, Jews. You cannot be fancy now.”
12 Don’t think. Do. Hannah put her hand onto the pile and came up with a dark gray dress
with a dirty white collar and cuffs. There was a ragged rip along the hem and deep perspiration
stains under the arms. Looking around, she saw that the other women were already slipping
into whatever they had chosen. She raised the gray dress over her head and pulled it down. The
material was silky and a bit stiff where it was stained. Buttoning the three buttons in front, she
remembered suddenly how she had thought the dark blue dress Gitl had given her ugly, how
she’ d called it a rag. Even that small return of memory was a comfort. She’ d called the dress a
rag; she hadn’t known anything about wearing rags then. Her arms strained the sleeves of the
gray dress.
13 “Help the children,” someone near her whispered.
14 It sounded like Gitl.
15 Hannah glanced down at the naked child by her side. Was it Tzipporah? The poor little
thing had her thumb in her mouth. Her eyelids were a bruised bluish color and she swayed
where she stood. Hannah rummaged quickly through the pile of clothes and found a blouse

and jumper that looked as if they might fit. The child made no move to help, and Hannah had
to dress her as if she were a doll, pushing her arms into the sleeves of the blouse as gently as
she could.
16 They were herded directly into another room and made to line up single file. Another
shaven-headed prisoner, with an odd-looking metal instrument, sat at a wooden table. There
were guards at the door.
17 Hannah could hear a mumble of voices by the table, but she couldn’t begin to guess what
they were discussing. Holding Tzipporah’s hand, she moved in the slow, shuffling barefooted
rhythm of the line; wait, walk, wait, walk.
18 Closer to the table, she saw that the man was using the instrument to write something on
each woman’s arm. Strangely, no one protested or drew their arm away.
19 Another memory, hazier than the one about the dress, flooded back to her. “This. . .” She
heard a familiar man’s voice crying out. “I’ll give them this!” She couldn’t think who it was or
what he was giving to whom. When she turned to see who was speaking, everyone behind her
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was silent, staring at the floor.
20 “Next!”

21 The man meant Hannah. She walked up to the table and sat down on a chair by the side
of the table.
22 “Tell me your name,” the man said. “I will give you a number in exchange.”
23 That seemed simple enough, but she couldn’t think of a name. There was none that came
to her. From behind, Gitl whispered hoarsely, “Chaya. Chaya Abramowicz.”
24 She said it aloud. “Chaya.” It felt—and it did not feel—like hers.
25 The man looked at her and his eyes were the saddest she’ d ever seen, a muddy brown, like
river sludge. His mouth was puckered and old. It dropped open as easily as a slot in a machine,
and a sound—not quite a cry—came out.
26 “I knew it would come,” he whispered. “Some day. The malach ha-mavis.”
27 “What? What?” Hannah asked.
28 That is my daughter’s dress you are wearing. Chaya Abramowicz. My Chaya. I brought it
as a present for her in Lublin.”
29 “Chaya,” Hannah said.
30 “The same name, too. God is good. Your name means life.” His voice broke.
31 “Life,” Hannah repeated.
32 He nodded, then shook his head, the one following the other like a single movement.
“You are Chaya no longer, child. Now you are J197241. Remember it.”
33 “I can’t remember anything,” Hannah said, puzzled.
34 “This you must remember, for if you forget it, life is gone indeed.” The tattooing pen
burned her flesh, leaving a trail of blue numbers in her arm above the wrist. J197241. She didn’t
cry. She wouldn’t. It was something more she just remembered: her promise to Gitl.
35 When the man finished the number, he reached out and touched the collar of her dress,
smoothing it down gently. “Live,” he whispered. “For my Chaya. For all of our Chayas. Live.
And remember.”
36 There was a loud clearing of a throat and Hannah looked up into the guard’s unsmiling
face. “Next!” he said.
37 Little Tzipporah was next, and Hannah held the child on her lap, covering her eyes
with ice-cold hands and crooning a song into her ears. It was a wedding song, the only song
she could come up with, something about a madness forced upon them. The words didn’t
matter, only the melody, only the soothing rhythm. The child, Tzipporah, J197242, lay silent in
her arms.
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Text
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About the Interviewee

Thomas Buergenthal (1934–), former judge of the International
Court of Justice and international human rights advocate,
grew up in Czechoslovakia and is a survivor of the Auschwitz
concentration camp. He was interviewed by Joan Ringelheim and
Neenah Ellis as a part of the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum’s “Life After the Holocaust” project, which documents
oral histories from Holocaust survivors. In Buergenthal’s memoir,
A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy,
he shares his journey from the Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen
concentration camps to liberation.
Interview
Life After the

from
Holocaust
Stories of Holocaust Survivors After the War
Interview Transcript with Thomas Buergenthal by Joan Ringelheim and Neenah Ellis
1 NARRATOR: The Netherlands—February 27, 2001.

2 THOMAS: We are at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in my office at the
court. Ahm, on a very sort of (laughs) dark, dreary day ...
3 NARRATOR: Judge Thomas Buergenthal is well known as a leading advocate of
international human rights law, and for his pioneering work in international law. In March
of 2000, he was elected the American judge for the principal judicial organ of the United
Nations—the International Court of Justice.
4 THOMAS: It’s a court where you deal only with disputes between states. So, for an
international lawyer like me, this is a dream court and a dream come true. It’s like being on
the Supreme Court of the United States. This is the court that determines what is and what is
not international law. Not that we’re that important but in terms of those of us who believe in
international law and practice international law, this is the Mecca to which you look. I should
tell you that the notice to me that I was going to be the nominee of the United States for the
Court came to me while I ... had just done a visit to Auschwitz, my second visit, and I was in
Cracow, had just come back from it, in the evening, in the hotel, when I received the call from
the legal advisor. So, it was very special.
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Oswiecim, Poland – July 23, 2011: Warning sign at Auschwitz concentration camp. It was the biggest Nazi
concentration camp in Europe during World War II.
5 NARRATOR: Buergenthal’s first visit to Auschwitz after the war was with his wife, Peggy.
He returned again, close to the 55th anniversary of the day when, as a 10-year-old, he left the
camp on a forced march. It was one of the infamous “death marches” that the retreating Nazis
forced on most concentration camp prisoners, rather than leaving them to be liberated by the
advancing Allied forces.
6 THOMAS: It was easier when my wife and I went, because it was summer and it was
easier to take. When we were there on the 20th of January 19 ... of 2000, it was just as it was,
as I remembered it in terms of the cold. The road was all ice. And all I could think about was,
“How did I ever survive this?” Because I was dressed in the heaviest jacket with sweaters, with
hat—and I was freezing! And I was there as a child with a little blanket and thin prison uniform
and—and I made it. It’s ... hard to believe.
[Thunder is heard, then sounds of war.]
7 NARRATOR: Those prisoners from the Auschwitz men’s camp who survived the death
march ended up in the concentration camp Sachsenhausen, near Berlin, Germany. In March,
Thomas entered the infirmary, where two of his frostbitten toes were amputated. In April, when
the battle over Berlin had already begun, Sachsenhausen was evacuated, and Thomas was left
behind with the other prisoners who couldn’t walk.
8 THOMAS: The next morning I got up, and it was very, very quiet except for the shooting
coming closer. I crawled out, went out and looked up and saw in the entrance of the camp, over
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the entrance on the inside—they always had a machine gun mounted with SS guards sitting
on, and there was nobody there, the machine gun was empty. I came back and told people.
Of course, nobody believed me (laughing) that this was happening. And then we just waited.
And the shooting came closer. Then we began hearing small arms fire and suddenly sort of, I
think it was in the early afternoon ... the camp had a big bell in the middle of this field, and a
Russian soldier was ringing—was driven in with a jeep and was ringing the bell saying, “You’re
free.” You know when I see pictures of people who were liberated by American troops, by
British troops, they were liberated. We were sort of ... there were none of these scenes as far
as I remember. The Russians just told us, “You can go.” I mean, we felt a great sense of relief,
because we expected to be shot. But I didn’t have any sense of the tremendous joy that other
people must have experienced. I was alone in many ways. I think if my parents had been there
it would have been different.
9 NARRATOR: Thomas had been separated from his parents for several months. He was
taken in by members of a Polish Army unit under Russian command. The soldiers assumed
that he was a Christian Polish child. And Thomas had experienced enough discrimination to
know that it was not safe to tell them that he was Jewish and from Czechoslovakia. The Polish
he had learned in the ghetto of Kielce and in Auschwitz proved good enough for his new
comrades.
10 THOMAS: They made me a small uniform. And I had shoes. They even gave me a small
revolver—not a revolver—automatic pistol. I had—they had found a circus horse some place,
a pony, and—because much of the army was still horse-drawn. They had—supplies of the
Russian and Polish army was still brought in by horse-drawn carts. There was a lot of horses.
And I had my horse, and I could keep up with the soldiers. And I had a wonderful time.
(Laughs.) The strange thing is that the sort of—the absurdity of it, the comic aspect of it never
occurred to me as a child. And, you know, at the same time I—all of this I thought was going to
lead to my being reunited with my parents. And I never even thought that this wasn’t going to
happen. This was all part of a process. And in the meantime I could eat, and I no longer had to
be afraid, and I had fun.

11 NARRATOR: The soldiers fed him bacon and bread. For the 10-year-old, none of it
seemed out of the ordinary.
12 THOMAS: And I think it has a lot to do with having, being a child and taking a lot
of these things for granted. This is life, and this is what happened. One day you don’t have
anything to eat, and the next day there’s suddenly food. What I remember though is that I for
years afterwards would always think that you should always eat before you did anything of
importance because you never knew when you were going to eat again.
13 NARRATOR: Only one of the Polish soldiers, a Jew himself, found out that Thomas was
Jewish. Eventually, he made arrangements for the boy to be taken to a Jewish orphanage. In
1946, his mother tracked him down, and Thomas was smuggled to Germany to be reunited
with her. They settled in Goettingen, his mother’s hometown. And suddenly, life took on
different shades of normalcy. Going to school, catching up ...
14 THOMAS: With my mother we discussed—there was a lot of reminiscing about the camp
and you know, “Where was this and that. What happened? ... ” The truth of the matter is that
SAMPLE
we often laughed about things in retrospect, about things that happened that were funny, about

this or that that happened. So ahm, the human spirit—you couldn’t take all of this, if it were
only reminiscences about all of the terrible things. I saw the fact that I survived as a victory,
that we had won over them. They wanted to kill us and we made it; we didn’t give them the joy
of killing us. So there was a tremendous sense of satisfaction, that of survival, unlike what one
reads now that people supposedly feel bad that they survived and others didn’t. We never had
that feeling. Neither did my mother. Because my mother survived. I mean, we felt very bad that,
for example, my father didn’t survive. He died just shortly before the end of the war. But we
never felt that—guilty about the fact of surviving. On the contrary.
[German reporter heard in background, “Goering ist gefragt worden, ob er hören kann.”]
15 NARRATOR: In 1946, at the war crime trials in Nuremberg, 19 out of 22 German war
criminals were convicted. Twelve were sentenced to death.
[1946 sentence is read “ ... The International Military Tribunal sentences you to death by
hanging ... ”]
16 THOMAS: The first, almost first English words that I remember was “by hanging.” I
remember listening to the radio when they—when they announced the sentences. And we were,
we were listening to that and with sort of, with joy ... And sitting on the balcony on a Sunday and
seeing the German families taking a walk and my father hadn’t come back. And at that point, you
know, the desire of sort of seeing—when I first came back I would love to mount a machine gun
on that balcony and shoot all of them. But then you realize that, you know these are people you
don’t know whether they killed your father. Most of them probably didn’t. And you make friends.
And you find for example, we lived in the house with somebody, who ah, a Catholic family that
had actually helped the Jews in town, and had been in danger themselves. And so you—the sort
of abstract hatred becomes transformed into the fact that they’re human beings regardless of
whether they’re Germans or not Germans. And not every German was guilty.
17 NARRATOR: The only Jewish student in class, he never experienced antisemitism, yet
never felt quite comfortable either. In 1951, Thomas left for America.
18 NARRATOR: Thomas ... was busy getting on with his life, college on a full scholarship—
New York University Law School—Harvard Law School. Citizenship in 1957—marriage two
years later. He never returned to live in Germany, but he remained in close contact with his
mother until her death in 1991. At home, Thomas focused on his three sons who were born in
the early ’60s. At work, he was drawn to international law—a discipline of little interest to most
American law students and lawyers at the time. He was also interested in human rights law, a
relatively new discipline.
19 THOMAS: I don’t know, I’ve often been asked, well, is it my experience that drove me to
it. I’m never quite sure. Ah, but what I think is true is this: that I felt from my concentration
camp experience where we always looked to the U.S. and to England to save us really, that in a
situation where one was in trouble from a human rights point of view, one couldn’t rely on the
domestic scene, on the domestic environment, and you had to look—you had to have some
international mechanisms that could protect you. Really the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights had been adopted in ’48, but nothing much was happening. And then in the early ’50s
the European Convention on Human Rights came into being, and I was fascinated ... wanted to
see how did this work, really. Is there a chance that this might prevent what I went through?
SAMPLE
20 NARRATOR: In addition to teaching and writing landmark books and articles on human
rights law, Buergenthal has been a key member of several international bodies, including the
United Nations Human Rights Committee, the Truth Commission for El Salvador, and the
Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland.
21 THOMAS: What is impressive about it is not my career. I mean that—those things are
often happenstance than anything else. But what is significant about it ... this is an example of
the fact that one can overcome certain ... not I personally, but that we can overcome some of
these murderous things that have happened and still be able to work for a better world! That
to me has always been the sort of significant aspect of my activities. I spoke once in Germany,
I think in connection when I got the honorary degree. And I said, “It’s so wonderful when
you think that when you go down the Rhine and when you remember that the Rhine was
reinforced on both sides between France and Germany with cannons and today you don’t even
need a passport!” There’s tremendous things that have happened that should give us a sense of
optimism. Yet, you know, the cynics keep saying, nothing is changing. Lots of terrible things
happening. But a lot of good things have been happening, and that—that should inspire people
to want to do things.
SAMPLE
Text
7
About the Author

Abraham Sutzkever (1913–2010) was a poet who was known for his works about the
Holocaust. He was born in Belarus and survived the Vilna ghetto, where his young son was
killed by Nazis. Sutzkever and his wife joined a Jewish resistance group and later moved to
Israel. Sutzkever mainly wrote in Yiddish. He was awarded the Israel Prize in 1985. In this
poem, Sutzkever pays tribute to Yanova Bartoszewicz, a Polish woman who hid him during a
period of mass killings.
Poetry
1980
by Abraham Sutzkever
And when I go up as a pilgrim in winter, to recover

the place I was born, and the twin to self I am in my mind,
then I’ll go in black snow as a pilgrim to find
the grave of my saviour, Yanova.
She’ll hear what I whisper, under my breath:

Thank you. You saved my tears from the flame.
Thank you. Children and grandchildren you rescued
from death.
I planted a sapling (it doesn’t suffice) in your name.
Time in its gyre spins back down the flue

faster than nightmares of nooses can ride,
quicker than nails. And you, my saviour, in your cellar you’ll
hide
me, ascending in dreams as a pilgrim to you.
ou’ll come from the yard in your slippers, crunching the

Y
snow
so I’ll know. Again I’m there in the cellar, degraded and low,
You’re bringing me milk and bread sliced thick at the edge.
You’re making the sign of the cross. I’m making my pencil its
pledge.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
3.13 Unpacking Embedded Assessment 2
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
QHT
• Reflect on and make connections between the lessons of the Holocaust
Close Reading and “taking action.”
Paraphrasing
• Analyze the skills and knowledge needed to complete Embedded
Graphic Organizer Assessment 2 successfully.
Preview
In this activity, you will preview Embedded Assessment 2 as a class.
My Notes
Making Connections
During your study of narratives of the Holocaust, you were asked to think about
the concept of “finding hope in times of despair.” This idea is developed further
in the last half of the unit by building on the idea of people taking action to create
positive change in their communities and the world.
Essential Questions
Reflect on your understanding of the relationship between the first Essential
Question (Why is it important to learn about the Holocaust?) and the second
Essential Question (How can one person make a difference?).
Dividing words into their individual syllables helps with pronunciation, decoding
word parts, and spelling. Return to the Academic Vocabulary and Literary Terms
at the beginning of the unit, and use a print or digital resource to determine the
syllable breakdown of each word. You might notice that some words have different
syllable breakdowns for spelling and pronunciation. Using the QHT strategy,
re-sort the words based on your new learning.
1. Compare this sort with your original sort. How has your understanding

changed?
2. Select a word from the chart (or a Holocaust-related term), and write a concise
statement about your learning. How has your understanding of this word
changed over the course of this unit?

Closely read the Embedded Assessment 2 assignment and the Scoring Guide.
Develop a multimedia presentation that informs your peers about an
INDEPENDENT issue of national or global significance and convinces them to take
READING LINK action. Work collaboratively to conduct and synthesize research into an
Reading Plan engaging campaign that challenges your audience to make a difference.
To support your learning in Work with your class to paraphrase the expectations and create a graphic
the second half of the unit, organizer to use as a visual reminder of the required concepts (what you
select a fiction or nonfiction need to know) and skills (what you need to do).
narrative about someone who
made a difference in the world After each activity, use this graphic organizer to guide reflection about what
SAMPLE
or who tried to confront social you have learned and what you still need to learn in order to be successful in
injustice. the Embedded Assessment.

ACTIVITY
Making a Difference 3.14

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Discussion Groups
• Identify the purpose of PSAs (public service announcements) by
analyzing their formats and imagery.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of imagery and language in PSAs.
Preview My Notes
In this activity, you will apply your understanding of the elements of
multimedia by finding or creating a PSA for a cause you care about.
Multimedia
1. How would you define multimedia? Use your understanding of word parts to
determine the meanings of each part: multi and media. What is the connection
between the words medium and media?
2. Work with a partner to brainstorm the different media for delivering

information, including how you will communicate about the research you will
be conducting in this unit, to an audience.
3. Discuss how you will choose which media to use when presenting your
campaign at the end of this unit. What factors should you take into
consideration?
SAMPLE
3.14
Analyzing the Characteristics of Multimedia
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
Multimedia incorporates more than one kind of communication and includes text,
A slogan is a memorable images, audio, color, lighting, camera techniques, sound, and videos.
phrase or motto used to
identify or promote a product 4. How effective are visuals in making a point about a significant issue? How do
or group. Slogans often they compare with other media channels: speeches, articles, videos, radio
rhyme and are short enough announcements, and so on?
for people to remember
easily.
5. Look at the following two images. Each is intended as a “call to action” as part
of a public service campaign to make a difference. Examine each of the visuals
and determine its purpose. Note also that each image has text, including a
slogan. How does a slogan help promote a goal?
6. Evaluate the effectiveness of the imagery and the slogan for the PSAs above.
Each image is associated with a website. What can you tell about the sponsors
of the visuals by their web addresses?
7. As you explore each website, take notes about its images, slogans, audio,
video, and additional media formats. Analyze the purpose of the presented
information and describe how the purpose is helped by the graphic features.
SAMPLE
In your groups, discuss and evaluate the purpose of the information. Is it
presented for social, commercial, public safety, or political purposes?

3.14
8. Choose a recorder to capture the insights and conclusions of your group discussion.
Website Description Purpose Evaluation

9. Quickwrite: What kind of music would you combine with these campaigns to make them
memorable? How might you use music to enhance your multimedia presentation?
SAMPLE
3.14
LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Reviewing Participial Phrases
The participle forms of verbs can be used as adjectives. There are two participial forms:
present (ending in -ing) and past (usually ending in -d or -ed).
rising world concerns
widely used media
A participle may be part of a participial phrase, which includes the participle plus any
complements and modifiers. The whole phrase serves as an adjective. In the following
example, the participial phrase appears in bold text; the participle itself is located.
Located 275 miles north of San Francisco, Arcata is ...
PRACTICE In the following space, write one sentence using a participle and one sentence
using a participial phrase.

Find or create a paper advertisement for a cause you care about. Include a simple illustration and
slogan. In small groups, evaluate the advertisements.

Writing Prompt: Informational Text
Explain a cause that you believe in to your classmates. Use the RAFT strategy to plan a
first draft including selecting an appropriate genre. Some genres to consider are campaign
posters, speeches, public service announcements, or digital text such as websites, podcasts,
or commercials. Be sure to:
• Include an opening statement that introduces your cause and why you support it.
• Choose an appropriate genre for the topic, audience, and purpose.
• Incorporate elements that are characteristic of the genre.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Never Forget, Never Again 3.15

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze the parts of an argument. SOAPSTone
Close Reading
• Write and present a short argumentative speech about a controversial
issue. Discussion Groups
Drafting
Preview Rehearsal
In this activity, you will study the structure of an argumentative speech to Oral Reading
help you create your own.

• As you read the speech, underline words and phrases that produce strong
emotions.
Speech
The Nobel Acceptance

from
Speech Delivered by Elie Wiesel

in Oslo on December 10, 1986
1 I am moved, deeply moved by your words, Chairman Aarvik. And it is
with a profound sense of humility that I accept the honor—the highest there
is—that you have chosen to bestow upon me. I know your choice transcends
my person.
2 Do I have the right to represent the multitudes who have perished? Do I

have the right to accept this great honor on their behalf? I do not. No one may
speak for the dead, no one may interpret their mutilated dreams and visions.
And yet, I sense their presence. I always do—and at this moment more than
ever. The presence of my parents, that of my little sister. The presence of my
teachers, my friends, my companions …
3 This honor belongs to all the survivors and their children and, through us,
to the Jewish people with whose destiny I have always identified.
4 I remember: It happened yesterday, or eternities ago. A young Jewish boy
humility: modesty
discovered the Kingdom of Night. I remember his bewilderment, I remember
transcends: goes beyond the
his anguish. It all happened so fast. The ghetto. The deportation. The sealed
limits of
cattle car. The fiery altar upon which the history of our people and the future of
mutilated: damaged beyond
mankind were meant to be sacrificed. repair
5 I remember he asked his father: “Can this be true? This is the twentieth anguish: agonizing pain
century, not the Middle Ages. Who would allow such crimes to be committed? deportation: removal to another
SAMPLE
How could the world remain silent?” country

3.15
6 And now the boy is turning to me. “Tell me,” he asks, “what have you
done with my future, what have you done with your life?” And I tell him that
I have tried. That I have tried to keep memory alive, that I have tried to fight
those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.
7 And then I explain to him how naïve we were, that the world did know
and remained silent. And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever,
wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take
sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the
tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human
lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders
1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted
and writer Elie Wiesel gives a because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must—at that
speech after awarding ceremonies moment—become the center of the universe.
on December 11, 1986.
8 There is so much injustice and suffering crying out for our attention:
victims of hunger, of racism and political persecution—in Chile, for instance, or
in Ethiopia—writers and poets, prisoners in so many lands governed by the Left
My Notes and by the Right.
9 Human rights are being violated on every continent. More people are
oppressed than free. How can one not be sensitive to their plight? Human
suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.
10 There is so much to be done, there is so much that can be done. One
person—a Raoul Wallenberg, an Albert Schweitzer, Martin Luther King Jr.—
one person of integrity, can make a difference, a difference of life and death.
As long as one dissident is in prison, our freedom will not be true. As long
as one child is hungry, our life will be filled with anguish and shame. What
all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone, that we are
not forgetting them, that when their voices are stifled we shall lend them ours,

that while their freedom depends on ours, the quality of our freedom depends
on theirs.
11 This is what I say to the young Jewish boy wondering what I have done
with his years. It is in his name that I speak to you and that I express to you
my deepest gratitude as one who has emerged from the Kingdom of Night. We
know that every moment is a moment of grace, every hour an offering; not to
share them would mean to betray them.
12 Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need
us desperately.
Making Observations
naïve: simple; unsophisticated • Which parts of the speech appeal to your emotions?
jeopardy: peril; danger • What imagery could you picture in your mind?
integrity: adherence to an
ethical code
SAMPLE
dissident: one who disagrees

3.15
your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the speech in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. What can you infer about the meaning of bestow in paragraph 1?
2. In paragraphs 2–5, Elie Wiesel makes reference to, or alludes to, what central event? Why does
he use fragments to evoke the memory?
3. In paragraphs 6 and 7, why does the author start multiple sentences with and?
4. Closely read paragraphs 6 and 7. What is Wiesel saying about memory and silence?

5. The purpose of “a call to action” is to provide a concluding statement or section that supports
the argument by making clear to the audience what the writer or speaker wants them to think
or do. How is Wiesel’s last sentence a “call to action”?
SAMPLE
3.15
6. You will be assigned a specific element from the following SOAPSTone strategy. Reread the
speech and annotate it for this element.

SOAPSTone stands for Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, and Tone. It is a
reading and writing tool for analyzing the relationship among a writer, his or her purpose,
and the target audience of the text. SOAPSTone guides you in asking questions to analyze a
text or to plan for writing a composition.
• Speaker: The speaker is the voice that tells the story.
• Occasion: The occasion is the time and place of the story; it is the context that prompted
the writing.
• Audience: The audience is the person or persons to whom the piece is directed.
• Purpose: The purpose is the reason behind the text or what the writer wants the audience
to think as a result of reading the text.
• Subject: The subject is the focus of the text.
• Tone: Tone is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject.
7. Use your annotations of the speech to take notes on analyzing the argument in a SOAPSTone
graphic organizer like the one that follows. Refer to the Resources section of your book for a
SOAPSTone graphic organizer that you can copy and use for your analysis. The questions in the
Analysis column should help guide your analysis of the speech.
Element Analysis Textual Evidence
Speaker Who is the speaker?
Occasion What event(s) or situation(s) prompted the creation

of this text?

Audience Who is the intended audience?
Purpose What is the speaker’s claim?

What is the speaker’s reason for creating this text?
What is the speaker’s call to action?
Subject How does the speaker appeal to logos (i.e., how

does the speaker use facts, examples, statistics,
research, and logical reasoning for effect)?
How does the speaker use counterclaims or
concession and rebuttal?
How does the speaker appeal to pathos (emotion)?
Tone What is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject?

How does the speaker use connotative diction
and/or imagery to create tone?
SAMPLE
3.15
8. Use the following graphic organizer to organize your argumentative speech.
Argument Feature Wiesel’s Speech Your Speech
Claim There is so much injustice and

What is your claim? suffering crying out for our attention.
Logical Reasons As long as one dissident is in prison,

What are the reasons our freedom will not be true. As long
for your claim? as one child is hungry, our life will be
filled with anguish and shame.
What all these victims need above all
is to know that they are not alone.
The quality of our freedom depends
on theirs.
There is so much to be done, there is
so much that can be done.
Relevant Evidence Human rights are being violated

What evidence are on every continent. More people
you using to support are oppressed than free. Human
your claim? suffering anywhere concerns men
and women everywhere.
Counterclaim The world did know and remained

What claim are you silent. And that is why I swore never
opposing? to be silent whenever, wherever
human beings endure suffering and
humiliation. Silence encourages the
tormentor, never the tormented.
Credible Sources Wiesel, Elie. The Nobel

What sources are Acceptance Speech. Oslo, Norway.
you relying on? December 10, 1986.
Concluding Our lives no longer belong to us

Statement alone; they belong to all those who
What is your call to need us desperately.
action? There is so much to be done, there is
so much that can be done. One ...
person of integrity, can make a
difference, a difference of life
and death.
SAMPLE
3.15
My Notes LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Reviewing Clauses

A clause is a group of words with both a subject and a verb. Common clauses
include adverbial and adjectival clauses.
Adverbial: An adverbial clause is a dependent clause that functions as
an adverb. It modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb. The writer can place
the adverbial clause in different parts of the sentence, depending on
where it best adds to the desired effect. An adverbial clause begins with a
subordinating conjunction (such as if, when, although, because, or as).
Example: “Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you
wanted.” (Randy Pausch, “The Last Lecture,” 2008)
Adjectival: An adjectival clause is a dependent clause that is used as an
adjective in a sentence. Since the adjectival clause modifies a noun or
pronoun, it cannot be moved around. It should stay close to the word it
modifies. An adjectival clause generally begins with a relative pronoun (that,
which, who, whom, or whose).
Example: “He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is
as good as dead.” (Albert Einstein)
PRACTICE Look over your response to the Writing Prompt from Activity 3.14.
If you used an adverbial or adjectival clause in your writing, copy it in your
Reader/Writer Notebook. If you didn’t, add one to your writing.
9. A call to action attempts to persuade the reader to do something. It increases

the effectiveness of your argument by encouraging your audience to act on
whatever advice you have given them.
Topic Sample Call to Action
texting and driving The next time your phone dings while you’re

driving, pull over before checking your messages.
volunteering Find a cause that is important to you and make the
call to volunteer today.

Elie Wiesel says that if we forget that injustices are taking place, we become accomplices.
How does he support this argument? Do you agree? Discuss with a partner.

INDEPENDENT
READING LINK Write a short argumentative speech about the issue you identified in
Reading Plan Activity 3.14. Be sure to:
Explain how the subject of your • Assert a clear claim and address a counterclaim.
biography or autobiography • Support your claim using facts as evidence and rhetorical appeals.
has chosen an issue and hopes
to make a difference in the • End your speech with a strong call to action.
SAMPLE
lives of others who might be • Use adverbial and adjectival clauses effectively.
suffering. • Use dashes appropriately to punctuate any abrupt pauses in thought.

ACTIVITY
Students Taking Action 3.16

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze informational texts about taking action. Marking the Text
Summarizing
• Research and evaluate issues of personal significance.
Brainstorming
Preview Graphic Organizer
In this activity, you will collaborate with group members to choose an issue Note-taking
and create an original PSA campaign.

• As you read the excerpt, underline words and phrases that are targeted for a
youthful audience.
• Underline the key details and write notes about any connections that you notice
among them.
About the Author

Nancy Lublin (b. 1971) is an entrepreneur and
world leader in youth global activism. Lublin
holds degrees from Brown University, Oxford
University, and New York University School of
Law. Over her career she has founded and run
several non-profit organizations, including Dress
for Success, which provides women in need with
professional suits to wear on interviews, and
DoSomething.org, which gives grants to young
leaders working for social change. Lublin is
currently the CEO of Crisis Text Line, a free, 24/7

crisis intervention service offered to teens
across the world.
WORD CONNECTIONS
Etymology
Campaign comes from a French
word meaning “open country,”
and it referred to military
engagement in open fields.
It later came to denote any
large-scale military operation,
and now it is used to refer to a
series of steps in pursuit of a
goal. You may be familiar with
SAMPLE
its use in political campaigns
and fundraising campaigns.

3.16
My Notes Informational Text
See It! Believe It!

Do It!
Do Something! A Handbook for
from
Young Activists
By Nancy Lublin
See It
1 So, you want to change the world? That’s great! Where do you start? Do
you know what you want to fight for? Improve? Get rid of? Do those dying
penguins in Antarctica bum you out? Do the classroom lights left on all night
make you mad? Does the thought of peace in the Middle East get you pumped?
In other words: What’s your thing? What’s the issue that gets you sad or mad or
leaves you feeling overwhelmed?
2 Maybe there’s some terrible problem you pass on your street or hear about
in the news, and you think: I need to fix that. Or maybe you just want to make a
difference and don’t know where to start. You just need to see it.
Believe It

3 You’ve got a thing—a problem you want to solve. It makes your heart hurt.
It makes you squirmy, like you want to jump up and do something right now!
Awesome. The next step is figuring out how you can crush, erase, clean, save,
or change that thing. Caring is good. Action is better. But before you can act,
you’ve got to believe, you’ve got to understand. You’ve got to know your thing
inside and outside. You’ve got to know more than anyone. ... Once you do, you’ll
own your thing. You’ll really believe it.
Do It
4 Seeing a problem is great. Believing you can make a difference is really
important. Building a rock-solid plan will help you be incredibly effective. But
nothing matters more than actually getting out there and doing it.
5 You can read and write about riding a horse, but at some point you need
to get on and actually ride. Right? Pulling off your action plan means spreading
the word, getting more people to sign on to help, staying organized, focused,
and inspired. It’s not always going to be easy—you have to prepare for the
SAMPLE
unexpected! But you’ve come too far to stop now. It’s time for you to do it.

3.16
My Notes
1. You have read texts about events when few people took action. What ideas
in Nancy Lublin’s text are meant to get young people to take action? Which
actions in Lublin’s text are most appealing to you? Why?
Young Activists
2. Mark the text of the following campaign summaries to identify the what, why,
and how of each issue.
• What is the issue or problem the student wanted to do something about?
• Why did the student care about this issue?
• How did the student make a difference?
Student 1: Sarah Cronk State: IA Issue: Disability Rights

Sarah watched her older brother, Charlie, struggle to fit in during high school
because of his disabilities. He was depressed and anxious, until the captain of
the swim team invited him to join. Suddenly the cool kids welcomed him, and he
found a new group of friends. Inspired by Charlie, Sarah cofounded the first high
school–based inclusive cheerleading squad in the nation. Today, the Sparkle Effect
has generated 26 squads in 15 states and South Africa, encouraging a culture of
acceptance in every community.
Student 2: Danny Mendoza State: CA Issue: Foster Care
While in college, Danny learned that his nine-year-old cousin, Roger, was living in a
car. After lots of maneuvering, Danny helped him move from the Honda to a house,
but he was deeply disturbed by how little control Roger had over his own situation.
Danny took action and created Together We Rise, a youth-led organization
dedicated to running programs that not only bring a sense of normalcy and stability
to children in foster care, but also allow foster children to make their own choices.
Through programs like music lessons, mentoring, sports and athletics, résumé
building, and job readiness, Together We Rise provides the resources for foster
kids to prepare for success at age 18, when they are kicked out of the foster care
system and left to fend for themselves. Together, Danny and Together We Rise
have reached 3,000 foster care youth through these programs, providing a better
GRAMMAR & USAGE
opportunity for long-term success. Commas
A comma after an introductory
Student 3: Jordan Coleman State: NJ Issue: Education
element in a sentence
Jordan was angry when he learned that fewer than half of African American boys indicates a pause before the
graduate from high school. He’s an actor, so he decided to make a movie called main part of the sentence.
Say It Loud (at age 13) to raise awareness about the importance of education. He Look at these examples:
toured with the film to spread his message to young people in community centers Introductory participial phrase:
and schools around the country. He even got to speak at an education rally during Inspired by Charlie, ...
the Presidential Inauguration in 2009! Introductory prepositional
Student 4: Evan Ducker State: NY Issue: Discrimination phrase: At age 14, ...
Look for introductory elements
Evan was born with a large birthmark on his face. At age 14, he decided to educate like these as you read,
SAMPLE
the public about the medical and psychological issues facing kids born with these and note how you pause
kinds of birthmarks through his book Buddy Booby’s Birthmark and his annual after them.
International Buddy Booby’s Birthmark Read-Along for Tolerance and Awareness.

3.16
3. In the My Notes section next to Young Activists, summarize the kinds of young
WORD CONNECTIONS
people that are featured and how they have made a difference.
Word Relationships
Cause and issues are two
related words. Cause is used
to refer to an often broad
area of concern that needs
to be addressed. Issues refer
to specific items under that 4. Form a personal response to connect to the text by answering these questions:
cause. For example, global
warming, overpopulation, • Which student do you relate to most? Why?
and pollution are all issues
within the cause of helping the
environment.
• Which student do you respect the most? Why?
5. Create a word web to brainstorm issues of community, national, and global

significance that you care about.

6. Choose a cause from the website your teacher assigns you to explore as
a group.
Our Cause: Examples:
7. As a group, discuss the issues related to your selected cause. Have each
person in your group focus on a different issue related to your cause. For
example, if your cause is Animals, you can have one person research animal
testing, another animal cruelty, and a third animal homelessness. Before you
split up to do your research, plan an agenda for your next meeting with clear
goals and deadlines for the task. Decide on how you will share your research
and set time limits for speakers.
SAMPLE
3.16
8. Complete the first row of the following graphic organizer by taking notes on the what, why,
and how of your issue. Add your own ideas as well as the ones you find on the website. Then
present your issue to your group members. As group members present their issues, take notes
in the graphic organizer.
WHAT is the issue or problem? WHY should you care? HOW can you make a difference?
List informative and compelling Record appeals to logos, pathos, Record a clear and reasonable call to
facts. and ethos. action.
Issue: ___________________
Issue: ___________________
Issue: ___________________
Our cause:
9. Reflect on your research: Which issues stand out to your group as a potential subject for your
multimedia campaign? Vote for one issue to focus on for your multimedia campaign. Then
brainstorm where you can look for more information about it.

Brainstorm a list of organizations that support your group’s cause and that you would like to
volunteer with. Work in small groups to gather more information about some of these volunteer
opportunities. You can use this information as part of your call to action.
SAMPLE
3.16
10. Evaluate the details in your graphic organizer in step 7, and underline the ideas that would
provide the strongest support for your issue. Share your notes from your graphic organizer, and
advocate orally for the cause you chose with your group. Be sure to point out the cause you
chose and why the audience should care. Also provide instructions on what the audience can
do to support the cause. Remember to use rhetorical appeals such as anecdotes, analogies,
and illustrations while employing eye contact, speaking rate, volume, enunciation, a variety of
natural gestures, and conventions of language to communicate your ideas effectively.

Use your research notes and discussions about your issue to write sentences that demonstrate your
knowledge of the issue.
Write one statement about the issue:
Write a question you still have about the issue:
Write a command or call to action for your peers:

SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
From Vision to Action 3.17

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze informational texts and discuss the global impact of their subjects. Metacognitive Markers
Diffusing
• Create content for a web page to represent a campaign to make a
difference. Rereading
Summarizing
about making a difference. Discussion Groups
Graphic Organizer
Preview Drafting
In this activity, you will read about two ways that people can make a
difference in the world. Then you will think about how you can make a
difference for an issue you care about.

• As you read, underline the phrases that show how one person has or could
make a difference with a global impact.
Informational Text
KNOWLEDGE
Wangari Maathai QUEST

Knowledge Question:
How can one person make a
difference?
from BBC News In Activity 3.17, you will read
an informational text, a speech,
and a website on the topic of
Wangari Maathai rose to prominence fighting for those making a difference. While
most easily marginalized in Africa—poor women. you read and build knowledge
about the topic, think about

1 The first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize (2004) was praised your answer to the Knowledge
Question.
by the awarding committee as “a source of inspiration for everyone in Africa
fighting for sustainable development, democracy and peace.”
2 A pioneering academic, her role as an environmental campaigner began
after she planted some trees in her back garden. sustainable: able to be
maintained
3 This inspired her in 1977 to form an organization—primarily of women— curtail: to cut short
known as the Green Belt Movement aiming to curtail the devastating effects of devastating: highly destructive
deforestation and desertification. deforestation: large-scale
4 Her desire was to produce sustainable wood for fuel use as well as removal of trees and forests
combating soil erosion. desertification: the
transformation of habitable land
5 Her campaign to mobilize poor women to plant some 30 million trees has to desert
been copied by other countries. erosion: the process of wearing
away
6 Speaking as recently as Wednesday on the BBC’s Africa Live program, she
SAMPLE
said her tree planting campaign was not at all popular when it first began.

3.17
My Notes 7 “It took me a lot of days and nights to convince people that women
could improve their environment without much technology or without much
financial resources.”
8 The Green Belt Movement went on to campaign on education, nutrition,
and other issues important to women.
Political role
9 Mrs. Maathai has been arrested several times for campaigning against
deforestation in Africa.
10 In the late 1980s, she became a prominent opponent of a skyscraper
planned for the middle of the Kenyan capital’s main park—Uhuru Park.
11 She was vilified by Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi’s government but
succeeded in thwarting the plans.
12 More recently, she evolved into a leading campaigner on social matters.
13 Once she was beaten unconscious by heavy-handed police. On another

occasion she led a demonstration of naked women.
14 In 1997, she ran for president against Mr. Moi but made little impact.
Esteem
15 But in elections in 2002, she was elected as MP with 98% of the votes as
part of an opposition coalition which swept to power after Mr. Moi stepped
down.
16 She was appointed as a deputy environment minister in 2003.
17 Mrs. Maathai says she usually uses a biblical analogy of creation to stress

the importance of the environment.
18 “God created the planet from Monday to Friday. On Saturday he created
human beings.
19 “The truth of the matter is … if man was created on Tuesday, I usually say,
he would have been dead on Wednesday, because there would not have been the
essential elements that he needs to survive,” she told the BBC.
20 The Nobel Peace Prize committee praised her for taking “a holistic
approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights
vilified: subjected to vicious and women’s rights in particular.”
statements
21 She thinks globally and acts locally, they said.
thwarting: preventing
coalition: an alliance of people 22 She was born in 1940 and has three children.
or groups
23 Her former husband, whom she divorced in the 1980s, was said to have
holistic: emphasizing the whole
of something, as opposed to its remarked that she was “too educated, too strong, too successful, too stubborn
SAMPLE
parts and too hard to control.”

3.17
My Notes
Knowledge Quest
• What have you learned so far about Wangari Maathai?
• What is sustainable development?

• As you read, underline the phrases that show how one person can make a
difference.
About the Author

Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) was the founder
of the Green Belt Movement, an international
environmental movement focused on planting
trees, conservation, and women’s rights. She
was born in a rural village in Kenya in 1940.
After receiving degrees in biology from the
United States, Maathai went on to receive her
Ph.D in veterinary anatomy from the University
of Nairobi, becoming the first woman in East
and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree.
In 2004, she received the Nobel Peace Prize for
her contribution to “sustainable development,
democracy, and peace.”
Speech
KNOWLEDGE
Nobel Lecture
QUEST
Knowledge Question:
by Wangari Maathai difference?
Oslo, December 10, 2004

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
1 In 1977, when we started the Green Belt Movement, I was partly
responding to needs identified by rural women, namely lack of firewood, clean
drinking water, balanced diets, shelter and income.
2 Throughout Africa, women are the primary caretakers, holding significant
responsibility for tilling the land and feeding their families. As a result, they are
often the first to become aware of environmental damage as resources become
SAMPLE
scarce and incapable of sustaining their families.

3.17
My Notes 3 The women we worked with recounted that unlike in the past, they were
unable to meet their basic needs. This was due to the degradation of their
immediate environment as well as the introduction of commercial farming,
which replaced the growing of household food crops. But international trade
controlled the price of the exports from these small-scale farmers and a
reasonable and just income could not be guaranteed. I came to understand that
when the environment is destroyed, plundered or mismanaged, we undermine
our quality of life and that of future generations.
4 Tree planting became a natural choice to address some of the initial
basic needs identified by women. Also, tree planting is simple, attainable and
guarantees quick, successful results within a reasonable amount time. This
sustains interest and commitment.
5 So, together, we have planted over 30 million trees that provide fuel,
food, shelter, and income to support their children’s education and household
needs. The activity also creates employment and improves soils and watersheds.
Through their involvement, women gain some degree of power over their lives,
especially their social and economic position and relevance in the family. This
work continues.
6 Initially, the work was difficult because historically our people have
been persuaded to believe that because they are poor, they lack not only
capital, but also knowledge and skills to address their challenges. Instead they
are conditioned to believe that solutions to their problems must come from
‘outside’. Further, women did not realize that meeting their needs depended on
their environment being healthy and well managed. They were also unaware
that a degraded environment leads to a scramble for scarce resources and may
culminate in poverty and even conflict. They were also unaware of the injustices
of international economic arrangements.

7 In order to assist communities to understand these linkages, we
developed a citizen education program, during which people identify their
problems, the causes and possible solutions. They then make connections
between their own personal actions and the problems they witness in the
environment and in society. They learn that our world is confronted with a
litany of woes: corruption, violence against women and children, disruption
and breakdown of families, and disintegration of cultures and communities.
degradation: severe reduction They also identify the abuse of drugs and chemical substances, especially
of quality among young people. There are also devastating diseases that are defying cures
undermine: to weaken or occurring in epidemic proportions. Of particular concern are HIV/AIDS,
litany: repetitive series of malaria and diseases associated with malnutrition.
requests (usually for help)
8 On the environment front, they are exposed to many human activities
climatic instability: state of
Earth’s atmosphere when it is that are devastating to the environment and societies. These include widespread
so unstable it causes severely destruction of ecosystems, especially through deforestation, climatic
varying weather instability, and contamination in the soils and waters that all contribute to
contamination: being made excruciating poverty.
SAMPLE
impure by pollution

3.17
9 In the process, the participants discover that they must be part of the My Notes
solutions. They realize their hidden potential and are empowered to overcome
inertia and take action. They come to recognize that they are the primary
custodians and beneficiaries of the environment that sustains them.
10 Entire communities also come to understand that while it is necessary to
hold their governments accountable, it is equally important that in their own
relationships with each other, they exemplify the leadership values they wish to
see in their own leaders, namely justice, integrity and trust.
11 Although initially the Green Belt Movement’s tree planting activities
did not address issues of democracy and peace, it soon became clear that
responsible governance of the environment was impossible without democratic
space. Therefore, the tree became a symbol for the democratic struggle in
Kenya. Citizens were mobilized to challenge widespread abuses of power,
corruption and environmental mismanagement. In Nairobi ‘s Uhuru Park, at
Freedom Corner, and in many parts of the country, trees of peace were planted
to demand the release of prisoners of conscience and a peaceful transition to
democracy.
12 Through the Green Belt Movement, thousands of ordinary citizens were
mobilized and empowered to take action and effect change. They learned to
overcome fear and a sense of helplessness and moved to defend democratic
rights.
Knowledge Quest
• What words, phrases, or ideas from the speech stick out to you?
• What facts about the Green Belt Movement do you find most interesting?
SAMPLE
3.17
• Return to the texts as you respond to the following questions. Use evidence from the texts to
support your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the texts in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. What were some of the obstacles Wangari Maathai struggled against in creating and
campaigning for the Green Belt Movement?
2. How does the analogy in paragraphs 17–19 in the BBC article help Maathai make her point
about the importance of the environment?
3. Why do you think the Nobel Peace Prize committee praised Wangari Maathai for thinking
globally and acting locally?
4. KQ How does Maathai’s choice of the word custodian in paragraph 9 of her Nobel Lecture
help her emphasize her view of humanity’s relationship to the environment?

5. KQ Based on your reading of the BBC article and Nobel Lecture, what was Maathai’s biggest
challenge in creating the Green Belt Movement?

• As you read, underline phrases that show how one person, including yourself, could make a
difference in the world.
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by using context
clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
SAMPLE
3.17
Informational Text
KNOWLEDGE
About Freerice.com
QUEST
Knowledge Question:
1 Freerice is a nonprofit website that is owned by and supports the United difference?
Nations World Food Programme. Freerice has two goals:
• Provide education to everyone for free.
• Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.
2 Whether you are a CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a
poor country, improving your education can improve your life. It is a great
investment in yourself.
3 Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry
human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the
world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide.
Informational Text INDEPENDENT

READING LINK
Free Rice Online Read and Respond

Think about the cause or issue
Quiz Game
that the person is fighting for
in your independent reading
book. What personal, political,
or social connections exist
1 Freerice is an online internet game that donates 20 grains of rice to the between that cause or issue
World Food Programme (WFP) for every word that is correctly defined. WFP, and the person?
the United Nations frontline organization fighting hunger, distributes the rice to
the hungry. WFP uses the donations from the site to purchase rice locally, both
feeding people in need and stimulating local economies.

2 Already, the site has raised enough rice to feed over 1.5 million people for
a day. The game has been embraced by young and old alike, proving to be an
excellent tool for prepping for the SATs or to brush up on vocabulary words. stimulating: causing increased
Teachers have been using the game to teach both vocabulary and the value of activity in
helping others in need.
SAMPLE
3.17
• Return to the texts as you respond to the following questions. Use text evidence
• Write any additional questions you have about the informational texts in your
6. How does the game on Freerice.com achieve its two goals?
7. According to the article about Freerice.com, how is the benefit of education

the same for both rich and poor people?
8. KQ In the article about Freerice.com, how does the author’s use of the word
investment in paragraphs 1 and 2 help persuade people to donate?
9. KQ Reread Freerice.com’s two goals. Based on your reading of all the texts
in this activity, how does this website allow individual people to make a
difference?

READING LINK Use what you learned from the three texts to work collaboratively with two
You can continue to build your peers to record evidence of how one person can make a difference. Each of
knowledge about how one you can be the recorder for one text while you work together to complete an
person can make a difference Idea or Argument Evaluator graphic organizer for it. Be sure to:
by reading other articles at
ZINC Reading Labs. Search for • Include a clear statement about each authors’ ideas.
keywords such as activists or • Explain how the details in each text support and elaborate the author’s
social justice. central idea.
• Cite evidence from each text to support your ideas.
SAMPLE
3.17
10. Wangari Maathai and Freerice.com each made a difference on a global scale by organizing their
goals around a specific mission and taking action. Use the following chart to evaluate different
elements from the home pages of their websites.
Wangari Maathai World Food Programme
Organization Name The Green Belt Movement World Food Programme

Freerice
Slogan
Mission Statement
Call to Action

Create a small newspaper advertisement for Freerice.com. Include facts about the program as well
SAMPLE
as a slogan in the advertisement. Share your advertisement with a partner.

ACTIVITY
3.18 Examining Media Campaigns
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Graphic Organizer • Explain how specific media types appeal to different target audiences.
Note-taking
• Use rhetorical devices in different types of media to convince a target
Discussion Groups audience to take action.
Sketching
about a theme.
WORD CONNECTIONS Preview
In this activity, you will read about multimedia campaigns and think about
Word Relationships
how to create your own.
You can see that commercial
derives from the word
commerce, which is the buying Setting a Purpose for Reading
and selling of goods. As a
noun, a commercial refers to • As you read, underline any rhetorical devices in the text that attempt to convince
an advertisement on television the reader to take action.
or radio. As an adjective, • Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words
it describes a business or by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
enterprise where the main goal • While you read, record any questions you have in the margin.
is to make money and earn
profits. Informational Text
Public Service
Announcements
1 Broadcast media—radio and television—are required by the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to serve “in the public interest.” Most stations

use PSAs as one of the ways they meet this requirement. While they aren’t required
to donate a fixed percentage of air time per day to PSAs, stations do have to state
in their licensing and renewal applications how much air time they plan to devote
to PSAs. Most stations donate about a third of their commercial spots to non-
commercial causes; in other words, if a station has 18 minutes of commercials in a
given hour, six minutes of that will probably be devoted to PSAs.
INDEPENDENT 2 Public service announcements, or PSAs, are short messages produced on
READING LINK film, videotape, DVD, CD, audiotape, or as a computer file and given to radio
Read and Discuss and television stations. Generally, PSAs are sent as ready-to-air audio or video
Suppose you were to help the tapes, although radio stations sometimes prefer a script that their announcers
subject of your independent can read live on the air.
reading narrative make a PSA
to promote his or her cause. 3 Since World War II, public service announcements (PSAs) have informed
Discuss with a classmate who and attempted to persuade the public about a variety of issues.
the target audience of the
4 If people find an ad or PSA entertaining enough, they might talk about
PSA would be. What words
SAMPLE
or phrases would you use to it with a friend or share it online. When this happens, many more people will
appeal to that audience? receive the intended message.

3.18
1. Brainstorm types of media you could use to raise awareness and encourage action about an
issue of national or global significance.
2. What is meant by a target audience? How does identifying the target audience affect how an
argument is developed and presented?
3. Research examples of public service announcements and campaigns. You might use the
Internet, listen to radio, watch television, or look at newspaper or magazine ads to find
examples. Find at least three examples that appeal to you, and evaluate them for the clarity of
their messages, use of visuals and multimedia elements, and effectiveness.
Description of PSA Clarity of Message Use of Visuals/ Effectiveness

Multimedia Elements
Name:
Purpose:
Audience:
Content:
Name:
Purpose:
Audience:
Content:
Name:
Purpose:
Audience:
Content:
4. Analyze the campaigns’ use of rhetorical devices and logical fallacies for effect. How did each
campaign use the appeals pathos, ethos, and logos to convince the target audience to take
action? Give examples from your research. Did any of the campaigns use faulty reasoning or
logical fallacies such as bandwagon appeals or circular reasoning? Explain their purpose. For a
SAMPLE
quick review of rhetorical appeals, see Activity 2.12. Explain their purpose. For a quick review
of logical fallacies, see Activity 2.13.

3.18
Pathos:
Ethos:
Logos:
Logical Fallacies:
5. Of the different media and devices used, which would you use in your own multimedia
campaign? Who would be your target audience? Which type of media would appeal to them?
What type of ads would you create (magazine, newspaper, poster, billboard, web banner), and
where would you put them in order to reach your target audience?
6. Choose one of the public service campaigns you researched and identify the types of media it
uses to get the word out. For each type of media used, analyze the rhetorical devices for effect.
Do the various ads appeal to pathos, ethos, or logos? Are these appeals effective? Also, look
for intended and unintended use of logical fallacies. What is their purpose? Is their reasoning
sound or faulty?
Public Service Announcement Campaign:
Sponsor Organization:

Volunteer Agency:
Type of Media Target Audience Types of Devices and/or

Fallacies Used/Effectiveness
SAMPLE
3.18
7. Revisit the target audiences and types of media you are considering for your campaign. How
can you use rhetorical devices in different types of media to convince your target audience to
take action? Sketch a visual to show your thinking. Think about these guidelines for creating a
PSA:
• Aim for a memorable slogan.
• Use one powerful image.
• Use one shocking statistic.
• Search for images by idea or create your own images.
• Include a Credits slide for images as well as content. Document with this text: “This image is
used under a CC license from [insert URL for image].”
You’ve been learning about media campaigns. With a partner, think about how advertisers
can affect aspects of a person’s life. Look online and in print materials for advertisements
that support social issues that might not be in the best interest of consumer’s health and
well-being. Select one ad and role-play the advertiser and a concerned citizen seeing the ad.
The concerned citizen should question the advertiser about any negative aspects in the ad,
such as social acceptance of alcohol use, promotion of thinness as the best body type, sexual
images to sell products, and the normalization of violence. The advertiser should address the
concerned citizen and understand his or her point of view. When you are finished, summarize
the outcome of the discussion in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

Quickwrite: Briefly write about two advertisements—one that you think positively influences
people and one that you think negatively influences people. Why do you think advertisements have
these effects on viewers?
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
3.19 Raising Awareness
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Diffusing • Analyze the parts of an effective argument in spoken texts.
Graphic Organizer
• Evaluate the effectiveness of arguments in spoken texts.
Note-taking
Collaborative Discussion Preview
In this activity, you will read part of a speech and think about how to create
an effective argument.
My Notes
• As you read the speech, mark with L words and phrases that use logos (facts)
to support the argument, and mark with P words and phrases that use pathos
(emotion).
• Circle the unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the
words by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
About the Author

Cesar Chavez (1927–1993) was a Mexican American union leader and
organizer. In 1962, troubled by his difficult experiences as a migrant worker,
Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA). This group
led strikes, or work stoppages, throughout California to protest the practices
of agricultural businesses. The NFWA joined
forces with another prominent union to form
the United Farm Workers. Chavez continued
to campaign for fair labor practices and
worker safety with nonviolent protests,
boycotts, and hunger strikes. Through his
efforts, he helped improve conditions for
farm workers in several states.

GRAMMAR & USAGE
Verb Tenses Speech
The present-progressive verb address by
tense describes an ongoing
action that is happening at the
same time the statement is
written. This tense is formed
Cesar Chavez,
PRESIDENT, UNITED FARM WORKERS OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
by using am, is, or are with Pacific Lutheran University, March 1989, Tacoma, Washington
the verb form ending in -ing.
For example, look at the first 1 What is the worth of a man or a woman? What is the worth of a farm
sentence in paragraph 10: worker? How do you measure the value of a life?
“In McFarland ... are being
reported ...” The words are 2 Ask the parents of Johnnie Rodriguez.
being reported show that 3 Johnnie Rodriguez was not even a man; Johnnie was a five-year-old boy
the action is happening as
the writer is writing. Look for
when he died after a painful two-year battle against cancer.
another example of present- 4 His parents, Juan and Elia, are farm workers. Like all grape workers, they
SAMPLE
progressive verb tense in
are exposed to pesticides and other agricultural chemicals. Elia worked in the
the text.

3.19
table grapes around Delano, California until she was eight months pregnant
WORD CONNECTIONS
with Johnnie.
5 Juan and Elia cannot say for certain if pesticides caused their son’s cancer. Content Connections
But neuroblastoma is one of the cancers found in McFarland, a small farm town Neuroblastoma is a tumor
that affects young children.
only a few miles from Delano, where the Rodriguezes live. It commonly begins in the
6 “Pesticides are always in the fields and around the towns,” Johnnie’s father abdomen and develops from
tissues in the part of the
told us. “The children get the chemicals when they play outside, drink the water, or
nervous system that controls
when they hug you after you come home from working in fields that are sprayed. body functions.
7 “Once your son has cancer, it’s pretty hard to take,” Juan Rodriguez says.
“You hope it’s a mistake; you pray. He was a real nice boy. He took it strong and
lived as long as he could.” GRAMMAR & USAGE
8 I keep a picture of Johnnie Rodriguez. He is sitting on his bed, hugging Sentence Fragments
his teddy bears. His sad eyes and cherubic face stare out at you. The photo was In almost all cases, incomplete
taken four days before he died. sentences are not proper
grammar in the English
9 Johnnie Rodriguez was one of 13 McFarland children diagnosed with language. There are instances,
cancer in recent years and one of six who have died from the disease. With only however, where they can be
6,000 residents, the rate of cancer in McFarland is 400 percent above normal. used for effect. For example,
look at paragraphs 17 and 18.
10 In McFarland and in Fowler, childhood cancer cases are being reported in The elements in these
excess of expected rates. In Delano and other farming towns, questions are also paragraphs are sentence
being raised. fragments because they have
no verbs. The writer used these
11 The chief source of carcinogens in these communities are pesticides from sentence fragments for effect.
the vineyards and fields that encircle them. Health experts believe the high rate By following the question
of cancer in McFarland is from pesticides and nitrate-containing fertilizers about the effects of pesticide
with sentence fragments,
leaching into the water system from surrounding fields ...
the author emphasizes each
12 Farm workers and their families are exposed to pesticides from the danger more than it would
be in a regular sentence
crops they work. The soil the crops are grown in. Drift from sprays applied to
separated by commas. Find
adjoining fields—and often to the very field where they are working. more sentence fragments in
13 The fields that surround their homes are heavily and repeatedly sprayed. the speech. Notice what effect
Pesticides pollute irrigation water and groundwater. they create.
14 Children are still a big part of the labor force. Or they are taken to the
fields by their parents because there is no child care.
15 Pregnant women labor in the fields to help support their families. Toxic
exposure begins at a very young age—often in the womb.
16 What does acute pesticide poisoning produce? carcinogens: substances that
cause cancer
17 Eye and respiratory irritations. Skin rashes. Systemic poisoning.
pesticides: chemicals used to
18 Death. kill insects
leaching: draining
19 What are the chronic effects of pesticide poisoning on people, including
toxic: poisonous
farm workers and their children, according to scientific studies?
SAMPLE
20 Birth defects. Sterility. Still births. Miscarriages. Neurological and
neuropsychological effects. Effects on child growth and development.

3.19
My Notes 21 Cancer.
22 Do we feel deeply enough the pain of those who must work in the fields
every day with these poisons? Or the anguish of the families that have lost
loved ones to cancer? Or the heartache of the parents who fear for the lives of
their children? Who are raising children with deformities? Who agonize the
outcome of their pregnancies?
23 Who ask in fear, “where will this deadly plague strike next?”
24 Do we feel their pain deeply enough?
25 I didn’t. And I was ashamed.
26 I studied this wanton abuse of nature. I read the literature, heard from
the experts about what pesticides do to our land and our food.
27 I talked with farm workers, listened to their families, and shared their
anguish and their fears. I spoke out against the cycle of death.
28 But sometimes words come too cheaply. And their meaning is lost in the
clutter that so often fills our lives.
29 That is why, in July and August of last year, I embarked on a 36-day
unconditional, water-only fast.
30 The fast was first and foremost directed at myself. It was something I felt
compelled to do to purify my own body, mind, and soul.
31 The fast was an act of penance for our own members who, out of
ignorance or need, cooperate with those who grow and sell food treated
with toxins.
32 The fast was also for those who know what is right and just. It pains me
that we continue to shop without protest at stores that offer grapes, that we eat

in restaurants that display them, that we are too patient and understanding
with those who serve them to us.
33 The fast, then, was for those who know that they could or should do
more—for those who, by not acting, become bystanders in the poisoning of our
food and the people who produce it.
34 The fast was, finally, a declaration of noncooperation with supermarkets
that promote, sell, and profit from California table grapes. They are as culpable
as those who manufacture the poisons and those who use them.
35 It is my hope that our friends everywhere will resist in many nonviolent
ways the presence of grapes in the stores where they shop.
plague: a highly fatal epidemic Making Observations

affliction
• What emotions do you sense or feel while reading the speech?
wanton: immoral and excessive
• What additional questions do you have about Cesar Chavez and
penance: a punishment taken
SAMPLE
pesticides after reading this speech?
for an offense

3.19
your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the speech in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. Reread the opening question of the speech. Is the question intended to appeal to logos,
pathos, or ethos? Explain.
2. The speaker opens his speech with an anecdote. What kind of rhetorical device is he using, and
what effect does it have?
3. What claim does Cesar Chavez make?

4. Think about the logic of Chavez’s argument about the relationship between human health and
pesticides. How does the author depend on logical reasoning and relevant evidence (logos)?
5. How does Cesar Chavez participate in his own call to action?
SAMPLE
3.19
6. Who is the speech’s target audience? How do you know?
7. B
ased on the target audience, use your analysis to evaluate each element of the author’s
argument.
8. O
verall, is the argument effective? Why or why not?
9. F ind an online site (probably a site that ends in “.org”) that advocates for the use of safe
pesticides and the protection of the environment, for instance, http://www.beyondpesticides.
org/. Use the following organizer to take notes on the website you find and the elements of
a multimedia campaign to create change. Then find another site or an article to compare the
facts and determine reliability. Ask yourself the questions in the site evaluation process that
your teacher showed you.
Next, use the organizer to take notes on how the website uses logos and pathos to relay
its message to you. Evaluate how the site utilizes various multimedia elements to create a
campaign for change.
Logos Pathos

Facts used to help me understand the issue Images used to create emotion and to convince me to act

Quickwrite: How does the text use ethos to raise awareness of the use of pesticides in farming?
How can you use ethos in your own multimedia campaign?

You are going to participate in book talks in small groups to share insights into the narratives
you have each read. You should consider the challenge to society presented in your independent
reading book and how that challenge was confronted. What did it take for one person to address
SAMPLE
that challenge, and how was that person successful? How has he or she left a positive impact on
our society or on the world?

Understanding Verb Tense LC 3.19
Learning Targets
• Understand how to use appropriate verb tenses in writing.
• Revise writing to correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.
Preview
In this activity, you will write an introductory paragraph using correct and consistent verb tense.
Understanding Verb Tense

Verbs do more than express action or a state of being: they also tell when something happened—in
the past, present, or future. The expression of a verb’s time is called verb tense.
1. Read the following excerpt from Cesar Chavez’s speech. Identify each verb.
What is the worth of a man or a woman? What is the worth of a farm worker? How do you
measure the value of a life?
2. With a partner, decide whether the verbs are in the past, present, or future tense. Why do you
think Chavez uses this tense?
3. Look at the next passage from Chavez’s address. Identify each verb.
Johnnie Rodriguez was not even a man; Johnnie was a five year old boy when he died after
a painful two year battle against cancer.
His parents, Juan and Elia, are farm workers. Like all grape workers, they are exposed to
pesticides and other agricultural chemicals. Elia worked in the table grapes around Delano,
California, until she was eight months pregnant with Johnnie.
4. With a partner, look at the verbs and identify the verb tense or tenses. What does Chavez’s use
of verb tense tell you about the actions in this passage?
5. Look at this passage from Chavez’s address. Identify the verbs.

It is my hope that our friends everywhere will resist in many nonviolent ways the presence
of grapes in the stores where they shop.
6. With a partner, look at the verbs and identify the tenses. Why do you think Chavez uses these
tenses?
7. Look at this passage and underline the verbs.

In McFarland and in Fowler, childhood cancer cases are being reported in excess of
expected rates. In Delano and other farming towns, questions are also being raised.
SAMPLE
8. What do the verbs in Step 7 tell you about the timing of the action?

LC 3.19
Inappropriate Verb Tense Shifts

Chavez changes his verb tense throughout his address, sometimes even within the same sentence.
He uses a variety of tenses to narrate details about events that have happened in the past, to describe
realities of the moment, and to express his wishes for the future. Using a variety of tenses as Chavez
does can be a powerful rhetorical tool. But switching tenses unintentionally can make writing unclear.
In your writing, use tenses consistently unless you have a good reason to switch them.
9. Read the following sentences about Chavez’s speech. Underline the verbs that incorrectly shift in
tense. Write each sentence correctly in the space provided, and underline the correction you made.
a. During his talk at Pacific Lutheran University, Chavez was speaking about the difficult lives of
farmworkers, and he asks the audience, “Do we feel their pain deeply enough?”
b. Chavez fought for the rights of farmworkers because he believes in the value of every human life.
c. Just because people who pick crops do not have as much money as other people, and some of
them can’t afford the same healthcare, it doesn’t mean their lives had less value.
Revising
Read the following paragraph from a student’s essay about Cesar Chavez’s address. Work with
a partner to check whether the verbs maintain an appropriate and consistent tense. Circle any
mistakes you notice, and then mark the text to correct the mistakes.
[1] Cesar Chavez is the President of the United Farm Workers of America. [2] He was
speaking to a group of people at a university when he tells the story of Johnnie Rodriguez,
a young boy who is dying of cancer. [3] There were so many people dying of cancer in
McFarland that Chavez says the disease must be linked to the pesticides the farmers use.

[4] For instance, Johnnie’s mother picked grapes while she was pregnant with Johnnie, so
Chavez believes the pesticides are the cause of his illness. [5] Chavez decides that he must
fight the unjust treatment of farm workers.
Imagine you are editing a classmate’s writing and you notice incorrect shifts in verb tense. In your
own words, write an explanation to help your classmate understand the mistakes and how to
correct them. Then add an item to your Editor’s Checklist to help you remember how to revise your
writing to correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.
Practice
Using what you have learned about verb tense, write an introductory paragraph to an essay about
Cesar Chavez. The claim should address whether Cesar Chavez’s argument for workers’ rights is
effective. Trade your work with a partner to:
• Underline verbs.
• Make sure your verbs are in appropriate tenses.
SAMPLE
• Ensure that you do not shift verb tenses unnecessarily.

EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
Presenting a Multimedia Campaign 2
ASSIGNMENT
Develop a multimedia presentation that informs your peers about an issue of national or global
significance and convinces them to take action. Work collaboratively to conduct and synthesize
research into an engaging campaign that challenges your audience to make a difference.
Planning and Researching: ■■ Which of the issues from the list your class has developed are of interest to
Collaborate with a group of you?
peers to select and gather ■■ Where could you look online to find out about more issues of national or
information on an issue for global significance?
your campaign. ■■ How will you evaluate the credibility and timeliness of sources?
■■ How will you investigate what others are doing about your issue in order to
evaluate possible solutions to incorporate into your call to action?
■■ How will you give credit for information found in your sources and prepare a
Works Cited page or an Annotated Bibliography?
Drafting: Collaborate with ■■ How will you use rhetorical appeals (pathos, logos, and ethos) to persuade
your group to design a your audience to care?
multimedia campaign. ■■ How can you raise awareness by informing your peers about compelling
facts related to your issue?
■■ What will be your group’s name, mission statement, logo, and/or slogan?
■■ What media channels will you use in your presentation, such as presentation
tools, audio/visual components, social media, or others?
■■ How will you organize talking points to inform your audience about the issue,
convince them to care, and provide a call to action (what, why, and how)?
Rehearsing and Presenting: ■■ How can you use feedback from a dress rehearsal to improve your
Use effective speaking presentation?
and listening to prepare, ■■ How will you use the scoring guide to provide feedback on your own and
present, and observe. others’ presentations?
■■ How will you listen and take notes on the what, why, and how of each
multimedia presentation?
■■ How will you make sure to employ eye contact, speaking rate, volume,
enunciation, a variety of natural gestures, and conventions of language to
communicate ideas effectively?
Reflection
• Which presentations were effective in convincing you to care about the issue and why?
• What were the most effective media channels you observed, and what were the strengths
SAMPLE
of each?

EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
2
SCORING GUIDE
Scoring
Criteria
Ideas The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation

• supports a clear • supports a claim • has an unclear • has no claim or
claim and addresses and addresses or unsupported counterclaim, and/
counterclaim(s) with counterclaim(s) with claim, addresses or shows little or no
relevant reasons sufficient reasons and counterclaim(s) evidence of research
and evidence from a evidence from reliable ineffectively, and/ • does not use
variety of accurate sources or uses research rhetorical devices
sources • uses rhetorical from insufficient or • lacks multimedia or
• uses rhetorical devices unreliable sources campaign features.
devices effectively • includes adequate • uses rhetorical
• integrates engaging multimedia and devices unevenly
multimedia and campaign features to • includes inadequate
campaign features to clarify ideas. multimedia and
clarify ideas. campaign features.
Structure The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation

• demonstrates • demonstrates • demonstrates • demonstrates a
extensive evidence adequate evidence insufficient or uneven failure to collaborate
of collaboration and of collaboration and collaboration and/or or prepare
preparation preparation preparation • lacks an introduction
• has an introduction • has an introduction • has a weak • has little or no
that engages and that informs and introduction evidence of
informs the audience orients the audience • uses flawed or sequencing or
• sequences ideas and • sequences ideas and illogical sequencing; transitions
quotations smoothly embeds quotations quotations seem • lacks a conclusion.
with transitions with transitions disconnected

• concludes with a clear • includes a conclusion • includes a weak or
call to action. with a call to action. partial conclusion.
Use of The speaker The speaker The speaker The speaker

Language • communicates to a • communicates to a • communicates to • does not
target audience with target audience with a target audience communicate clearly;
a persuasive tone and appropriate tone and inappropriately; may uses vague or
precise diction some precise diction use basic diction confusing diction
• demonstrates • demonstrates • demonstrates • has frequent errors
command of the adequate command partial command in standard English
conventions of of the conventions of the conventions grammar, usage, and
standard English of standard English of standard English language
grammar, usage, and grammar, usage, and grammar, usage, and • lacks an annotated
language (including language (including language bibliography.
correct mood/voice) correct mood/voice) • begins to cite and/
• cites and evaluates • cites and evaluates or evaluate sources
sources thoroughly sources in an in an annotated
in an annotated annotated bibliography; may use
SAMPLE
bibliography. bibliography. improper format.

UNIT
4
VISUAL PROMPT
What makes people

laugh? What do you find
funny? How can laughter
help people overcome
challenges?
THE CHALLENGE
OF COMEDY
I f we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended:
That you have but slumb’red here,
While these visions did appear.
SAMPLE
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream...
—from Puck’s epilogue A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare
UNIT
4 The Challenge of Comedy
• To use knowledge of ACTIVITY CONTENTS

GOALS
genre characteristics and

purposes to analyze texts 4.1 Previewing the Unit �� 342
• To analyze how a variety 4.2 Understanding the Complexity of Humor �� 343
of authors create humor in
print and nonprint texts ssay: “Made You Laugh,” by Marc Tyler Nobleman
E
• To analyze how humor is Language & Writer’s Craft: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
used to reveal a universal
truth (theme) 4.3 Classifying Comedy �� 354
• To write a well-developed Introducing the Strategy: RAFT
analysis of a humorous
text 4.4 Humorous Anecdotes �� 358
• To analyze and Essay: from “Brothers,” by Jon Scieszka
perform a scene from a
Shakespearean comedy Language & Writer’s Craft: Using Verbals
• To revise and edit drafts Introducing the Strategy: TWIST
using standard English
conventions 4.5 Finding Truth in Comedy �� 366
Essay: “I’ve Got a Few Pet Peeves about Sea Creatures,”
by Dave Barry
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
4.6 Satirical Humor �� 373

juxtaposition
derision Article: “Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense
denounce from Language Programs,” from The Onion
caricature
Language & Writer’s Craft: Inappropriate Shifts in Verb
LITERARY Voice and Mood
persona
voice 4.7 Elements of Humor: Comic Characters
satire and Caricatures �� 380
irony
Short Story: “The Open Window,” by Saki (H. H. Munro)

dialect
hyperbole 4.8 Elements of Humor: Comic Situations �� 387
alliteration
pun ovel Excerpt: “A Day’s Work,” from The Adventures of
N
monologue Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
multiple points of view
Recognizing Frequently Confused Words �� 396
4.9 Elements of Humor: Hyperbole �� 398
Poetry: “Mooses,” by Ted Hughes
4.10 Elements of Humor: Comic Wordplay �� 402
Poetry: “Is Traffic Jam Delectable?” by Jack Prelutsky
*Comedic Skit: “Who’s on First?” by Bud Abbott
and Lou Costello (available online)
4.11 Planning and Revising an Analysis
SAMPLE
of a Humorous Text �� 406
Student Essay: “The Power of Pets,” by Isha Sharma

CONTENTS

My Independent
ACTIVITY CONTENTS Reading List
Writing an Analysis of a Humorous Text �� 413
4.13 Analyzing Multiple Points of View �� 416
Novel: from Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
4.14 Creating Context for Shakespearean
Comedy �� 426
4.15 Insulting Language �� 429
4.16 Close Reading of a Scene �� 431
Drama: Excerpt from A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
4.17 Acting Companies and Collaborative
Close Reading �� 434
4.18 Facing the Challenge of Performance �� 437
Informational Text: Adapted from “Fear Busters—10 Tips
to Overcome Stage Fright!” by Gary Guwe
Article: Adapted from “9 Public Speaking Tips to Get Over
Stage Fright,” by Emma Sarran Webster
4.19 Working with Acting Companies and

Focus Groups �� 446
4.20 Same Text, Different Text �� 450
*Film: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
4.21 Dress Rehearsal �� 453
Performing Shakespearean Comedy �� 454

SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Think-Pair-Share • Preview the big ideas in the unit.
QHT
Close Reading complete Embedded Assessment 1 successfully.
Marking the Text
Graphic Organizer In this activity, you will identify and understand the skills needed to
complete Embedded Assessment 1
My Notes Making Connections

In the final unit you will encounter the challenging task of appreciating humorous
texts and Shakespearean texts. You will use all your collaborative, speaking and
listening, reading, and writing skills as you examine the ways in which authors
create humor.
Essential Questions
Based on your current knowledge, respond to the following Essential Questions:
1. How do writers and speakers use humor to convey truth?
2. What makes an effective performance of a Shakespearean comedy?
Use a QHT chart to sort the terms on the Contents page. Remember, one academic
goal is to move all words to the “T” column by the end of the unit.

Closely read the assignment for Embedded Assessment 1.
INDEPENDENT Write an essay that explains how an author creates humor for effect and
READING LINK uses it to communicate a universal truth.
Reading Plan Then, find the Scoring Guide and work with your class to paraphrase the
For your outside reading expectations. Create a graphic organizer to use as a visual reminder of the
for this unit, choose texts required concepts (what you need to know) and skills (what you need to do).
by writers whom you find
After each activity, use this graphic to guide reflection about what you have
humorous. You might look
learned and what you still need to learn in order to be successful in the
for humorous short stories as
Embedded Assessment.
well as narrative essays and
poetry. Create a list of titles in
your Independent Reading List
of at least five texts based on
recommendations from your
teacher as well as your own
SAMPLE
research.

ACTIVITY
Understanding the Complexity of Humor 4.2

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Skimming/Scanning
• Write an objective summary of an informational text about a genre.
Close Reading
• Demonstrate understanding of the denotations and connotations of
Marking the Text
words related to humor.
Summarizing
Preview Revisiting Prior Work
Discussion Groups
In this activity, you will read an essay on the topic of humor. As you read,
think about your own sense of humor and what makes you laugh.
My Notes
Genre Study: Humor
In this unit, you will learn about the characteristics, structures, and purposes of
humor writing. Humor is a literary tool whose purpose is to entertain readers,
maintain their attention, and develop character and plot. Humor writers, whether
in fiction or nonfiction, rely on several devices—including irony, hyperbole,
understatement, sarcasm, slapstick, and puns—all of which you will learn about in
this unit.

As you read, underline words that make you laugh.
Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by
using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
About the Author

Marc Tyler Nobleman (b. 1972) is a pop-culture
archaeologist who has written more than 70
books. In Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-
Creator of Batman, Nobleman exposes the real

creator of Batman who, until this book, had
never been credited before. Nobleman is also a
cartoonist, whose work has been published in The
Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Saturday Evening
Post, and New York Daily News.
SAMPLE
4.2
Laugh
Essay
Made You
by Marc Tyler Nobleman
1 Would you like to know a language everyone in the world understands?

You already do—because you laugh. Any two people from vastly different
cultures who don’t speak a word of the other’s language still know exactly what
is meant when the other person laughs.
2 Think of laughter as the unofficial language of Earth. Yet how much do
any of us really understand about humor?
On the Laugh Track

3 What makes things funny? READ asked John Ficarra, the editor of MAD
GRAMMAR & USAGE magazine. After all, he should know. Here’s what he said: “Monkeys. They’re
unbeatable. For example, show a photo of a dentist—not funny. Show a photo
Pronoun-Antecedent
of a dentist with a monkey in his chair, and it’s comedy gold. Try this theory
Agreement
out on a few of your family photos, and you’ll see.” OK, so monkeys are funny.
Just as subjects and verbs
must agree in number, so What else? How about this?
must pronouns and their 4 Two hunters were in the woods, when one collapsed. He didn’t seem to
antecedents. Pronouns take
be breathing. The other called the emergency number and said, “My friend is
the place of nouns or other
pronouns. An antecedent, or dead! What can I do?” The operator said, “Calm down, I can help. First, let’s
the word the pronoun refers make sure he’s dead.” After a second of silence on the hunter’s end, the operator
to or takes the place of, must heard a gunshot. The hunter came back on the phone and said, “OK, now
agree in number with the what?”

pronoun. For example:
“Babies begin to laugh 5 If you laughed, you’re not alone. In the year 2001, that joke was voted the
instinctively when they’re funniest in the world as part of a project called LaughLab. Psychologist Richard
about four months old ...” The Wiseman’s goal was to determine what makes people laugh and what is found
word babies is plural, so the to be funny among men and women, older and younger people, and people
pronoun that replaces it (they)
from different countries. His research team tested people in person and asked
must also be plural.
others to submit opinions online using a “Giggleometer,” which ranked jokes
“Ask an average person why
humans laugh, and he or she on a scale of 1–5. More than 40,000 jokes were tested.
would probably say, ‘Because 6 You may be saying to yourself, “Studying jokes? Is that science?” But
something was funny.’” The
plenty of smart people say yes. Laughter is a biological function. It has a
word person is singular, so the
pronoun (he, she) must also be certain rhythm; laughter syllables build, then trail off, and they come out in a
singular. repetitive, not random, sequence. For example, “ha-ha-ho-ho-he” is typical, but
As you read “Made You “ha-ho-ha-ho-ha” or “he-ho-he” just doesn’t happen.
Laugh,” select three sentences
7 Babies begin to laugh instinctively when they’re about four months
that contain pronouns and
antecedents. Underline these old, perhaps to form a connection with parents. Those born blind and deaf
also laugh, so laughter is not dependent on sight and hearing. Other animals,
SAMPLE
words and note whether they
are singular or plural. notably chimps, exhibit laugh-like behavior when playing with one another.

4.2
Even rats, when tickled, make high-pitched squeals that can be interpreted as My Notes
laughter. (As you might guess, only a dedicated few know this firsthand.)
Comedy Is Serious Stuff

8 Comics know that the same jokes are not funny to everyone everywhere.
Ed Hiestand, a writer for comedy great Johnny Carson, told READ, “Everyone
who writes comedy needs to know the audience. On the Carson show,
everybody would laugh on a Friday night. Nobody would laugh on a Monday.”
Even within one state or town or family, senses of humor are as varied as the
people are. Professional comics do not assume a 10 p.m. audience will like a
joke because a 7 p.m. audience did.
9 Comedians who test jokes for a living say it’s hit or miss. “It’s a tough
gig, and you have to have a large threshold for pain,” said stand-up Jay Nog.
Performers whose jokes get a two-second laugh consider that a significant
accomplishment.
10 Timing is critical. Starting stand-up Zubair Simonson said he’s learning
the hard way that “good timing can cause a weak joke to soar, while poor
timing can cause a strong joke to falter.” Authors and film actors do not often
get immediate public feedback. But comics do.
11 What keeps the funny guys going? The laughs and after-effects. “The
best humor has some sort of layer to it; it makes a statement of some kind
or comment,” said Margy Yuspa, a director at Comedy Central. “An example
is [Dave] Chappelle. His comedy is funny on the surface and also often
comments on race or social issues.”
Funny You Said That

12 Comedians have their own theories about humor. “What makes us laugh
is a surprise change in perspective that connects an unknown with a known

idea in a unique manner,” said Ronald P. Culberson, a humorist at FUNsulting.
com. “For instance, a three-legged dog walks into an Old West saloon and says,
“I’m looking for the man who shot my paw.”
13 Ask an average person why humans laugh, and he or she would probably
say, “Because something was funny.” But comics need to know what gives the
giggles; their livelihood depends on it.
14 Comedian Anthony DeVito told READ that “people tend to laugh at
ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY
things that reinforce what they already believe. Comedy tells them they’re
Juxtaposition is a technique
right.” used by artists and writers,
15 Gary Gulman, a finalist in Last Comic Standing, a reality TV show and places normally
unassociated ideas, words,
comedy competition, gave specifics. “Sometimes it’s a keen observation about
and phrases next to one
something you thought you lived through. Sometimes it’s a juxtaposition of another for effect (e.g.,
words. Sometimes it’s a gesture or a sound. An encyclopedia couldn’t do this surprise or wit).
question justice.”
SAMPLE
4.2
My Notes What Are You Laughing At?
16 Yet laughter is not always a planned response to a joke. One study found
that 80 percent of the time, we laugh at something that just happens. People
often laugh just because someone else does. Like a yawn, a laugh is contagious.
That’s why some sit-coms use laugh tracks.
17 Laughter is also social, a way to bond with others. After all, how often do
you laugh alone? When two or more people laugh at the same thing, it is as if
nature reminds them of what they have in common.
18 Behavioral neuroscientist Robert R. Provine conducted a 10-year
experiment in which he eavesdropped on 2,000 conversations in malls, at
parties, and on city sidewalks. He found that the greatest guffaws did not follow
intentionally funny statements; people laughed hardest at everyday comments
that seemed funny only in a certain social context.
19 “Do you have a rubber band?” is not in and of itself humorous, but it is if
it’s said in response to “I like Amelia so much. I wish I could get her attention.”
Theories of Funniness
20 There are three main theories about humor.
LITERARY 21 Release theory—Humor gives a break from tension. In a horror movie,

VOCABULARY
A persona is a character as a character creeps through a dark house (often idiotically) to follow an eerie
assumed by an author in a noise, he might open a door to find a cat playing with a squeeze toy. The audience
written work or by an actor laughs in relief. Humor also lets us deal with unpleasant or forbidden issues, such
in a performance. as death and violence. People are often more comfortable laughing at something
The phrase public persona shocking said by someone else, though they would never say it themselves.
is used to describe how an
individual presents him- or
Comedian Keenen Ivory Wayans once said, “Comedy is the flip side of pain. The
herself to other people. worst things that happen to you are hysterical—in retrospect. But a comedian
doesn’t need retrospect; he realizes it’s funny while he’s in the eye of the storm.”

22 Superiority theory—Audience members laugh at those who appear to be
more stupid than they judge themselves to be. Slapstick humor, such as seeing
WORD CONNECTIONS a guy slip on a banana peel, often falls into this category. This theory dates back
to Plato in ancient Greece and was prominent in the Middle Ages, when people
Roots and Affixes with deformities were often employed as court jesters.
Superiority has the Latin root 23 Some comedians exploited this theory by building a routine—or even a
super, which means “placed
above.” This root is found in
persona—around the idea that they were losers who couldn’t catch a break.
many English words, including Larry David, David Letterman, and Woody Allen are comedians who have
superb, superlative, supreme, done this, each in his own way.
supervise, superintendent, 24 Incongruity theory—People laugh when things that are not normally
and supernatural.
associated with each other are put together. Many comedy duos, from Laurel
An incongruity happens when
things do not match as they
and Hardy to David Spade and Chris Farley, feature a thin man and a fat man, a
are expected to. The word visual contrast.
incongruity has the Latin root 25 People also laugh when there is a difference between what they expect
congru, which means “to come to happen and what actually occurs. They are being led in a certain direction,
together,” “to agree,” or “to
and then that direction abruptly changes, and the unpredictability makes them
SAMPLE
coincide.” The prefix in- means
“not” or “without.” laugh. Children see birds all the time without reaction, but if one flies into their
classroom through an open window, they will probably explode in giggles.

4.2
Got Laughs?
26 What we laugh at changes as we age. Here are some examples.
Audience Often Likes

Young children Slapstick, or silly physical humor
Elementary-school Puns, simple jokes that play off the sound rather
children than the meaning of a word, such as “Lettuce all go
to the salad bar”
Teens Jokes about topics that authority figures would
consider rebellious, a way to use humor to deal with
nerve-racking subjects
Adults, particularly Satire, which makes fun of the weaknesses of people
well-educated ones and society
27 Generally, children laugh more than adults. One study found that adults
laugh 20 times a day, while children laugh 200 times!
The Secrets of Humor

28 Certain comedic devices turn up again and again in jokes, comic strips,
and filmed entertainment—because they succeed.
29 “There were tricks,” said Hiestand of his days writing for The Tonight
Show hosted by Johnny Carson, “things you would see, certain things always
got laughs.” One of the most popular is often called the rule of threes. That
My Notes
is a pattern in which two nonfunny elements are followed by a third that is
funny (yet still makes sense within the context). Many jokes start off with a
list of three, such as “A rabbi, a lawyer, and a duck walk into a bar.” As the joke
unfolds, the rabbi says something straightforward, then the lawyer does as well,
but the duck finishes with something witty or absurd.

30 Three guys were stranded on an island. An antique lamp washed ashore.
When the guys touched it, a genie came out. “I’ll grant each of you one wish,”
the genie said. The first guy said, “I want to go home,” then disappeared. The
second guy said, “I also want to go home,” and he too disappeared. The third
man suddenly looked sad. He said, “I want my two friends back to keep me
company.”
31 Certain concepts seem to be more amusing than others. If you tell any
joke involving an animal, and it doesn’t matter which one you use, think
Donald and Daffy. In the LaughLab experiment, scientists determined that the
funniest animal is the duck. (It’s not arbitrary that a duck was used in the rule-
of-threes joke.)
SAMPLE
4.2
My Notes Do Tell—But Do It Right
32 There are also known techniques for telling jokes well.
• Keep it short—Don’t include any details that are not necessary to bring
you to the punch line. In the genie joke, there was no need to specify
it was a tropical island or to name the castaways. The quicker you tell a
joke, the funnier it will be.
• Be specific—Some comedians swear that a joke is funnier if you say
“Aquafresh” instead of “toothpaste.” The attention to detail makes the
story seem more real.
• Keep a straight face—Deliver the joke deadpan, or without emotion.
That way, any strangeness in the joke will seem even stranger because
the person telling it doesn’t seem to notice.
• Don’t laugh at your own joke—Let your audience decide whether it is
funny or foolish—or both.
33 Theories and techniques aside, much about humor remains a mystery.
According to Hiestand, Carson many times said, “I don’t understand what
makes comedy a sure thing. There’s no 100-percent surefire formula.”
Meanwhile, for most of us, laughter is never a problem. It does not need to be
solved, just enjoyed.
Making Observations
• What details or ideas about humor stand out to you?
• What questions do you have after reading the essay?
SAMPLE
4.2
My Notes

Write four different sentences about humor based on information in the essay
“Made You Laugh.”
Statement:
Question:
Exclamation:
Command:

• Return to the text as you respond to the following questions. Use text evidence
• Write any additional questions you have about the essay in your Reader/Writer
Notebook.
1. Why does laughter seem to qualify as a biological function? What might be

the biological function of laughter?
SAMPLE
4.2
2. In paragraph 7, what purpose does the sentence in parentheses serve?
3. As discussed in paragraphs 16–19, why is unplanned humor often funnier than planned
humor?
4. What context clues in paragraph 21 help you understand the meaning of the word retrospect?
5. Based on paragraphs 26–27, what distinction can you make between what makes children
laugh and what makes adults laugh? Why might children laugh more often than adults?

6. Reread each of the headings throughout the essay. Which heading is an example of
juxtaposition? Explain your answer.
SAMPLE
4.2
7. What is the author’s thesis in this essay? Cite specific evidence from the text in your response.

8. Referring to the words and phrases you’ve underlined, write an accurate summary of a section
of the text by putting the main points into your own words. Remember that a summary is a
broad overview of the text; stick to the main points by writing about big ideas and excluding
smaller details.
9. To analyze a text carefully, one must use precise words to describe the humor and explain the
intended effect. Work collaboratively to define terms and to understand the nuances of words
with similar denotations (definitions). You have already encountered some of these words.
Words to Describe Humor Denotation Connotations
amusing
cute
facetious
hysterical
ironic
irreverent
laughable
light-hearted
ludicrous
mocking
sarcastic
satirical
witty
SAMPLE
4.2
Words in Response to Humor Denotation Connotations
chuckle
giggle
grin
groan
guffaw
outburst
snort
scoff
smile
smirk
snicker
10. Listen as your teacher reads you a joke. Think about the type of humor that makes the joke
funny (or attempts to). Explain your answer using vocabulary from the essay “What Makes Us
Laugh.”
SAMPLE
4.2
LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Remember that pronouns and antecedents have to agree in number. Note that pronouns such
as everyone, either, no one, and everybody are always singular, while pronouns such as few,
many, and all are always plural. For example:
Would everyone in class please find his or her desk?
Many are going to their school’s game on Friday.
Jasper and Frederica earned excellent scores at their piano recital this weekend.
Practice completing each sentence with the correct pronoun to match the antecedent.
1. According to the news, all eighth-grade students will help ____ city by participating in a
cleanup project.
2. Either Carla or Laura has _________ grandmother’s book.
3. The teacher announced, “Would everyone please find ________ seat?”
PRACTICE Now go back to your response to step 8 and revise your summary, using what you
have learned about the agreement between pronouns and their antecedents.

Writing complex sentences is one way to improve your writing. Complex sentences have two
clauses, one main or independent and one subordinate or dependent. The essential ingredient
in a complex sentence is the subordinate conjunction. The subordinate conjunction provides a
necessary transition between the two ideas in a sentence. Take a look at the sample sentence
that follows, and note the use of the comma after the subordinate clause that begins with a
subordinating conjunction.
Because she was shivering, he gave her a blanket.
Write four complex sentences using the word humor. You may add suffixes.
Regardless
Although
Whenever
If

Create a detailed paragraph that uses precise diction to explain your sense of humor. Use
what you learned about humor and at least two words each from the “Words to Describe
Humor” and “Words in Response to Humor” charts. Explain what does and does not make
you laugh and how you typically respond to humorous texts. Be sure to:
• Begin with a clear thesis statement explaining your sense of humor.
• Include some specific examples of things that make you laugh.
• Check your pronouns and their antecedents to ensure that they agree in number.
• Use complete, complex sentences with correctly placed commas.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
4.3 Classifying Comedy
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Marking the Text
• Categorize humorous texts by levels of comedy.
Graphic Organizer
• Analyze print and graphic features to explain how authors create humor.
Note-taking
Discussion Groups Preview
Brainstorming
In this activity, you will analyze the elements of humorous texts.
RAFT
Drafting
Understanding Levels of Comedy
Comedy occurs in different ways.
WORD CONNECTIONS
1. Read and mark the text to indicate information that is new to you.
Cognates
Low comedy refers to the type of humor that is focused primarily on a situation or
The English word comedy
series of events. It includes such things as physical mishaps, humor concerning
comes from the Latin word
comoedia, meaning “an the human body and its functions, coincidences, and humorous situations. With
amusing play or performance.” low comedy, the humor is straightforward and generally easy to follow and
It has the same meaning as the understand.
Spanish word comedia. Since the primary purpose of most low comedy is to entertain, the action is
frequently seen as hilarious or hysterical and the effect is often side-splitting
laughter and guffaws. Many times, the characters are exaggerated caricatures
rather than fully developed characters. These caricatures are often caught in
My Notes unlikely situations or they become victims of circumstances seemingly beyond
their control. Thus, the plot takes priority over the characters. Examples of low
comedy might include Madea’s Family Reunion, Meet the Parents, and America’s
Funniest Home Videos. Shakespeare’s comedies, such as A Midsummer Night’s
Dream and Twelfth Night, are full of low comedy.
High comedy refers to the type of humor that is focused primarily on characters,
dialogue, or ideas. It includes such things as clever wordplay, wit, and pointed

remarks regarding larger issues. Many times, high comedy takes an irreverent or
unconventional look at serious issues.
Sometimes the humor of high comedy is not immediately obvious; it can take a
bit of reflection in order to realize the humorous intent. Frequently, the purpose
of high comedy is to express an opinion, to persuade, or to promote deeper
consideration of an idea. Often described as amusing, clever, or witty, high
comedy typically results in chuckles, grins, and smiles rather than loud laughter.
Clever use of language and interesting characters receive more attention than
the circumstances that surround them. Examples of high comedy include Modern
Family, The Middle, and, at times, The Simpsons. Shakespeare’s tragedies, such
as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, also include instances of high comedy.
2. Why do we distinguish between different kinds of comedy?
SAMPLE
4.3
3. With a partner, take notes to complete the two comedy charts that follow. Brainstorm a strong
example at each level of comedy.
Low Comedy
Purpose Common Subjects Emphasis Descriptions Intended Responses
High Comedy
Purpose Common Subjects Emphasis Descriptions Intended Responses

4. Using the vocabulary you just learned, share with another pair of students the examples of
high and low comedy you and your partner brainstormed.
SAMPLE
4.3
My Notes Analyzing Humorous Texts
5. Brainstorm what you already know about comic strips and political cartoons.
Think about format, audience, topics, descriptions of humor, intended
effects, etc.
Comic Strips:
Political Cartoons:
6. Read and mark the text of the following definitions for information that is new
to you:
Comic strips are meant primarily to entertain. They have a beginning and
middle that lead to a humorous ending. They tend to be low-level comedy
that is easily understood by a wide audience.
Political cartoons deal with larger issues and are often meant to communicate
a particular political or social message. They often have a single panel
with a powerful statement to reinforce humor displayed through a picture
(characters or symbols). They tend to be high-level comedy, appealing to a
smaller population that is well-informed about a specific topic.

In order to compare and contrast comic strips and political cartoons, create a Venn
diagram in your Reader/Writer Notebook that lists the characteristics of each.
Are there any areas where they overlap? Continue to add to your diagram as you
analyze examples of these two humorous texts.

Introducing the Strategy: RAFT
RAFT is an acronym that stands for role, audience, format, and topic. RAFT
is a strategy that can be used for responding to and analyzing a text by
identifying and examining its role, audience, format, and topic.
INDEPENDENT
READING LINK 7. As you review a comic strip and a political cartoon, think about each author’s
Read and Respond purpose and how he or she achieves it. Think about the print elements, the
Analyze one of the humorous graphic elements, and the dialogue. Use the graphic organizer and the RAFT
texts you are reading. Does the strategy that follow to analyze the humor in the comic strip and the political
text reflect high comedy or low cartoon based on the previous definitions.
comedy? Cite specific examples
from the text to support your
answer, and record your
SAMPLE
responses in your Reader/
Writer Notebook.

4.3
Titles
Comic Strip: Political Cartoon:

Role
Who is the author? Where is this
comic strip or political cartoon
found? What is the attitude (tone)
of the author toward the topic? How
can you tell?
Audience
Who does this comic strip or political
cartoon target? How do you know?
Format
Describe the use of print and
nonprint techniques (dialogue,
narration frames, and angles) used
for effect.
Topic
What is this comic/cartoon about?
Who are the characters?
What is happening?
How would you describe the humor?
What is the intended effect?

Compare and contrast the two humorous texts that you analyzed in this activity: the comic
strip and the political cartoon. How does the author of each text create humor? Write a
paragraph explaining your answer. Be sure to:
• Establish a controlling idea that explains the authors’ purpose and describes how
print or graphic features in the cartoon and comic strip help the authors achieve that
purpose.
• Include specific details from the cartoon and comic strip to support your ideas.
• Explain whether the cartoon and comic strip are high or low humor and why.
SAMPLE
• Use precise diction to describe the humor of the cartoon and comic strip.

ACTIVITY
4.4 Humorous Anecdotes
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Discussion Groups
• Analyze how authors convey humor in speech and writing.
Rereading
• Write and present an oral reading of an original humorous anecdote.
Close Reading
Marking the Text • Integrate ideas from multiple texts to build knowledge and vocabulary
about humor.
Brainstorming
TWIST Preview
Oral Reading
In this activity, you will read a humorous essay and think about any funny
memories you’ve had related to a road trip or riding in a car.
WORD CONNECTIONS
Etymology
Humorous Anecdotes
The word anecdote comes 1. In Unit 2, you learned about how authors of argumentative essays use
from the Greek word anekdota, anecdotes to support their claims. Humor authors also rely on anecdotes.
meaning “things unpublished.” Read the following information to see how the use of anecdotes applies to a
Think about the connotation study of humor.
this brings to the modern word.
An anecdote is a brief, entertaining account of an incident or event. Often,
anecdotes are shared because of their humorous nature, but anecdotes can
also help illustrate larger ideas and concepts. Families sometimes share
anecdotes about the humorous things family members have done. Frequently,
the stories become more and more absurd as the details are exaggerated with
each retelling.
2. Do you or your family have a humorous anecdote that is shared over and
over? What is it? Why is it retold? Who tells it? How does it change over time?
Viewing a Humorous Monologue

The following monologue provides humorous accounts of somewhat ordinary

events. Finding and describing the humor in the people, places, and events you
encounter can enrich your conversations as well as your writing.
3. As you watch the clip for the first time, listen for different topics in the
monologue and take notes.
Comedian’s Persona People Places Events
SAMPLE
4.4
4. The second time you view the clip, pay attention to how the comedian delivers the anecdote.
Take notes on your assigned section.
1. Describe the comedian’s delivery. What is the effect 2. Record the comedian’s transitions between topics
on the audience? within his anecdote. What words or phrasing does he
use?
Tone:
Facial Expressions:
Gestures:
Volume:
Pacing:
Inflection (emphasis):
Effect:
3. Describe the imagery the comedian uses. List details 4. Does the speaker’s tone shift? Record his attitude
that describe a person, place, or event. Why does the about the topic at the beginning of the monologue and
comedian include these specific details? if his attitude changes. How does he communicate this
shift?
Topic:
Descriptive Details:
Figurative Language:

List three ways the comedian in the clip makes the audience laugh with a simple anecdote. Does he
use his persona? people in the story? humorous events?
SAMPLE
4.4
LITERARY
VOCABULARY
• Underline words and phrases that show the author’s personality and distinctive
Voice is a writer’s (or voice.
speaker’s) distinctive use
of language to express • As you read, underline any words or phrases that you find humorous.
ideas as well as his or her • Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words
persona. by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
An author’s voice is
conveyed by both their style About the Author
and diction.
Jon Scieszka (b. 1954) is the oldest of six brothers
in his family. He became an elementary school
teacher and found that his students liked the
funny stories that he enjoyed telling. He has since
published a number of children’s books, which
are illustrated by his friend Lane Smith. In 2008,
the Library of Congress named him National
Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
Essay
Brothers
KNOWLEDGE from
QUEST
Knowledge Question:
Why is humor an effective way
to communicate wisdom? by Jon Scieszka
Across Activities 4.4 and 4.5
1 Brothers are the guys you stick with and stick up for.
you will read two essays on
the topic of humor as a way to 2 The Scieszka brothers are scattered all over the country now, but we still

communicate wisdom. While get together once a year to play a family golf tournament. We named it after
you read and build knowledge
our dad, Lou, and his favorite car—his old Cadillac Coupe de Ville. It is the
about the topic, think about
your answer to the Knowledge Coupe de Lou Classic. We all grew up playing golf, because Dad Lou, an
Question. elementary school principal, taught Junior Golf and gave us lessons during
summers off. And I’m sure my brothers would want me to point out the
amazing fact that I am the winner of both the very first Coupe de Lou 1983 and
the latest Coupe de Lou 2004.
3 But of all the Scieszka brother memories, I believe it was a family car
trip that gave us our finest moment of
brotherhood. We were driving cross-
country from Michigan to Florida, all
of us, including the family cat (a guy
cat, naturally), in the family station
wagon. Somewhere mid-trip we
stopped at one of those Stuckey’s rest-
stop restaurants to eat and load up on
SAMPLE
Stuckey’s candy.

4.4
4 We ate lunch, ran around like maniacs in the warm sun, then packed back into the
station wagon—Mom and Dad up front, Jim, Jon, Tom, Gregg, Brian, Jeff, and the cat in back.
Somebody dropped his Stuckey’s Pecan Log Roll® on the floor. The cat found it and must have
scarfed every bit of it, because two minutes later we heard that awful ack ack ack sound of a cat
getting ready to barf.
5 The cat puked up the pecan nut log. Jeff, the youngest and smallest (and closest to the
floor) was the first to go. He got one look and whiff of the pecan nut cat yack and blew his own
sticky lunch all over the cat. The puke-covered cat jumped on Brian, Brian barfed on Gregg.
Gregg upchucked on Tom. Tom burped a bit of Stuckey lunch back on Gregg. Jim and I rolled
down the windows and hung out as far as we could, yelling in group puke horror.
6 Dad Lou didn’t know what had hit the back of the car. No time to ask questions. He just
pulled off to the side of the road. All of the brothers—Jim, Jon, Tom, Gregg, Brian, and Jeff—
spilled out of the puke wagon and fell in the grass, gagging and yelling and laughing until we
couldn’t laugh anymore.
7 What does it all mean? What essential guy wisdom did I learn from this?
8 Stick with your brothers. Stick up for your brothers. And if you ever drop a pecan nut log
in a car with your five brothers and your cat ... you will probably stick to your brothers.
Knowledge Quest
• What parts of this essay made you laugh?

Complete the given sentences using the conjunctions because, so, and but.
The cat barfed because:

The cat barfed, so
The cat barfed, but:

responses.
5. How does the author show that he and his brothers have close relationships?
SAMPLE
4.4
6. What events happened during a family car trip to make it memorable?
7. KQ How does the author’s use of the word brotherhood help you to understand this essay is
about more than just a humorous anecdote?
8. How do the events in the story reveal a lesson the author learned?
9. Describe the author’s voice. What language does he use to create his distinct voice and convey
his personality in the text?

10. KQ How does the author use humor to reveal a truth about life?

11. Review the essay and make connections between the essay and your own experiences. Also
think about other humorous texts—particularly your independent reading books—that you
have read and how the essay connects to those texts. Finally, make connections between the
essay and the world around you. Use the following symbols to mark the text.
E/S = Essay to Self
E/T = Essay to other Texts
E/W = Essay to World
SAMPLE
Quickwrite: After marking the text, write a paragraph in your Reader/Writer Notebook exploring
these text connections in detail. Compare your paragraph with a partner’s to see how they differ.

4.4
Introducing the Strategy: TWIST
TWIST is an acronym for tone, word choice, imagery, style, and theme. This writing strategy
helps a writer analyze each of these elements in a text in order to write a response to an
analytical writing prompt about the text.
12. Reread the excerpt from “Brothers,” and use the TWIST strategy to guide your analysis of
the text.
Acronym Text: “Brothers” by Jon Scieszka

Tone
What is the author’s attitude about the topic?
Word choice
What specific diction does the author use for
effect? How does the author’s word choice
contribute to their voice?
Imagery
What specific descriptive details and
figurative language does the author use for
effect?
Style
How does the author use language to create
humor?
What is the intended response the author
hopes to achieve? How does the author’s
style contribute to their voice?
Theme
What is the central idea of this text? What
idea about life is the author trying to convey
through humor?
What is the author’s purpose?
SAMPLE
4.4
13. Once you have found textual evidence from the text “Brothers” and made an inference about
the theme, you are ready to write an analytical topic sentence. State the title, author, and
genre (TAG) in your thesis or topic sentence.
For example:
Jon Scieszka’s anecdote “Brothers” is a low-level comedy that uses a comic situation,
exaggeration, and comic diction to reveal a universal truth about how brothers who laugh
together stick together.
Practice writing a topic sentence about the comedic monologues you viewed in class using the
TAG format.
Writing and Presenting Your Own Anecdote

14. Use the TWIST graphic organizer to plan your own anecdote.
Subject of Humorous Memory: People/Places/Events:
Tone:
What is your attitude about the topic? How will you convey that attitude?
Word Choice:
What specific diction can you use for effect?

Imagery:
What specific descriptive and figurative language can you use for effect?
Style:
How can you use language (diction and syntax) to create humor?
What is the intended response you hope to achieve?
Theme:
What idea about life are you trying to convey through humor?
SAMPLE
4.4
15. Draft your anecdote. Be sure to include a beginning, middle, and end. Think My Notes
about who was involved, what happened, how you dealt with it, and what you
learned about yourself or the world as a result.
16. Present an oral reading of your draft to a partner. After your partner presents,
provide feedback relating to his or her ideas, organization, and language and
the humorous effect.
LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Using Verbals

A verbal is a form of a verb that functions as something other than a verb. For
example, a verbal might be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. An
infinitive is the to form of a verb, such as to chuckle or to snort. Infinitives are
verbals that can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. A participle is a
verbal that is used as an adjective. There are present and past participles.
Present: giggling, snickering
Past: raised, destroyed
A gerund is a verbal that acts as a noun and ends in -ing. It can sometimes
be difficult to tell the difference between a gerund and a present participle
because both end in -ing. The key is to determine whether the word acts as
an adjective or a noun.
Participle: The giggling child made lots of noise.
Giggling is an adjective describing the noun child.
Gerund: His giggling was distracting.
Giggling is the subject of the sentence, so it is a noun.
Writers use verbals for variety and effect.
Look at these examples based on the essay:
Golfing was an activity that the Scieszka family enjoyed. (Golfing is a gerund
because it acts as a noun. It is the subject of the sentence.)
“Jim and I rolled down the windows and hung out as far as we could, yelling
in group puke horror.” (Yelling is a present participle. It modifies Jim and I.)
“We still get together once a year to play a family golf tournament.” (To
play is an infinitive. It functions as an adverb, modifying the verb get by
answering the question “why.”)
PRACTICE In your Reader/Writer Notebook, write a brief summary of Jon
Scieszka’s anecdote using one infinitive, one gerund, and one participle.
INDEPENDENT
READING LINK
Writing to Sources: Informational Text Read and Connect
Select an anecdote in audio or visual format. Write a paragraph explaining Describe a personal connection
the humor the author creates and its intended response. Be sure to: to the text you are reading
independently. Look for
• Clearly state how the anecdote uses the elements of humor. anecdotes like the one you
• Include examples from the text to support your analysis. read in this activity. What
anecdotes in your independent
• Use precise diction.
SAMPLE
reading text struck you? How
• Use participles, gerunds, and infinitives in your writing. do you connect to them?

ACTIVITY
4.5 Finding Truth in Comedy
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Think-Pair-Share • Analyze a humorous essay by participating in a Socratic Seminar.
Marking the Text
• Explain how an author conveys universal truths through humor.
Discussion Groups
about humor.
Socratic Seminar
Preview
In this activity, you will read a humorous essay and explore how people use
comedy to discuss serious topics.

KNOWLEDGE • As you read the essay, underline words and phrases that are intended to be
QUEST humorous.
Knowledge Question: • Underscore the parts of the text that seem to reveal a truth about life.
Why is humor an effective way
to communicate wisdom?
About the Author

My Notes
Dave Barry (b. 1947) was a humor columnist for
the Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005, during which
time he won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
Barry has written over 30 books, including two
that were turned into a sitcom, Dave’s World.
Much of Barry’s work provides humorous
commentary on current social issues.

Essay
I’ve Got a Few Pet Peeves

about Sea Creatures
by Dave Barry
1 Pets are good, because they teach children important lessons about life,
the main one being that, sooner or later, life kicks the bucket.
SAMPLE
2 With me, it was sooner. When I was a boy, my dad, who worked in
New York City, would periodically bring home a turtle in a little plastic tank

4.5
that had a little plastic island with a little plastic palm tree, as is so
often found in natural turtle habitats. I was excited about having
a pet, and I’d give the turtle a fun pet name like Scooter. But my
excitement was not shared by Scooter, who, despite residing in a
tropical paradise, never did anything except mope around.
3 Actually, he didn’t even mope “around”: He moped in
one place without moving, or even blinking, for days on
end, displaying basically the same vital signs as an ashtray.
Eventually I would realize—it wasn’t easy to tell—that
Scooter had passed on to that Big Pond in the Sky, and I’d bury
him in the garden, where he’d decompose and become food for the
zucchini, which in turn would be eaten by my dad, who would in turn
go to New York City, where, compelled by powerful instincts that even
he did not understand, he would buy me another moping death turtle.
And so the cycle of life would repeat.
4 I say all this to explain why I recently bought fish for my 4-year-old
daughter, Sophie. My wife and I realized how badly she wanted an animal
when she found a beetle on the patio and declared that it was a pet, named
Marvin. She put Marvin into a Tupperware container, where, under Sophie’s My Notes
loving care and feeding, he thrived for maybe nine seconds before expiring like
a little six-legged parking meter. Fortunately, we have a beetle-intensive patio,
so, unbeknownst to Sophie, we were able to replace Marvin with a parade of
stand-ins of various sizes (“Look! Marvin has grown bigger!” “Wow! Today
Marvin has grown smaller!”). But it gets to be tedious, going out early every
morning to wrangle patio beetles. So we decided to go with fish.
5 I had fish of my own, years ago, and it did not go well. They got some
disease like Mongolian Fin Rot, which left them basically just little pooping
torsos. But I figured that today, with all the technological advances we have
such as cellular phones and “digital” things and carbohydrate-free toothpaste,
modern fish would be more reliable.
6 So we got an aquarium and prepared it with special water and special
gravel and special fake plants and a special scenic rock so the fish would be
intellectually stimulated and get into a decent college. When everything was
ready I went to the aquarium store to buy fish, my only criteria being that they
should be 1) hardy digital fish; and 2) fish that looked a LOT like other fish,
in case God forbid we had to Marvinize them. This is when I discovered how
complex fish society is. I’d point to some colorful fish and say, “What about
these?” And the aquarium guy would say, “Those are great fish but they do get
aggressive when they mate.” And I’d say, “Like, how aggressive?” And he’d say,
“They’ll kill all the other fish.”
7 This was a recurring theme. I’d point to some fish, and the aquarium guy unbeknownst: without
would inform me that these fish could become aggressive if there were fewer someone’s knowledge
SAMPLE
than four of them, or an odd number of them, or it was a month containing tedious: long and tiring
the letter “R,” or they heard the song “Who Let the Dogs Out.” It turns out

4.5
My Notes that an aquarium is a powder keg that
can explode in deadly violence at any
moment, just like the Middle East, or
junior high school.
8 TRUE STORY: A friend of mine

named David Shor told me that his
kids had an aquarium containing a
kind of fish called African cichlids,
and one of them died. So David went
to the aquarium store and picked out
a replacement African cichlid, but the
aquarium guy said he couldn’t buy that one, and David asked why, and the guy
said: “Because that one is from a different lake.”
9 But getting back to my daughter’s fish: After much thought, the
aquarium guy was able to find me three totally pacifist fish—Barney Fife fish,
fish so nonviolent that, in the wild, worms routinely beat them up and steal
their lunch money. I brought these home, and so far they have not killed each
other or died in any way. Plus, Sophie LOVES them. So everything is working
out beautifully. I hope it stays that way, because I hate zucchini.
Knowledge Quest
• How and where did this essay make you laugh?
• Where did you find yourself agreeing with the author?
SAMPLE
pacifist: opposed to violence

4.5
responses.
1. What is the effect of the repetition of “a little plastic” in paragraph 2?
2. What is the effect of the juxtaposed ideas “grown bigger” and “grown smaller” in paragraph 4?
3. How does the author use stories from his boyhood to support his feelings about pets?
4. KQ In paragraph 6, why is referring to a group of fish as being a “society” humorous? How

does the author’s humorous use of the term fish society help you understand his position
about pet fish?
5. What specific details does the author include in paragraph 7 in order to have a comic effect?
SAMPLE
4.5
My Notes 6. KQ In both “Brothers” and “I’ve Got a Few Pet Peeves About Sea Creatures,”
the authors relate a funny story about their boyhood. Why is the author’s use
of these funny boyhood stories an effective way to make their statements
about life? How does it help you understand their statements in a deeper
way?
Knowledge Quest
Use your knowledge about “Brothers” and “I’ve Got a Few Pet Peeves About
Sea Creatures” to discuss with a partner why humor is an effective way to
communicate universal truths about life. Talk about the ways the authors’
use of humor made you pay attention to the life lessons they wrote about. Be
sure to:
INDEPENDENT
READING LINK • Explain your answer to your partner, be specific and use as many details
Read and Respond as possible.
You can continue to build your • When your partner explains their answer, ask for clarification by posing
knowledge about the way follow-up questions as needed.
authors use humor by reading • After the discussion, write down the ideas you talked about.
other articles at ZINC Reading
Labs. Search for keywords such
as comedy or humor.

7. Create a Venn Diagram in your Reader/Writer Notebook to compare and
contrast the two humorous essays, “Brothers” and “I’ve Got a Few Pet
Peeves about Sea Creatures.” Then, write a response that demonstrates your
understanding of each text.
SAMPLE
4.5
8. Read and respond to the following quote. Then find a quote from the essay that shows how
Barry slipped in the truth after making you laugh.
Quote Interpretation Personal Commentary
“The power of comedy is to make

people laugh, and when they have
their mouths open and they least
expect it—you slip in the truth.”
9. How would you classify this essay (high or low comedy)? Explain.
10. How does the author use language (diction, syntax, imagery, and figurative language) to create
a humorous tone?
11. How does the author appeal to the audience’s emotions, interests, values, and/or beliefs?
12. What is the universal truth (theme) of the text? How does the author develop the idea through
humorous language?
SAMPLE
4.5
My Notes 13. Develop Levels of Questions based on your analysis to prepare for a Socratic
Seminar discussion. Remember to maintain a formal style in your speaking
during the Socratic Seminar. Be sure to:
• Use precise verbs such as communicates, creates, emphasizes, or
illustrates when discussing the author’s purpose.
• Use the author’s last name: “Barry creates humor by ...”
• Cite textual evidence to support your opinion.
Levels of Questioning “I’ve got a few pet peeves about sea creatures”
Level 1: Literal
Level 2: Interpretive
Level 3: Universal
(thematic)
14. Use your analysis and questions to engage in a Socratic Seminar discussion.

In preparation for your Writing to Sources activity, think about a universal truth
that Barry expresses in his essay. Then find one sentence from the essay that you
think supports this truth. Share your sentence with a partner and explain how your
quote from the essay supports a universal truth.
INDEPENDENT
READING LINK
Read and Discuss
For independent practice, Writing to Sources: Informational Text
choose one of the humorous
Write a paragraph that explains how Barry uses humor to convey a truth
texts from your list and explain
about life. Be sure to:
the theme using specific
evidence for support. Write • Establish a clear controlling idea about conveying a truth.
several Levels of Questions for • Cite specific evidence from the text.
a specific section of reading in
your Reader/Writer Notebook. • Use precise diction to describe humorous effects.
Use the Level 3 questions • Edit your draft to make sure you are using verb tenses correctly and
SAMPLE
to have a discussion about consistently.
themes with your peers.

ACTIVITY
Satirical Humor 4.6

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze how authors use satire to expose human folly. Marking the Text
Discussion Groups
• Write a paragraph using appropriate and varied transitions.
Rereading
Preview Revisiting
Adding
In this activity, you will read a satirical article and think about how the
author uses satire to express disapproval on a particular topic. Substituting
Exploring Satire
LITERARY
VOCABULARY
1. You will next view a film clip your teacher shows and take notes on the satire
Satire is a form of comedy
you observe. How is the satirist using derision to denounce the subject?
that uses humor, irony, or
exaggeration to expose and
This clip is from: criticize issues in society
or people’s weaknesses.
SUBJECT (vice or SATIRE (examples of irony, sarcasm, or ridicule Satirists are writers who rely
folly exposed) used) on satire to deride (mock) a
subject.
ACADEMIC
Derision is the strong
disapproval or mocking of an
Setting a Purpose for Reading attitude or topic.
To denounce something is to
• As you read the article, underline words and phrases that make you laugh or
publicly declare something
that you recognize as humor.
to be wrong.
About the Author My Notes

The Onion is an American digital media company and news satire

organization that publishes articles on international, national, and local
news. Based in Chicago, the company originated as a weekly print publication
on August 29, 1988, in Madison, Wisconsin. The Onion’s articles cover current
events, both real and fictional, satirizing the tone and format of traditional
news organizations with stories, editorials, op-ed pieces, and person-in-
the-street interviews using a traditional news website layout and a formal
editorial voice.
SAMPLE
4.6
GRAMMAR & USAGE Article
Active and Passive Voice Underfunded Schools Forced to

Cut Past Tense from Language
Remember that writers use
active and passive voice to
Programs
emphasize different ideas in
their writing. The active voice
emphasizes who or what is
doing the action. For example: from The Onion
“The past tense provides 1 WASHINGTON—Faced with ongoing budget crises, underfunded
students with a unique and
schools nationwide are increasingly left with no option but to cut the past
consistent outlet for self-
expression.” In this example, tense—a grammatical construction traditionally used to relate all actions and
past tense is the thing doing states that have transpired at an earlier point in time—from their standard
the providing. English and language arts programs.
On the other hand, passive
2 A part of American school curricula for more than 200 years, the past
voice emphasizes the person or
thing being acted upon. Passive tense was deemed by school administrators to be too expensive to keep in
voice can be used effectively primary and secondary education.
when the actor in the situation
3 “This was by no means an easy decision, but teaching our students how
is unknown or not important.
For example: to conjugate verbs in a way that would allow them to describe events that have
“School districts in California already occurred is a luxury that we can no longer afford,” Phoenix-area high
have been forced to cut school principal Sam Pennock said.
addition and subtraction from
4 “With our current budget, the past tense must unfortunately become a
their math departments.” The
emphasis is on the school thing of the past.”
districts, the things being
5 In the most dramatic display of the new trend yet, the Tennessee
acted upon. We don’t need to
know who forced them to cut Department of Education decided Monday to remove “-ed” endings from all
addition and subtraction. of the state’s English classrooms, saving struggling schools an estimated $3
As you read, look for other million each year. Officials say they plan to slowly phase out the tense by first
examples of active and passive eliminating the past perfect; once students have adjusted to the change, the past

voice and notice the different progressive, the past continuous, the past perfect progressive, and the simple
effects they create. past will be cut. Hundreds of school districts across the country are expected to
follow suit.
6 “This is the end of an era,” said Alicia Reynolds, a school district
director in Tuscaloosa, AL. “For some, reading and writing about things not
immediately taking place was almost as much a part of school as history class
and social studies.”
7 “That is, until we were forced to drop history class and social studies a
couple of months ago,” Reynolds added.
8 Nevertheless, a number of educators are coming out against the cuts,
claiming that the embattled verb tense, while outmoded, still plays an
important role in the development of today’s youth.
transpired: taken place
SAMPLE
outmoded: out of style

4.6
9 “Much like art and music, the past tense provides students with a unique My Notes
and consistent outlet for self-expression,” South Boston English teacher David
Floen said. “Without it I fear many of our students will lack a number of
important creative skills. Like being able to describe anything that happened
earlier in the day.”
10 Despite concerns that cutting the past tense will prevent graduates from
communicating effectively in the workplace, the home, the grocery store,
church, and various other public spaces, a number of lawmakers, such as Utah
Sen. Orrin Hatch, have welcomed the cuts as proof that the American school
system is taking a more forward-thinking approach to education. “Our tax
dollars should be spent preparing our children for the future, not for what has
already happened,” Hatch said at a recent press conference. “It’s about time we
stopped wasting everyone’s time with who ‘did’ what or ‘went’ where. The past
tense is, by definition, outdated.” Said Hatch, “I can’t even remember the last
time I had to use it.”
11 Past-tense instruction is only the latest school program to face the
chopping block. School districts in California have been forced to cut addition
and subtraction from their math departments, while nearly all high schools
have reduced foreign language courses to only the most basic phrases,
including “May I please use the bathroom?” and “No, I do not want to go to
the beach with Maria and Juan.” Some legislators are even calling for an end to
teaching grammar itself, saying that in many inner-city school districts, where
funding is most lacking, students rarely use grammar at all.
12 Regardless of the recent upheaval, students throughout the country are
learning to accept, and even embrace, the change to their curriculum.
13 “At first I think the decision to drop the past tense from class is
ridiculous, and I feel very upset by it,” said David Keller, a seventh-grade
student at Hampstead School in Fort Meyers, FL. “But now, it’s almost like it
never happens.”
Making Observations
• What do you notice about the details in this essay?
• What do you notice in the essay that someone skimming over it
might miss?
SAMPLE
4.6
responses.
2. What role does the first paragraph play in the structure of this article?
3. How do quotes from specific people throughout the article add to the development of ideas?
4. How does the use of present tense in the last quote in paragraph 13 emphasize the satire?

5. Work collaboratively to diffuse and paraphrase the definition of satire.
Satire, a form of high comedy, is the use of irony, sarcasm, and/or ridicule in exposing,
denouncing, and/or deriding human vice and folly.
Parody:
SAMPLE
4.6
6. Highly connotative diction is language that contains a strong positive or negative meaning. For
example, saying that you are angry has a negative connotation. However, saying you are livid
has a much stronger connotation and effect. Reread the text and place an exclamation point by
the highly connotative diction that stands out to you. Note the effect of those words in the My
Notes space.
7. Circle and explain your response to this text. I think this text is:
hilarious funny clever ridiculous because ...
Discuss the parts of the text that made you laugh, and describe how the connotative words
help create the humor.
8. Collaboratively, use the graphic organizer to explore the satire.
The vice or folly exposed in the Textual Evidence:

text: Irony:
Sarcasm:
Ridicule:
SAMPLE
4.6
Writing an Analytical Paragraph
INDEPENDENT When writing about texts, use the “literary present” (e.g., “The article states ...
READING LINK ,”not “The article stated ...”).
Read and Connect
Choose a humorous text from Maintain clarity and coherence in your writing. Scan your writing for the passive
your list that demonstrates voice, and revise to the active voice to strengthen your work. Use well-chosen
satire. Create a graphic transition words or phrases to help show the relationship (connection) between
organizer to explore the satire the ideas in your writing. Refer to the following list of commonly used transitional
and compare your results to words and phrases for help.
the graphic organizer you
completed in this activity. List Purpose Example
the similarities and differences
Add and, again, and then, besides, equally important, finally,
in your Reader/Writer
Notebook. further, furthermore, nor, too, next, lastly, what’s more,
moreover, in addition, first (second, etc.)
Compare whereas, but, yet, on the other hand, however,
nevertheless, on the contrary,
by comparison, where, compared to, up against, balanced
against, but, although, conversely, meanwhile, after all, in
contrast, although this may be true
Prove because, for, since, for the same reason, obviously,
evidently, furthermore, moreover, besides, indeed, in fact,
in addition, in any case, that is
Show Exception yet, still, however, nevertheless, in spite of, despite, of
course, once in a while, sometimes
Show Time immediately, thereafter, soon, after a few hours, finally,
then, later, previously, formerly, first (second, etc.), next,
and then
Repeat in brief, as I have said, as I have noted, as has been noted,
to reiterate

Emphasize definitely, extremely, obviously, in fact, indeed, in any
case, absolutely, positively, naturally, surprisingly, always,
forever, perennially, eternally, never, emphatically,
unquestionably, without a doubt, certainly, undeniably,
without reservation
Show Sequence first, second, third, next, then, following this, at this time,
now, at this point, after, afterward, subsequently, finally,
consequently, previously, before this, simultaneously,
concurrently, thus, therefore, hence, next, and then, soon
Give an Example for example, for instance, in this case, in another case,
on this occasion, in this situation, take the case of, to
demonstrate, to illustrate, as an illustration, to illustrate
Summarize or in brief, on the whole, summing up, to conclude, in
Conclude conclusion, as I have shown, as I have said, hence,
therefore, accordingly, thus, as a result, consequently
SAMPLE
4.6
LANGUAGE & WRITER’S CRAFT: Inappropriate Shifts in Verb Voice
and Mood
As you’ve learned, there are two major verb voices in language (active and passive), and five
major verb moods (indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, subjunctive). When
writers shift voice and mood inappropriately, it can cause confusion for the reader.
For example, in this sentence from the Onion article:
Said Hatch, “I can’t even remember the last time I had to use it.”
The sentence is written completely in the active voice. The subject is doing the action of the
verb. The subject (“I”) is doing the action (“can’t remember”; “had to use”). The sentence is
also written in the indicative mood since it makes a direct statement about something.
If the sentence had an inappropriate shift in voice in mood it might look like this:
Said Hatch, “I can’t even remember | the last time it was used by me?”
The sentence shifts from the active voice and indicative mood, to the passive voice and
interrogative mood halfway through. These shifts create confusion for the reader!
Example: We should spend our tax dollars preparing kids for the future, and you must get rid
of the past tense.
PRACTICE Examine the sentence above for inappropriate shifts in verb voice and mood.
Revise the sentence to make the voice and mood the same throughout the sentence.

Which instances of satire in the article do you think went the furthest to make the author’s point?
Why? Discuss with a partner.

Analyze how the text about underfunded schools uses satirical humor to expose human vice
or folly. Be sure to:
• Establish and support a controlling idea.
• Use transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
• Use precise diction and maintain a formal style including a consistent and appropriate use
of active voice.
• Support your analysis with evidence from the text.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Elements of Humor: Comic Characters
4.7 and Caricatures
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Graphic Organizer • Identify and define comic characters and caricatures.
Note-taking
• Analyze characters and caricatures in a literary text.
Diffusing
Marking the Text Preview
Visualizing
In this activity, you will read a short story and think about the author’s use
Discussion Groups of characterization.
Rehearsal
Comic Caricatures and Characters

ACADEMIC Characterization is the way a writer reveals a character’s personality through what
VOCABULARY
To use a caricature or to the character says, thinks, and feels or through how the character looks, acts, or
caricaturize someone is to interacts with others.
exaggerate or imitate certain A caricature is a pictorial, written, and/or acted representation of a person that
characteristics to create a
exaggerates characteristics or traits for comic effect. Caricatures are often used
comic or distorted idea of
in cartoon versions of people’s faces and usually exaggerate features for comic
a person. A caricature can
effect.
just be funny or be used to
insult someone. 1. You will next view some comic scenes. As you view the opening sequence,
take notes in the graphic organizer.
Characters: Details: Interpretation:

Sketch the caricature. Describe the What idea is
My Notes characterization. conveyed through the
characterization?
Bart Bart is repetitively He is the stereotype
writing sentences on the of the bad kid in the
board that say ... classroom.

Homer
Marge
Lisa
Family
SAMPLE
4.7
2. With your discussion group, discuss what truth about life the cartoonist is My Notes
conveying through humor. Cite specific examples from the graphic organizer.

• As you read the short story, underline words and phrases that reveal something
about Framton Nuttel and the niece.
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning by using
context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
About the Author

Hector Hugh Munro (1870–1916), better known by his
pen name, Saki, was a British writer and satirist famous
for his masterful short stories poking fun at Edwardian
society. He frequently mocked the customs and manners
popular at the time. His witty and intelligent stories are
considered among the best the genre has to offer.
Short Story
The Open Window

by Saki (H. H. Munro)
1 “My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel,” said a very self-possessed
young lady of 15; “in the meantime you must try and put up with me.”
2 Framton Nuttel endeavoured to say the correct something which should

duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that
was to come. Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits
on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve
cure which he was supposed to be undergoing.
3 “I know how it will be,” his sister had said when he was preparing to
migrate to this rural retreat; “you will bury yourself down there and not speak
to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall
just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of
them, as far as I can remember, were quite nice.”
4 Framton wondered whether Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was
presenting one of the letters of introduction, came into the nice division.
5 “Do you know many of the people round here?” asked the niece, when
she judged that they had had sufficient silent communion. duly: properly or fittingly
rectory: the house in which a
SAMPLE
6 “Hardly a soul,” said Framton. “My sister was staying here, at the rectory,
parish priest or minister lives
you know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some
of the people here.”
4.7
My Notes 7 He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret.
8 “Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?” pursued the self-
possessed young lady.
9 “Only her name and address,” admitted the caller. He was wondering
whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An undefinable
something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation.
10 “Her great tragedy happened just three years ago,” said the child; “that
would be since your sister’s time.”
11 “Her tragedy?” asked Framton; somehow in this restful country spot
tragedies seemed out of place.
12 “You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October
afternoon,” said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to
a lawn.
13 “It is quite warm for the time of the year,” said Framton; “but has that
window got anything to do with the tragedy?”
14 “Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her
two young brothers went off for their day’s shooting. They never came back. In
crossing the moor to their favourite snipe-shooting ground they were all three
engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog. It had been that dreadful wet summer,
you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without
warning. Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of it.”
Here the child’s voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human.
“Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back some day, they and the little
brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they
used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk.
Poor dear aunt, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his

white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing
‘Bertie, why do you bound?’ as he always did to tease her, because she said it got
on her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like this, I almost
get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window—”
15 She broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to Framton when the
aunt bustled into the room with a whirl of apologies for being late in making
her appearance.
16 “I hope Vera has been amusing you?” she said.
17 “She has been very interesting,” said Framton.
18 “I hope you don’t mind the open window,” said Mrs. Sappleton briskly;
“my husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting, and they
always come in this way. They’ve been out for snipe in the marshes to-day, so
they’ll make a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like you men-folk, isn’t it?”
19 She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and
moor: boggy grassland
the prospects for duck in the winter. To Framton it was all purely horrible. He
SAMPLE
scarcity: short supply
made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less
ghastly topic; he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment

4.7
of her attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open
window and the lawn beyond. It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that
he should have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary.
20 “The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental
excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical
exercise,” announced Framton, who laboured under the tolerably wide-spread
delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least
detail of one’s ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure. “On the matter of
diet they are not so much in agreement,” he continued.
21 “No?” said Mrs. Sappleton, in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the
last moment. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention—but not to
what Framton was saying.
22 “Here they are at last!” she cried. “Just in time for tea, and don’t they look
as if they were muddy up to the eyes!”
23 Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look
intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out
through the open window with dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of
nameless fear Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction.
My Notes
24 In the deepening twilight three figures were walking across the lawn
towards the window; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was
additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown
spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a
hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: “I said, Bertie, why do you bound?”
25 Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall-door, the gravel-drive,
and the front gate were dimly-noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist
coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid an imminent collision.
26 “Here we are, my dear,” said the bearer of the white mackintosh, coming
in through the window; “fairly muddy, but most of it’s dry. Who was that who
bolted out as we came up?”
27 “A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel,” said Mrs. Sappleton; “could
only talk about his illnesses, and dashed off without a word of good-bye or
apology when you arrived. One would think he had seen a ghost.”
28 “I expect it was the spaniel,” said the niece calmly; “he told me he had a
horror of dogs. He was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks
of the Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly
dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning and foaming just above
him. Enough to make anyone lose their nerve.”
29 Romance at short notice was her speciality.
Making Observations laboured under: was misled by

delusion: persistent false belief
• What characters do we meet in the story?
SAMPLE
mackintosh: raincoat

4.7
responses.
3. Why is it significant that Framton Nuttel is described as undergoing a “nerve cure” in

paragraph 2? How is this detail used for humorous effect?
4. What does Framton Nuttel’s sister say will happen to Framton on his rural retreat? What does
her prediction reveal about Framton’s character? Cite evidence in your answer.
5. What is the meaning of the word habitation in paragraph 9? What clues in the text leading up
to and including paragraph 9 support your response?

6. What tone does the niece convey with her description of the “tragedy” in paragraph 14? What
effect might this precise detail have on her guest?
7. Now that you know the ending, go back and find any clues the author left the reader to hint
that a joke was coming.
SAMPLE
4.7
8. Why is it “horrible” for Framton to listen to Mrs. Sappleton as noted in paragraph 19?
9. What is the meaning of the word ailments in paragraph 20? What clues in the text support
your response?
10. What can you conclude about Framton’s character from paragraph 20? What details helped you
to know?
11. Why is Framton’s reaction to the return of the men in paragraph 25 comic rather than appropriate?
12. What aspects of the niece’s character are revealed in her last line of dialogue in paragraph 28?

13. For each unfamiliar word you circled, use a dictionary or thesaurus to write a synonym in My Notes.
14. Quickwrite using a 3–2–1 reflection. Write your response in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
3 – Describe three things you notice about the author’s use of humor in the story.
SAMPLE
2 – Describe two characters you can picture most vividly.
1 – Share one question you have.

4.7
15. Use the graphic organizer to express ideas you have about the characters and humor in
this text.
Details: Characters: Interpretation:

How does the author Describe the character using precise What truth about life is revealed
develop the character? adjectives. Would any of them be through the comic character?
(actions, words, thoughts) considered a caricature?
Framton Nuttel
Mrs. Sappleton
The niece

Elements of Humor
Explaining why something is funny can be a challenge, but there are some common things authors
do that usually make people laugh. Writers create humor by focusing on descriptions and actions
that make characters funny, comic situations, and comic language. Humor often depends on some
combination of these three elements.
16. Preview the Elements of Humor graphic organizer in Activity 4.11 and add notes about the
comic characters and caricatures you explored in this activity. After you explore each new
element of humor in the upcoming activities, return to this graphic organizer to add notes
about new learning.
SAMPLE
Mr. Nuttel might be considered a caricature of a nervous person. Find examples in the story that
support this idea and note them in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

ACTIVITY
Elements of Humor: Comic Situations 4.8

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Analyze comic situations in a literary text collaboratively. Graphic Organizer
Note-taking
• Determine the impact of word choice on meaning and tone in a comic
situation. Think-Pair-Share
Marking the Text
Preview Discussion Groups
In this activity, you will read an excerpt from a novel and think about the
author’s use of irony to create comic situations.
LITERARY
VOCABULARY
Irony is a literary device
Comic Situations that plays on readers’
Comic situations can be created in many different ways: expectations by portraying
events in a way that
• by placing a character in an unlikely situation in which he or she obviously does is actually different
not belong. from reality. Irony can make
• by portraying characters as victims of circumstances who are surprised by a situation seem funny to a
unusual events and react in a comical way. reader or viewer.
• by creating situational irony where there is contrast between what characters or
readers might reasonably expect to happen and what actually happens.
1. While you watch a film clip, think about how the situation contributes to
the humor.
2. As you view the clip a second time, take notes using the following graphic
organizer.
Clip: Director:
Comic Character Comic Situation Film Techniques

___________________ That Help Create Humor

Appearance and Facial Setting: Framing:
Expressions:
Actions: Situational Irony: Angles:
Words: Sound:
SAMPLE
3. Use the information in your chart to explain how irony is used to create
comedy.

4.8
• As you read the excerpt, underline any comic situations you find for further
analysis later.
About the Author

Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain
(1835–1910) was an American author and
humorist. He adopted his pen name while
writing stories, sketches, and editorials as a
reporter. His style—often funny and satirical—
made him famous. He is noted for his novels The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) and The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). He has been
lauded as the “greatest American humorist of
his age.”
Novel Excerpt
The Adventures
from
of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
“A Day’s Work”

Chunk 1
1 SATURDAY morning was come, and all the summer world was bright
and fresh, and brimming with life. There was a song in every heart; and if the
heart was young the music issued at the lips. There was cheer in every face and
a spring in every step. The locust-trees were in bloom and the fragrance of the
WORD CONNECTIONS blossoms filled the air. Cardiff Hill, beyond the village and above it, was green
Multiple Meaning Words with vegetation and it lay just far enough away to seem a Delectable Land,
The word whitewash has come dreamy, reposeful, and inviting.
to have a second meaning. In Chunk 2
this story, whitewash means
2 Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-
“a whitening mixture used on
fences and walls.” The word handled brush. He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep
has also come to mean “to melancholy settled down upon his spirit. Thirty yards of board fence nine
conceal or cover up crimes, feet high. Life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden. Sighing,
scandals, flaws, or failures.” he dipped his brush and passed it along the topmost plank; repeated the
You can see how this usage operation; did it again; compared the insignificant whitewashed streak with
comes from the idea of
the far-reaching continent of unwhitewashed fence, and sat down on a tree-
SAMPLE
using whitewash to cover up
something bad. box discouraged. Jim came skipping out at the gate with a tin pail, and singing
Buffalo Gals. Bringing water from the town pump had always been hateful

4.8
work in Tom’s eyes, before, but now it did not strike him so. He remembered My Notes
that there was company at the pump. White, mulatto, and negro boys and girls
were always there waiting their turns, resting, trading playthings, quarrelling,
fighting, skylarking. And he remembered that although the pump was only a
hundred and fifty yards off, Jim never got back with a bucket of water under an
hour—and even then somebody generally had to go after him. Tom said:
Chunk 3
3 “Say, Jim, I’ll fetch the water if you’ll whitewash some.”
4 Jim shook his head and said:
5 “Can’t, Mars Tom. Ole missis, she tole me I got to go an’ git dis water an’
not stop foolin’ roun’ wid anybody. She say she spec’ Mars Tom gwine to ax me
to whitewash, an’ so she tole me go ’long an’ ’tend to my own business—she
’lowed SHE’D ’tend to de whitewashin’.”
6 “Oh, never you mind what she said, Jim. That’s the way she always talks.
Gimme the bucket—I won’t be gone only a minute. SHE won’t ever know.”
7 “Oh, I dasn’t, Mars Tom. Ole missis she’d take an’ tar de head off ’n me.
’Deed she would.”
8 “SHE! She never licks anybody—whacks ’em over the head with her
thimble—and who cares for that, I’d like to know. She talks awful, but talk don’t
hurt—anyways it don’t if she don’t cry. Jim, I’ll give you a marvel. I’ll give you a
white alley!”
9 Jim began to waver.
10 “White alley, Jim! And it’s a bully taw.”
11 “My! Dat’s a mighty gay marvel, I tell you! But Mars Tom I’s powerful
WORD CONNECTIONS
’fraid ole missis—”
12 “And besides, if you will I’ll show you my sore toe.” Word Relationships
The words great and
13 Jim was only human—this attraction was too much for him. He put down magnificent may seem
his pail, took the white alley, and bent over the toe with absorbing interest similar; however, Twain uses
while the bandage was being unwound. In another moment he was flying magnificent to mean “splendid;
down the street with his pail and a tingling rear, Tom was whitewashing with impressive,” while great, in this
context, means “important.”
vigor, and Aunt Polly was retiring from the field with a slipper in her hand and
Twain uses both words to
triumph in her eye. inform the reader that a pivotal
14 But Tom’s energy did not last. He began to think of the fun he had change is about to occur in the
story because of Tom’s idea.
planned for this day, and his sorrows multiplied. Soon the free boys would
come tripping along on all sorts of delicious expeditions, and they would make
a world of fun of him for having to work—the very thought of it burnt him
like fire. He got out his worldly wealth and examined it—bits of toys, marbles, white alley: a kind of marble
and trash; enough to buy an exchange of WORK, maybe, but not half enough vigor: strength or force
to buy so much as half an hour of pure freedom. So he returned his straitened straitened: characterized by
means to his pocket, and gave up the idea of trying to buy the boys. At this poverty
SAMPLE
dark and hopeless moment an inspiration burst upon him! Nothing less than a
great, magnificent inspiration.

4.8
Chunk 4
15 He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. Ben Rogers hove in sight
presently—the very boy, of all boys, whose ridicule he had been dreading. Ben’s
gait was the hop-skip-and-jump—proof enough that his heart was light and his
anticipations high. He was eating an apple, and giving a long, melodious whoop,
at intervals, followed by a deep-toned ding-dong-dong, ding-dong-dong, for
he was personating a steamboat. As he drew near, he slackened speed, took the
middle of the street, leaned far over to starboard and rounded to ponderously
and with laborious pomp and circumstance—for he was personating the Big
Missouri, and considered himself to be drawing nine feet of water. He was boat
and captain and engine-bells combined, so he had to imagine himself standing
Illustration of Mark Twain’s on his own hurricane-deck giving the orders and executing them:
character Tom Sawyer 16 “Stop her, sir! Ting-a-ling-ling!” The headway ran almost out, and he
whitewashing a fence. This
screen print was created in drew up slowly toward the sidewalk.
1910. 17 “Ship up to back! Ting-a-ling-ling!” His arms straightened and stiffened
down his sides.
18 “Set her back on the stabboard! Ting-a-ling-ling! Chow! ch-chow-wow!
My Notes Chow!” His right hand, mean-time, describing stately circles—for it was
representing a forty-foot wheel.
19 “Let her go back on the labboard! Ting-a-ling-ling! Chow-ch-chow-
chow!” The left hand began to describe circles.
20 “Stop the stabboard! Ting-a-ling-ling! Stop the labboard! Come ahead
on the stabboard! Stop her! Let your outside turn over slow! Ting-a-ling-ling!
Chow-ow-ow! Get out that head-line! LIVELY now! Come—out with your
spring-line—what’re you about there! Take a turn round that stump with the
bight of it! Stand by that stage, now—let her go! Done with the engines, sir!
Ting-a-ling-ling! SH’T! S’H’T! SH’T!” (trying the gauge-cocks).

21 Tom went on whitewashing—paid no attention to the steamboat. Ben
stared a moment and then said: “Hi-YI! YOU’RE up a stump, ain’t you!”
Chunk 5
22 No answer. Tom surveyed his last touch with the eye of an artist, then
he gave his brush another gentle sweep and surveyed the result, as before. Ben
ranged up alongside of him. Tom’s mouth watered for the apple, but he stuck to
his work. Ben said:
23 “Hello, old chap, you got to work, hey?”
24 Tom wheeled suddenly and said:
25 “Why, it’s you, Ben! I warn’t noticing.”
26 “Say—I’m going in a-swimming, I am. Don’t you wish you could? But of
course you’d druther WORK—wouldn’t you? Course you would!”
27 Tom contemplated the boy a bit, and said:
SAMPLE
28 “What do you call work?”
29 “Why, ain’t THAT work?”

4.8
30 Tom resumed his whitewashing, and answered carelessly:
31 “Well, maybe it is, and maybe it ain’t. All I know, is, it suits Tom Sawyer.”
GRAMMAR & USAGE
Denotation and Connotation
32 “Oh come, now, you don’t mean to let on that you LIKE it?”
Remember that a word’s
33 The brush continued to move. denotation is its actual
meaning. Its connotation is the
34 “Like it? Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance feeling or impression it gives
to whitewash a fence every day?” the reader. When Ben enters
35 That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom swept the fence scene, he’s described
as “eating an apple.” The
his brush daintily back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a touch connotation of this description
here and there—criticized the effect again—Ben watching every move and getting is literal: He is actually eating
more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said: an apple. But further along,
he is described as “nibbling”
36 “Say, Tom, let ME whitewash a little.”
the apple. The denotation of
37 Tom considered, was about to consent; but he altered his mind: nibbling is “taking small bites.”
The use of nibbling implies that
38 “No—no—I reckon it wouldn’t hardly do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly’s awful Ben has become too distracted
particular about this fence—right here on the street, you know—but if it was to eat the apple, so he is taking
the back fence I wouldn’t mind and SHE wouldn’t. Yes, she’s awful particular tiny bites while he thinks. After
about this fence; it’s got to be done very careful; I reckon there ain’t one boy in Ben starts to paint and gives his
a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it the way it’s got to be done.” apple to Tom, Tom “munched”
his apple. The word munched
39 “No—is that so? Oh come, now—lemme just try. Only just a little—I’d let carries a connotation of joy, so
YOU, if you was me, Tom.” it helps show how happy Tom is
with himself.
40 “Ben, I’d like to, honest injun; but Aunt Polly—well, Jim wanted to do
As you read, look for two more
it, but she wouldn’t let him; Sid wanted to do it, and she wouldn’t let Sid. Now instances where the author has
don’t you see how I’m fixed? If you was to tackle this fence and anything was to chosen words especially for
happen to it—” their connotations.
41 “Oh, shucks, I’ll be just as careful. Now lemme try. Say—I’ll give you the
core of my apple.”
42 “Well, here—No, Ben, now don’t. I’m afeard—”

43 “I’ll give you ALL of it!”
Chunk 6
44 Tom gave up the brush with reluctance in his face, but alacrity in his heart.
And while the late steamer Big Missouri worked and sweated in the sun, the retired
artist sat on a barrel in the shade close by, dangled his legs, munched his apple,
and planned the slaughter of more innocents. There was no lack of material; boys
happened along every little while; they came to jeer, but remained to whitewash.
By the time Ben was fagged out, Tom had traded the next chance to Billy Fisher for
a kite, in good repair; and when he played out, Johnny Miller bought in for a dead
rat and a string to swing it with—and so on, and so on, hour after hour. And when
the middle of the afternoon came, from being a poor poverty-stricken boy in the
morning, Tom was literally rolling in wealth. He had besides the things before
mentioned, twelve marbles, part of a jews-harp, a piece of blue bottle-glass to look
through, a spool cannon, a key that wouldn’t unlock anything, a fragment of chalk, alacrity: willingness
a glass stopper of a decanter, a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, six fire-crackers, a dilapidated: ruined
SAMPLE
kitten with only one eye, a brass door-knob, a dog-collar—but no dog—the handle
of a knife, four pieces of orange-peel, and a dilapidated old window sash.

4.8
Making Observations
• What do you notice about the setting of the novel excerpt?
• What do you notice about the characters in the novel excerpt?

your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the novel excerpt in your Reader/Writer
Notebook.
4. What does the word reposeful mean in paragraph 1? What clues in the text help you
understand the meaning of the word?
5. What does the word melancholy mean in paragraph 2? What clues in the text help you
understand the meaning of the word? Use a print or digital resource to determine the word
origin of melancholy. How has the word’s meaning changed over time?

6. One of the notable characteristics of Twain’s style is his use of verbals. Examine paragraph 2
and highlight all the verbals.
7. How does Tom try to get Jim to help him in Chunk 3? Why does he fail?
SAMPLE
4.8
8. How does Twain use steamboat jargon for effect in Chunk 4?
9. Tom tries to manipulate his friends into doing whitewashing for him. How does he change his
plan in Chunk 5 after Jim’s refusal to help?
10. What is ironic about Tom’s plan to get out of whitewashing the fence?
11. What is the intended effect of listing Tom’s “treasures” in such great detail in paragraph 44?
What does the audience understand about the value of these things that is different from
Tom’s point of view?

12. Review the definition of dialect. Return to the text and place a “D” by examples
of dialect. Then try to paraphrase a few lines of dialogue in My Notes.
LITERARY
VOCABULARY
13. Look back at the examples of dialect that you marked and compare them to
your paraphrases. Think about how the story would be different if the author Dialect is a regional
had not used dialect for the character. Then explain the effect of dialect on or social variety of a
the excerpt. language distinguished by
pronunciation, grammar,
or vocabulary. This section
of the story includes a
depiction of Tom’s and Jim’s
dialects.
SAMPLE
4.8
My Notes 14. Mark Twain used verbals throughout this excerpt to make his writing more
interesting. Verbals are made from verbs, but function as nouns, adjectives,
or adverbs. Study the chart, and then work with a partner to complete the
sentence frames for each type of verbal. Work together to label two examples
of each type of verbal in Twain’s text.
About Verbals Gerund Participle Infinitive
Made by adding -ing by adding -ed up of to + verb

Function as… noun adjective noun, adjective, or adverb
Example: whitewashing whitewashed; to whitewash
whitewash whitewashing
Infinitive: A verbal made up of to and the present form of a verb.

An infinitive can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
Examples: to skip, to sing, to wait, to rest, to remember, to swim
I like to_____. (noun) direct object of like
I can’t wait to_____. (adverb) modifies wait
Examples: to describe, to notice, to watch
The person _____ is Taylor. (adjective) tells which person
Gerund: A verbal ending in -ing.

A gerund functions as a noun. In this case, the gerund tells what is fun.
Examples: Drawing, Singing, Eating, Swimming
______ is fun.
Participle: A verbal ending in -ed or -ing.

A participle functions as an adjective. In this case, the participle tells about
the friend.
Examples: discouraged, interested, singing, resting
My ______ friend is at home.
15. On a separate piece of paper or in your Reader/Writer Notebook, create

a graphic organizer like the one that follows to answer comprehension
questions about the story.
Tom is like a ... (create a simile) It is ironic that ...
The part of the story that I wonder ...

stands out to me is ...
(draw a picture)
SAMPLE
This is a comedic situation because ...

4.8
16. Prepare for a collaborative discussion by annotating and reviewing the text My Notes
as follows:
• Review what you have already underlined as the plot and make changes as
needed. Be prepared to paraphrase (retell in your own words) the plot.
• Place a question mark next to any word or idea you would like to clarify
(discuss to remove confusion).
• Place a star next to any part of the text you would like to analyze (discern
meaning, ask a question, or share an inference based on the text).
17. What is the level of comedy of this text? What is a universal truth, or theme,
of this text? Write a thematic statement. Be sure to support your ideas with
textual evidence.
Twain – “All in a Day’s Work”
Level of Comedy:
Theme subject(s):
Theme statement:

In your Reader/Writer Notebook, record three specific comic situations from the
text. Share them with a partner.

Write an essay explaining how Mark Twain uses comic characters and irony
to convey a universal truth through humor. Be sure to:
• Establish a controlling idea and support it with textual evidence and
commentary.
• Use transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among INDEPENDENT
ideas and concepts. READING LINK
• Use precise diction and maintain a formal style. Read and Research
• Use verbals. Research other humorous
works by Mark Twain. Choose
one of these works and create
Elements of Humor a one-paragraph summary of a
comic situation in your Reader/
Add your notes about comic situations to the Elements of Humor graphic organizer Writer Notebook. Note the level
in Activity 4.11. of comedy and identify the
SAMPLE
theme statement.

Language Checkpoint: Recognizing
LC 4.8 Frequently Confused Words
Learning Targets
• Differentiate between the frequently confused words its/it’s, your/you’re, and their/
they’re/there.
• Revise writing by using frequently confused words correctly.
Preview
In this activity, you will choose the correct form of commonly misspelled words.
Recognizing Frequently Confused Words

In English, some of the most frequently confused words are its, your, and their and it’s, you’re, and
they’re. The adverb there is also frequently misused.
Pieces of information that add extra (but unnecessary) detail to a sentence are called
nonrestrictive (or nonessential) elements. Nonrestrictive elements need to be set off with
punctuation. For example, Logos, a term that comes from the ancient Greek language, names a
rhetorical appeal that uses logical reasoning.
1. Quickwrite: Why do you think a writer might confuse these words?
2. Read the following sentences from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer:

He [Tom] remembered that there was company at the pump ... [B]oys and girls were always
there waiting their turns, resting, trading playthings, quarrelling, fighting, skylarking.
What does each underlined word refer to?
there:
their:
Understanding Possessive Determiners
Quick Guide to Possessive Determiners

your Thank you for letting me borrow your book about Mark Twain.
its I didn’t know the word straitened, so I read its meaning in the margin.
their The characters give Tom their prized possessions for a chance to paint.
Possessive determiners are words that show to whom something belongs. Writers use possessive
determiners—which include the words my, your, his, her, its, our, and their—to make sentences
more cohesive and less repetitive. For this reason, the sentence “Tom worked very hard, so Tom’s
energy did not last” is not typical. The more typical version of the sentence would be “Tom worked
very hard, so his energy did not last.”
3. Work with a partner to revise the following sentences to include possessive determiners.
a. Tom, give me Tom’s paintbrush!
Revised: your
b. The children shared the children’s wealth.
Revised: their
c. The fence got the fence’s paint, and all was well.
Revised: its
SAMPLE
4. Take turns with your partner to read each pair of sentences aloud. How do the two versions
sound different? Which sounds clearer? Why?

LC 4.8
Understanding Contractions
A contraction is a shortened word, or two words spliced together, with an apostrophe. Writers use
contractions to add variety to their sentences, or to create more realistic dialogue.
Quick Guide to Contractions

Phrase Contraction Sample Sentence
you are you’re You’re a clever boy, Tom Sawyer!
it is it’s It’s a nice summer day.
they are they’re They’re doing Tom’s work for him.
5. Mark Twain uses several contractions in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to show the dialect
of the characters. With your partner, scan the passage in Activity 4.8 and find examples of
the following contractions. The chunks have been provided to narrow your search. Write the
quotes in the chart. Then rewrite each sentence to include both words in the contraction.
Contraction Quote Expanded Sentence
it’s [Chunk 3]
you’re [Chunk 4]
6. Take turns with your partner to read the sentences aloud. How do the two versions sound
different? How does the character change when you change his or her speech?
Editing
Read the following paragraph from a student’s essay. Choose the word that belongs in each sentence.
e Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a hilarious story that [your/you’re] bound to like. Even
Th
though [its/it’s] old, I found it entertaining. [Its/It’s] central character is, of course, Tom
Sawyer. Tom is a young boy who has to whitewash his aunt’s fence one beautiful summer
morning. He hates doing that chore, and he worries about what his friends will say when
they pass by on [their/they’re/there] way to play and have fun. Tom thinks [its/it’s] unfair
that he has to do work while [their/they’re/there] free to roam about, so he comes up with
a plan. As they walk by, he pretends he is having a good time painting the fence, and [their/
they’re/there] missing out. This tactic gets them to give Tom [their/they’re/there] possessions
in exchange for a chance to paint. He doesn’t have to do the work, and he gets a lot of stuff he
likes. Tom might not be [your/you’re] favorite person, but no one can deny that he is clever.
Compare your choices with a partner’s. Did you make the same choices? Work together to resolve
any differences.

What question(s) can you ask yourself whenever you write to be sure that you have used the word
or contraction you meant to use? Add the question(s) to your Editor’s Checklist.
Practice
SAMPLE
Reread the informational essay you wrote in Activity 4.8. Highlight each instance where you wrote
the following words and determine whether or not you selected the correct word in each case.
your, you’re, its, it’s, their, they’re, there

ACTIVITY
4.9 Elements of Humor: Hyperbole
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Note-taking • Analyze the effect of hyperbole in poetry.
Marking the Text
• Identify hyperbole in previously studied print and nonprint texts.
Skimming/Scanning
In this activity, you will read a poem and think about the author’s use of
hyperbole.
LITERARY
VOCABULARY
Hyperbole describes
the literary technique of Understanding Hyperbole
extreme exaggeration for
1. Finish the lines using hyperbolic language. The first line is shown as an
emphasis, often used for
example.
comic effect.
Alliteration is the repetition • My dog is so big, he beeps when he backs up.
of consonant sounds at the
beginnings of words that • I’m so hungry, I could eat a _________________________.
are close together.
• My cat is so smart that _____________________________.
• She was so funny that ____________________________.

• As you read the poem, put an exclamation point next to examples of hyperbole and
underline examples of alliteration.
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words using
context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
About the Author

Ted Hughes (1930–1998) is considered to be one of

the 20th century’s greatest poets. He wrote almost
90 books during his long career and won numerous
prizes and fellowships. In 1984, he was appointed
England’s poet laureate. According to London Times
contributor Thomas Nye, Hughes “wanted to capture
not just live animals, but the aliveness of animals in
their natural state: their wildness, their quiddity, the
fox-ness of the fox and the crow-ness of the crow.”
SAMPLE
4.9
Poetry
Mooses
by Ted Hughes
The goofy Moose, the walking house frame,

Is lost
In the forest. He bumps, he blunders, he stands.
With massy bony thoughts sticking out near his ears—
5 Reaching out palm upwards, to catch whatever might be

falling from heaven—
He tries to think,
Leaning their huge weight
On the lectern of his front legs.
10 He can’t find the world!
Where did it go? What

does a world look like? My Notes
The Moose
Crashes on, and crashes into a
15 lake, and stares at the
mountain and cries:
‘Where do I belong? This is no place!’
He turns dragging half the lake out after him
And charges the crackling underbrush
20 He meets another Moose

He stares, he thinks: ‘It’s only a mirror!’
Where is the world?’ he groans. ‘O my lost world!
And why am I so ugly?
‘And why am I so far away from my feet?’
25 He weeps.
Hopeless drops drip from his droopy lips.
The other Moose just stands there doing the same.
Two dopes of the deep woods.
lectern: a stand with an angled
top, often used by people
SAMPLE
delivering speeches

4.9
Making Observations
• What emotions does the poem trigger?
• What image stands out to you?

responses.
2. Line 2 has only two words. What effect does this short line have?
3. Is this poem high or low comedy? How do you know?
4. What is the purpose of alliteration in line 26 of the poem?

5. How does hyperbole in line 18 create a humorous effect?
6. What tone does the author create in the last stanza? Use words and phrases from the text to
support your answer?
SAMPLE
4.9
Working from the Text My Notes
7. Return to the humorous texts you have read in this unit and identify
a couple examples of hyperbole. Share your examples in a small
group and discuss how hyperbole creates a humorous effect. Record
examples shared by your peers in the graphic organizer.
Title: Title:
Example: Example:
Hyperbole
Title: Title:
Example: Example:
Elements of Humor INDEPENDENT

READING LINK
8. Add your notes about hyperbole to the Elements of Humor graphic
Read and Connect
organizer in Activity 4.11.
Research humorous texts
in which the author uses
hyperbole for effect. Choose a
text that exemplifies the use of
hyperbole, tone, and verbals.
Cite examples to support
your choice in your Reader/
Writer Notebook. Include a
brief summary explaining why
this humorous text appeals to
you. You will use your notes
SAMPLE
to recommend the text to your
peers in a small group setting.

ACTIVITY
4.10 Elements of Humor: Comic Wordplay
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Marking the Text • Interpret the use of wordplay in poetry, drama, and previously read texts.
Discussion Groups
• Write an original poem using puns.
RAFT
Preview
In this activity, you will read a poem and think about the author’s use of
LITERARY wordplay, specifically puns.
VOCABULARY
A pun is a funny play on

words. Puns are created by
using words that suggest Comic Wordplay
other words with the
Comic wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become
same sounds but different
the main subject of the text, primarily for the intended effect of amusement. A
meanings.
pun is a form of wordplay that makes use of similar-sounding words to cause a
comedic effect.

• As you read the poem, underline words and phrases that demonstrate the author’s
use of puns.
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by
My Notes using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
About the Author

Jack Prelutsky (b. 1940) says that he has always enjoyed playing with
language, although he did not always like poetry. He rediscovered poetry in
his twenties, when he began writing humorous verse for children. Since then,
he has written more than 50 poetry collections. His poems are sometimes
silly, sometimes playful, sometimes frightening—but always entertaining.
In 2006, the Poetry Foundation named him the first-ever Children’s Poet

Laureate. Prelutsky also studied music, and he has set several of his poems
to music for the audio versions of his poetry anthologies.
SAMPLE
4.10
Poetry WORD CONNECTIONS
Roots and Affixes
Is Traffic Jam Delectable? The word clamor comes

from a Latin word meaning
by Jack Prelutsky “to call out.” The root clam,
also spelled claim, appears
Is traffic jam delectable, in exclaim and exclamation,
does jelly fish in lakes, proclaim and proclamation, and
acclaim and acclamation.
does tree bark make a racket,
does the clamor rattle snakes?
5 Can salmon scale a mountain,
does a belly laugh a lot, My Notes
do carpets nap in flower beds
or on an apricot?
Around my handsome bottleneck,
10 I wear a railroad tie,
my treasure chest puffs up a bit,
I blink my private eye.
I like to use piano keys
to open locks of hair,
15 then put a pair of brake shoes on
and dance on debonair.
I hold up my electric shorts
with my banana belt,
then sit upon a toadstool
20 and watch a tuna melt.
I dive into a car pool,
where I take an onion dip,

then stand aboard the tape deck
and sail my penmanship.
25 I put my dimes in riverbanks
and take a quarterback,
and when I fix a nothing flat
I use a lumberjack.
I often wave my second hand
30 to tell the overtime,
before I take my bull pen up
to write a silly rhyme.
delectable: delicious
SAMPLE
debonair: charming

4.10
Making Observations
• Which image or pun stands out to you most?
• What feelings does the poem create?

responses.
1. How does Prelutsky’s understanding of children influence his choice of words? What is the
result for the reader? Cite examples from the text to support your answer.
2. Is this poem an example of low comedy or high comedy? Include details from the poem to
support your answer.
3. What effect does the author’s use of puns in each line have on the poem?

4. Mark the text by highlighting at least three humorous puns that you can visualize.
5. Sketch at least one of the puns on a piece of paper.
6. In your discussion groups, share your sketches and read aloud the corresponding pun. Explain
the two meanings of the word or phrase that creates the pun. Be sure to use precise diction
and discuss how the author uses puns for humorous effect.
7. As a group, review the poem and discuss the puns that you notated with question marks. Try
to collaborate to make meaning of these.
SAMPLE
4.10
8. Referencing the text as an example, define pun and create some examples of your own puns.
Then use those puns to create a short poem of your own.
Analyzing a Humorous Skit

You will next read and/or listen to the skit “Who’s on First?” by Abbott and Costello.
9. Based on the title of the skit, what do you think is the subject?
10. Sketch a baseball diamond on a separate piece of paper. As you read the skit, try to fill in the
names of each of the players mentioned.
11. Write answers to the following questions about “Who’s on First?” and compare them with a
peer.
• Why are Abbott and Costello having difficulty understanding each other?
• How does the wordplay create humor at a high level of comedy?
Choose one of the puns that you created for your poem and draw a picture to illustrate it in your

Compare and contrast the two humorous poems, “Mooses” and “Is Traffic Jam Delectable?”
Explain how each poet uses comedic language to express a universal truth. Be sure to:
• Establish a controlling idea and support it with quotes from the texts and
commentary explaining the humor.
• Use the correct terms to refer to the elements of humor.
• Use verbals and precise diction.
• Check that frequently confused words are used correctly.
Analyzing a Humorous Skit

12. Add your notes about comic language (hyperbole and wordplay) to the Elements of Humor
graphic organizer in Activity 4.11.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Planning and Revising an Analysis
4.11 of a Humorous Text
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Graphic Organizer • Analyze the effects of humorous elements in texts.
Marking the Text
• Draft and revise an essay analyzing a humorous text.
Note-taking
Drafting Preview
Discussion Groups
In this activity, you will identify the parts of an essay and revise a sample
student essay.
Identifying and Analyzing the Elements of Humor

1. Review the Elements of Humor graphic organizer, and rank how comfortable
you are with understanding the elements (#1 being most comfortable, #2
being second most, etc.).
Elements of Humor
Humorous Element Definition Level of Comedy Examples from Texts
Comic Characters A caricature is a pictorial, written, or acted
and Caricatures representation of a person that exaggerates
characteristics or traits for comic effect.
Comic Comic situations are when characters are

Situations and in an unlikely situation or are victims of
Situational Irony circumstances and react in a comical way.
Situational irony involves a contrast between

what characters or readers might reasonably
expect to happen and what actually happens.
Comic Language: Hyperbole is extreme exaggeration used for

Hyperbole emphasis, often used for comic effect.
Comic Language: A one-liner is a short joke or witticism

Wordplay expressed in a single sentence.
• One-liners A pun is the humorous use of a word or
• Puns words to suggest another word with the
same sound or different meaning.
SAMPLE
4.11
2. Your teacher will assign a text for you to analyze.
• Closely read (or reread) the text.
• Mark the text by highlighting evidence of humorous elements.
• Annotate the text using precise diction to describe the intended humor and
humorous effect.
3. Collaborate with your group to complete the graphic organizers here and
following.
Title: ________________________________ Author: __________________
Humorous Element Examples from Text Comedic Effect
Comic Characters and Caricatures
Comic Situations and

Situational Irony
Comic Language:
Hyperbole
Comic Language: Wordplay

• One-liners
• Puns
SAMPLE
4.11
Level of Comedy Explanation Evidence
Description of Humor and Intended Examples from Text Explanation

Effect (Commentary)

Universal Truth (Theme) Evidence from Text
SAMPLE
4.11
Reading and Analyzing a Sample Essay My Notes
An effective essay includes a clear introduction to the topic, body paragraphs that
expand on the thesis and provide evidence and commentary to support it, and a
conclusion that provides closure for the topic.
Introduction
• Begin with a hook.
• Set the context for the essay.
• Establish a controlling idea (thesis statement) that directly responds to the
prompt.
Body Paragraphs
• Begin with a topic sentence related to the thesis.
• Include evidence from the text (paraphrased and directly quoted).
• Provide commentary that uses precise diction to describe humor and the
intended effect.
• Use a variety of transitions to connect ideas and create coherence.
Concluding Paragraph
• Discuss the universal truth revealed through the text.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the author’s use of humor to communicate this
truth.

• As you read the sample student essay, draw two lines under commentary that
uses precise diction and academic vocabulary, especially humorous vocabulary.
• Draw a rectangle around the hook in the first paragraph.
• Highlight in different colors the topic sentence, evidence, commentary, and
transitional phrases in each body paragraph.

• Place a question mark by any sentences or sections that you think need to be
revised.
• Circle the thesis statement in the first paragraph.
SAMPLE
4.11
My Notes Student Essay
The Power of
Pets
by Isha Sharma (an eighth-grade student)
1 Every child has gone through a phase in life when they have a sudden
fixation with getting a pet, and parents often have to go through a lot of
trouble in order to appease the child, at least until the obsession is replaced
with another. In the light-hearted essay, “I’ve Got a Few Pet Peeves about Sea
Creatures,” Dave Barry uses hyperbole and verbal irony to show how a parent
will often go through great lengths to satisfy his child, often hoping that the
child will learn something in the process.
2 To point out the often ridiculous experiences parents go through for
their children, Barry uses hyperbole to emphasize how complicated getting
a pet fish can be. For example, he explains first how a “pet” beetle under his
daughter’s “loving care and feeding ... thrived for maybe nine seconds before
expiring like a little six-legged parking meter.” [1] The additional use of simile
and the exaggerated amount of time adds to the humor, as in any case, one’s
“loving care and feeding” should not cause the death of anything so quickly, no
matter how terrible the “care” could actually be. The explanation of the parents
replacing each beetle with another shows how willing parents are to support
their children no matter how ridiculous the circumstances. Furthermore, Barry

calls the fish he bought “so nonviolent that, in the wild, worms routinely beat
them up and steal their lunch money.” As known to all people, it is fish that
eat worms and not the other way around. This is hyperbolic because worms
are not known for “beating fish up” and animals do not have money, lunch
money included. This also ties back to a metaphor/analogy Barry made that “an
aquarium is a powder keg that can explode in deadly violence at any moment,
just like ... junior high.” Both of these situations are highly exaggerated.
Through the use of hyperbole, Barry is able to convey how parents often feel
about their struggle even in simple situations, to which a child might react to
them as being overdramatic.
3 Also, Barry uses verbal irony/sarcasm to vent and display his frustration,
which proves furthermore the lengths he is going to help his daughter. For
instance, when complaining about the aggressive nature of fish, he says they
could become aggressive if “it was a month containing the letter ‘R’, or they
heard the song ‘Who Let the Dogs Out.” Months and songs are all aspects
SAMPLE
of human life, it is unlikely that fish will ever have fish months or fish songs.
This adds to the sarcastic tone of the writer, which shows that even through

4.11
his frustrations, he is struggling to find the right choice for his daughter, no My Notes
matter how much of a nuisance it is to make it. Also, Barry uses sarcasm
when explaining the variety of needs for a fish tank so that “the fish would
be intellectually stimulated and get into a decent college.” The author, as with
most intellectual people, knows that fish do not have colleges, and seeing
that their intelligence capacity is smaller than a human’s, they cannot be
“intellectually stimulated.” The author uses this verbal irony to point out that
even though the needs of a fish are not as significant as the needs of a human,
caring for them still requires a lot of effort. Clearly, the author chooses to go
through this effort for his daughter. The usage of verbal irony in this piece
further points out the “struggles” of a father to appease his child.
4 Even in the most trivial instances, the parent will go though many
obstacles to help his child, often in the hope that the child will learn something
along the way. Whether or not the child actually learns this is questionable, yet
the parent’s effort should not go unnoticed.

4. Using your annotations of the text, identify the main points of the essay by
completing the following outline. As you reread the essay, ask yourself: What
is the author’s thesis statement? How does the author support that thesis
statement? What universal truth does the author reveal?
Outline
I. Introductory Paragraph
A. Hook:
B. Thesis:
II. Body Paragraphs

A. Topic Sentence:
B. Topic Sentence:
III. Concluding Paragraph

A. Universal Truth:
5. Use your outline to write a one-paragraph summary of the essay. Be sure to

include the central idea identified in the thesis, the main ideas identified in
the two topic sentences, and the universal truth in the conclusion in order to
summarize the essay. Then improve your paragraph by including transitions
among the main points.
6. Referring to the question marks you notated in the text, create revision
suggestions for each. Write your responses in the My Notes space next to
the text.
SAMPLE
4.11
My Notes 7. Work with your writing group to revise the student essay. You may want to
review the roles and responsibilities of writing group members in Activity 1.9.
Select one or more of the following:
• Write a new introduction.
• Write a third support paragraph.
• Write a new conclusion.
8. Work with your writing group to see where you might be able to add the
following features for increased understanding and effect:
• Headings
• Graphics (charts, tables, etc.)
• Multimedia (such as photos or drawings)
9. After you have revised the ideas in the essay, revise sentence-level errors.
Be sure to:
• Create variety in your sentences by using verbals.
• Make sure your verb tense is consistent.
• Maintain subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.
• Punctuate clauses appropriately.

Working with a partner, evaluate the revised student essay and briefly discuss any
further revisions you think would improve it. Consult the steps in this activity to
guide your discussion.

Consider the connections you made while reading humorous texts. In one
paragraph, summarize one message (theme) a particular author tried to convey to
the reader through humor. Briefly describe the level of comedy and the elements
of humor used by the author.
SAMPLE
EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
Writing an Analysis of a Humorous Text 1
ASSIGNMENT
Write an essay that explains how an author creates humor for effect and uses it to
communicate a universal truth.
Planning and Prewriting: ■■ What reading strategies (such as marking or diffusing the text) will help
Take time to make a plan for you take notes on the author’s use of humor as you read the text?
your essay. ■■ How can you demonstrate your knowledge of the humor genre by
correctly identifying the level of comedy, elements of humor, and
intended comedic effect on the reader?
■■ What prewriting strategies (such as outlining or graphic organizers) could
help you explore, focus, and organize your ideas?
Drafting: Write a ■■ What elements of an effective introductory paragraph will you use in your
multiparagraph essay that writing?
effectively organizes your ■■ How will you develop support paragraphs with well-chosen examples
ideas. (evidence) and thoughtful analysis (commentary) about at least two
elements of humor?
■■ How will you use transitions to create cohesion?
■■ How will your conclusion support your ideas, identify and analyze
the level(s) of comedy, and evaluate the author’s effectiveness at
communicating a universal truth?
Evaluating and Revising the ■■ During the process of writing, when can you pause to share and respond
Draft: Create opportunities with others in order to elicit suggestions and ideas for revision?
to review and revise ■■ How can the Scoring Guide help you evaluate how well your draft meets
your work. the requirements of the assignment?
■■ How can you use a precise vocabulary of humor to enhance your critical
analysis?
Publication: Confirm your the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, spelling,
final draft is ready for grammar, and usage?
publication. ■■ Did you effectively use verbals?
■■ Did you establish and maintain a formal style?
Reflection
• How has your understanding of how humor is created developed during this unit?
• Do you think your sense of humor will change as you mature? Explain.
SAMPLE
EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
1
SCORING GUIDE
Scoring
Criteria

• establishes and fully • establishes and • establishes and • lacks a controlling
maintains a clearly maintains a unevenly maintains a idea
focused controlling controlling idea about controlling idea that • fails to develop the
idea about the use the use of humor to may be unclear or topic with details,
of humor to convey a convey a universal unrelated to the use examples, and textual
universal truth truth of humor to convey a evidence
• develops the topic • develops the topic universal truth • does not provide
with relevant details, with adequate details, • develops the topic commentary or
examples, and textual examples, and textual with inadequate analysis.
evidence evidence details, examples,
• uses insightful • uses sufficient and textual evidence
commentary to commentary to • uses insufficient
analyze the effect of analyze the effect of commentary to
humorous elements. humorous elements. analyze the humor.

• introduces the topic • introduces the topic • provides a weak or • lacks an introduction
and context in an and context clearly partial introduction • has little or
engaging manner • uses an • uses a flawed no obvious
• uses a well-chosen organizational or inconsistent organizational
organizational structure that organizational structure
structure that progresses logically structure • uses few or no
progresses smoothly to connect ideas • uses inappropriate, transitions
to connect ideas • uses appropriate repetitive, or basic • lacks a conclusion.
• uses a variety of transitions to create transitions
effective transitional cohesion and

• provides a weak
strategies link ideas or disconnected
• provides a satisfying • provides a logical conclusion.
conclusion. conclusion.

Language • uses precise diction • uses some precise • uses diction • uses vague or
and language to diction to maintain a that creates an confusing language
maintain an academic generally appropriate inappropriate voice • lacks command of
voice and formal style voice and style and style the conventions of
• demonstrates • demonstrates • demonstrates partial standard English
command of the adequate command or inconsistent capitalization,
conventions of of the conventions command of the punctuation, spelling,
standard English of standard English conventions of grammar, and usage.
capitalization, capitalization, standard English
punctuation, spelling, punctuation, spelling, capitalization,
grammar, and usage. grammar, and usage. punctuation, spelling,
grammar, and usage.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
• Reflect on prior learning and make connections. QHT
Close Reading
complete Embedded Assessment 2 successfully Paraphrasing
Graphic Organizer
Preview
In this activity, you will begin to explore performing a scene from
Shakespeare.
My Notes
Making Connections
You have written an analysis of a humorous text, which required you to know
and understand how a writer uses words, characters, and situations to create a
humorous effect. Now you will have an opportunity to understand humor from a
different perspective—that of a performer.
Essential Questions
Reflect on your understanding of Essential Question 1 from Activity 4.1: How
do writers and speakers use humor to convey truth? Then respond to Essential
Question 2: What makes an effective performance of a Shakespearean comedy?
Including the humor-related vocabulary from the first half of the unit, sort the unit
Academic Vocabulary and Literary Terms by parts of speech using a dictionary.
Then re-sort the vocabulary from the first half of the unit using the QHT strategy.
Compare the new sort with your original QHT sort. How has your understanding
changed? Select one word and write a concise statement about how your
understanding of the word has changed over the course of this unit.

Closely read the Embedded Assessment 2 assignment:
Present your assigned scene in front of your peers to demonstrate INDEPENDENT
your understanding of Shakespeare’s text, elements of comedy, and READING LINK
performance.
Reading Plan
Then, using the Scoring Guide, work with your class to paraphrase the In this half of the unit, you will
expectations and create a graphic organizer to use as a visual reminder prepare to perform a scene
of the required concepts and skills. Copy the graphic organizer for future from one of Shakespeare’s
reference. plays. You will have the chance
to read other humorous texts
After each activity, use this graphic to guide reflection about what you
independently. Gather in
have learned and what you still need to learn in order to be successful in a small group and discuss
completing the Embedded Assessment. other humor writers you know
about and other comedies by
Shakespeare. Add the titles
you choose to read to the My
SAMPLE
Independent Reading List on
the Contents page of this unit.

ACTIVITY
4.13 Analyzing Multiple Points of View
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Activating Prior Knowledge • Identify and analyze an author’s use of multiple points of view in a novel
Collaborative Discussion excerpt.
RAFT • Transform a narrative into a monologue and deliver it as an oral
performance.
Preview
LITERARY In this activity, you will analyze how Paul Fleischman uses multiple points
VOCABULARY
A monologue is a speech of view to create one interconnected narrative in Seedfolks. Then you
or written expression of will practice oral performance by adopting one point of view to write a
thoughts by a character and monologue and present it in class.
is always written from the
first-person point of view.
Monologues have a certain Multiple Points of View
structure: a beginning that During the course of this year, you read and analyzed narratives that tell the story
hooks the reader, a middle
from different points of view. Turn to a partner and discuss the types of points of
that sequences and develops
view you have encountered: first-person, second-person, third-person limited, and
ideas, and an end that offers
third-person omniscient. Try to identify at least one narrative that you have read
a conclusion. Content is
this year that tells the story from each of these points of view. In your discussion,
tailored to the purpose and
audience. consider who is the narrator of the story. Consider also how the narrator’s use of
personal pronouns, such as I, you, or he/she provides a clue about the point of
view. After the discussion, make notes about what you recalled about each point
of view.
First Person Second Person

Third Person Omniscient Third Person Limited
SAMPLE
4.13
Writers sometimes use multiple points of view when writing a single narrative.
This literary device provides the reader with multiple perspectives on the conflict LITERARY
VOCABULARY
of the story, often resulting in the reader having more knowledge about the When writers use more
conflict than each character has individually. than one point of view to
tell a story, they are using
Setting a Purpose for Reading a literary device called
multiple points of view.
• As you read the novel excerpt, place a star near clues that help you identify the For example, a writer may
conflict in the narrative.
tell a story from more than
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by one character’s point of
using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary. view all in first-person. This
gives each lead character
About the Author a chance to tell the story
from their own perspective.
Paul Fleischman (1952–) writes fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry. Many It also gives the reader a
of his works use multiple points of view to tell a story. He won the Newbery direct experience of each
Medal in 1989 for Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. His novel Seedfolks character’s feelings and
has won a number of awards and was chosen by Vermont as its One-State emotions. At other times, a
One-Book selection. It has also been adapted into a play. writer may mix first-person
and third-person point of
view to transfer back and
forth from a narrator who
Novel participates in the story and
Seedfolks
an outside narrator. This
from provides both subjective and
objective points of view.
by Paul Fleischman
My Notes
Novel
1 I stood before our family altar. It was dawn. No one else in the apartment
was awake. I stared at my father’s photograph—his thin face stern, lips latched
tight, his eyes peering permanently to the right. I was nine years old and still
hoped that perhaps his eyes might move. Might notice me.
2 The candles and the incense sticks, lit the day before to mark his death
anniversary, had burned out. The rice and meat offered him were gone. After
the evening feast, past midnight, I’d been wakened by my mother’s crying.
My oldest sister had joined in. My own tears had then come as well, but for a
different reason.
3 I turned from the altar, tiptoed to the kitchen, and quietly drew a spoon
from a drawer. I filled my lunch thermos with water and reached into our jar of
dried lima beans. Then I walked outside to the street.
4 The sidewalk was completely empty. It was Sunday, early in April. An icy
wind teetered trash cans and turned my cheeks to marble. In Vietnam we had
no weather like that. Here in Cleveland people call it spring. I walked half a
block, then crossed the street and reached the vacant lot.
SAMPLE
5 I stood tall and scouted. No one was sleeping on the old couch in the
middle. I’d never entered the lot before, or wanted to. I did so now, picking

4.13
My Notes my way between tires and trash bags. I nearly stepped on two rats gnawing
and froze. Then I told myself that I must show my bravery. I continued farther
and chose a spot far from the sidewalk and hidden from view by a rusty
refrigerator. I had to keep my project safe.
6 I took out my spoon and began to dig. The snow had melted, but the
ground was hard. After much work, I finished one hole, then a second, then a
third. I thought about how my mother and sisters remembered my father, how
they knew his face from every angle and held in their fingers the feel of his
hands. I had no such memories to cry over. I’d been born eight months after
he’d died. Worse, he had no memories of me. When his spirit hovered over our
altar, did it even know who I was?
7 I dug six holes. All his life in Vietnam my father had been a farmer. Here
our apartment house had no yard. But in that vacant lot he would see me.
He would watch my beans break ground and spread, and would notice with
pleasure their pods growing plump. He would see my patience and my hard
work. I would show him that I could raise plants, as he had. I would show him
that I was his daughter.
8 My class had sprouted lima beans in paper cups the year before. I now
placed a bean in each of the holes. I covered them up, pressing the soil down
firmly with my fingertips. I opened my thermos and watered them all. And I
vowed to myself that those beans would thrive.
Ana
9 I do love to sit and look out the window. Why do I need TV when I have
forty-eight apartment windows to watch across the vacant lot, and a sliver
of Lake Erie? I’ve seen history out this window. So much. I was four when
we moved here in 1919. The fruit-sellers’ carts and coal wagons were pulled

down the street by horses back then. I used to stand just here and watch the
coal brought up by the handsome lad from Groza, the village my parents were
born in. Gibb Street was mainly Rumanians back then. It was “Adio”—“Good-
bye”—in all the shops when you left. Then the Rumanians started leaving.
They weren’t the first, or the last. This has always been a working-class
neighborhood. It’s like a cheap hotel—you stay until you’ve got enough money
to leave… I watched it happen, through this very window.
10 I lived over in Cleveland Heights for eighteen years, then I moved back
in to take care of my parents.… Then steel mills and factories closed and
everybody left, like rats. Buildings abandoned. Men with no work drinking
from nine to five instead, down there in the lot.… Now I see families…from
countries I don’t know….New languages in the shops and on the street. These
new people leave when they can, like the others. I’m the only one staying. It’s
so. Staying and staring out this same window.
11 This spring I looked out and I saw something strange. Down in the lot,
a little black-haired girl, hiding behind that refrigerator. She was working at
SAMPLE
the dirt and looking around suspiciously all the time. Then I realized. She was
burying something. I never had children of my own, but I’ve seen enough

4.13
in that lot to know she was mixed up in something she shouldn’t be. And My Notes
after twenty years typing for the Parole department, I just about knew what
she’d buried. Drugs most likely, or money, or a gun. The next moment, she
disappeared like a rabbit.
12 I thought of calling up the police. Then I saw her there the next morning,
and I decided I’d solve this case myself. We had a long spell of rain then. I didn’t
set eyes on her once. Then the weather turned warm and I saw her twice more,
always in the morning, on her way to school. She was crouched down with
her back to me so I couldn’t see just what she was doing. My curiosity was like
a fever inside me. Then one morning she was there, glancing about, and she
looked straight up at the window. I pulled my head back behind the curtain. I
wasn’t sure if she’d seen me. If she had, she wouldn’t leave her treasure buried
long. Then I knew I’d have to dig it up before she did.
13 I waited an hour after she left. Then I took and old butter knife and my
cane and hobbled down all three flights of stairs. I worked my way through that
awful jungle of junk and finally came to her spot. I stooped down. It was wet
there and easy digging. I hacked and dug, but didn’t find anything, except for a
large white bean. I tried a new spot and found another, then a third. Then the
truth of it slapped me full in the face. I said to myself, “What have you done?”
Two beans had roots. I knew I’d done them harm. I felt like I’d read through her
secret diary and had ripped out a page without meaning to. I laid those beans
right back in the ground, as gently as sleeping babies. Then I patted the soil as
smooth as could be.
14 The next morning she was back. I peeked around the curtain. She didn’t
look up here or give any sign that she noticed something wrong. I could see her
clearly this time. She reached a hand down into her schoolbag. Then she pulled
out a jar, unscrewed the lid, and poured out water onto the ground.
15 That afternoon I bought some binoculars.
Wendell
16 My phone doesn’t ring much, which suits me fine. That’s how I got the
news about our boy, shot dead like a dog in the street. And the word, last year,
about my wife’s car wreck. I can’t hear a phone and not jerk inside. When Ana
called I was still asleep. Phone calls that wake me up are the worst.
17 “Get up here quick!” she says. I live on the ground floor and watch out for
her a little….I ran up the stairs. I could tell it was serious. I prayed I wouldn’t
find her dead. When I got there, she looked perfectly fine. She dragged me over
to the window. “Look down there!” she says. “They’re dying!”
18 “What?” I yelled back.
19 “The plants!” she says.
20 I was mad. She gave me some binoculars and told me all about the
Chinese girl. I found the plants and got them in focus. There were four of them
SAMPLE
in a row, still little. They were wilted. Leaves flopped flat on the ground.
21 “What are they?” she asked.

4.13
My Notes 22 “Some kind of beans.” I grew up on a little farm in Kentucky. “But she
planted ’em way too early. She’s lucky those seeds even came up.”
23 “But they did,” said Ana. “And it’s up to us to save them.”
24 It was a weekend in May and hot. You’d have thought that those beans
were hers. They needed water, especially in that heat. She said the girl hadn’t
come in four days—sick, probably, or gone out of town. Ana had twisted her
ankle and couldn’t manage the stairs. She pointed to a pitcher. “Fill that up and
soak them good. Quick now.”
25 School janitors take too much bossing all week to listen to an extra
helping on weekends. I stared at her one long moment, then took my time
filling the pitcher.
26 I walked down the stairs and into the lot and found the girl’s plants. You
don’t plant beans till the weather’s hot. Then I saw what had kept her seeds
from freezing. The refrigerator in front of them had bounced the sunlight back
on the soil, heating it up like an oven. I bent down and gave the dirt a feel. It
was hard packed and light colored. I studied the plants. Leaves shaped like
spades in a deck of cards. Definitely beans. I scraped up a ring of dirt around
the first plant, to hold the water and any rain that fell. I picked up the pitcher
and poured the water slowly. Then I heard something move and spun around.
The girl was there, stone-still, ten feet away, holding her own water jar.
27 She hadn’t seen me behind the refrigerator. She looked afraid for her life.
Maybe she thought I’d jump up and grab her. I gave her a smile and showed her
that I was just giving her plants some water. This made her eyes go even bigger.
I stood up slowly and backed away. I smiled again. She watched me leave. We
never spoke one word.
28 I walked back there that evening and checked on the beans. They’d picked
themselves up and were looking fine. I saw that she’d made a circle of dirt
around the other three plants. Out of nowhere the words from the Bible came

into my head: “And a little child shall lead them.” I didn’t know why at first.
Then I did. There’s plenty about my life I can’t change. Can’t bring the dead
back to life on this earth. Can’t make the world loving and kind. Can’t change
myself into a millionaire. But a patch of ground in this trashy lot—I can change
that. Can change it big. Better to put my time into that than moaning about the
other all day. That little grammar-school girl showed me that.
29 The lot had buildings on three sides. I walked around and picked myself
out a spot that wouldn’t be shaded too much. I dragged the garbage off to the
side and tossed out the biggest pieces of broken glass. I looked over my plot,
squatted down, and fingered the soil awhile.
30 That Monday I brought a shovel home from work.
Gonzalo
31 The older you are, the younger you get when you move to the United States.
32 They don’t teach you that equation in school. Big Brain, Mr. Smoltz,
SAMPLE
my eighth-grade math teacher, hasn’t even heard of it. It’s not in Gateway to
Algebra. It’s Garcia’s Equation. I’m the Garcia.

4.13
33 Two years after my father and I moved here from Guatemala I could My Notes
speak English. I learned it on the playground and watching lots of TV. Don’t
believe what people say—cartoons make you smart. But my father, he worked
all day in a kitchen with Mexicans and Salvadorans. His English was worse
than a kindergartener’s. He would only buy food at the bodega down the block.
Outside of there he lowered his eyes and tried to get by on mumbles and
smiles. He didn’t want strangers to hear his mistakes. So he used me to make
phone calls and to talk to the landlady and to buy things in stores where you
had to use English. He got younger. I got older.
34 Then my younger brothers and mother and Tío Juan, her uncle, came
north and joined us. Tío Juan was the oldest man in his pueblo1. But here he
became a little baby. He’d been a farmer, but here he couldn’t work. He couldn’t
sit out in the plaza and talk—there aren’t any plazas here, and if you sit out
in public some gang driving by might use you for target practice. He couldn’t
understand TV. So he wandered around the apartment all day, in and out of
rooms, talking to himself, just like a kid in diapers.
35 One morning he wandered outside and down the street. My mother
practically fainted. He doesn’t speak Spanish, just an Indian language. I finally
found him standing in front of the beauty parlor, staring through the glass at a
woman with a drier over her head. He must have wondered what weird planet
he’d moved to. I led him home, holding his hand, the way you would a three-
year-old. Since then I’m supposed to baby-sit him after school.
36 One afternoon I was watching TV, getting smart on The Brady Bunch.
Suddenly I looked up. He was gone. I checked the halls on all five floors of the
apartment house. I ran to the street. He wasn’t in the bodega or the pawnshop.
I called his name, imagining my mother’s face when she found out he’d fallen
through a manhole or been run over. I turned the corner, looking for the
white straw hat he always wore. Two blocks down I spotted it. I flew down the
sidewalk and found him standing in front of the vacant lot, making gestures to
a man with a shovel.
37 I took his hand, but he pulled me through the trash and into the lot. I
recognized the man with the shovel—he was the janitor at my school. He had
a little garden planted. Different shades of green leaves were coming up in
rows. Tío Juan was smiling and trying to tell him something. The man couldn’t
understand him and finally went back to digging. I turned Tío Juan around and
led him home.
38 That night he told my mother all about it. She was the only one who
could understand him. When she got home from work the next day she asked
me to take him back there. I did. He studied the sun. Then the soil. He felt it,
then smelled it, then actually tasted it. He chose a spot not too far from the
sidewalk. Where my mother changed busses she’d gone into a store and bought
him a trowel and four packets of seeds. I cleared the trash, he turned the soil.
I wished we were farther from the street and I was praying that none of my
1 pueblo: village, town

SAMPLE
4.13
friends or girlfriends or enemies saw me. Tío Juan didn’t even notice people—he was totally
wrapped up in the work.
39 He showed me exactly how far apart the rows should be and how deep. He couldn’t read
the words on the seed packets, but he knew from the pictures what seeds were inside. He poured
them into his hand and smiled. He seemed to recognize them, like old friends. Watching him
carefully sprinkling them into the troughs he’d made, I realized that I didn’t know anything
about growing food and that he knew everything. I stared at his busy fingers, then his eyes. They
were focused, not far away or confused. He’d changed from a baby back into a man.
Making Observations
• Who do we meet in each chapter?
• What do you notice about the setting of the novel?

responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the novel excerpt in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
1. How does Ana’s description of the neighborhood introduce the conflict in the excerpt?
2. How does the setting influence what Ana believes about her neighbors, specifically about Kim?

3. Use text evidence to describe how Kim’s planting of the seeds influences the plot.
SAMPLE
4.13
4. Identify the points of view that are used in this excerpt. How does the author create the points
of view?
5. What effect does the point of view of the narrative have on the reader?

6. Work with your group to identify the sequence of events in your assigned character’s chapter.
What events do you learn about from that character’s point of view? Then as a class, you will
work together to combine each character’s sequence of events into one main time line.

Choose one character from Seedfolks and write four different sentence types from the point of view
of that character. Use information from the story to write the sentences.
Statement:
Question:
Exclamation:
Command:
SAMPLE
4.13
7. RAFT is a strategy that is primarily used to create new texts by manipulating elements of a
text during prewriting and drafting. This strategy helps you create or substitute various roles,
audiences, formats, and topics as a way to focus your thinking about a new text. In preparation
for writing a monologue from the point of view of a character from the novel excerpt, complete
the following RAFT table using the prompts to guide your thinking.
Role From whose perspective will you write? How does that character function in the
narrative? What are their motivations?
Audience To whom are you writing or speaking (the audience, yourself, one or more
characters)?
Format What format would be appropriate for your audience?
Topic What is the subject of your writing? What points do you want to make?

Use the RAFT strategy to create a monologue from the point of view of one of the characters
from Seedfolks. Imagine what he or she might say about the conflict. Be sure to:
• Use narrative techniques to express a point of view and create interest.
• Use a consistent point of view.
• Use diction, syntax, and punctuation to create a persona and a dramatic effect.
• Check your dramatic performance for frequently confused words and other
misspellings.
SAMPLE
4.13
Presenting Your Monologue
8. Once you have written your monologue, prepare to perform it as an oral interpretation.
• Mark the text to indicate effective volume, rate (speed), pitch (high or low), inflection (emphasis
on specific words for effect), and tone (speaker’s attitude toward the subject) throughout the
monologue. Remember: these elements should shift if the ideas or speaker shifts.
• Mark the text to indicate appropriate eye contact, facial expressions, and movement. These
elements should support your tone.
• Brainstorm creative yet simple ideas for pantomime and props, recording your ideas next to
appropriate sections in the monologue.
• Remember: when you are delivering a monologue from someone else’s point of view, you
are adopting a persona. Become that person!
• Rehearse.
• Practice adapting your speech and tone to be more formal, as if presenting it to the whole
school, and less formal, as if presenting it to a small group of your peers.
• Practice delivering your lines fluently.
• Practice delivering your lines with an effective volume, rate, pitch, inflection, and tone.
• Practice using eye contact, facial expressions, and movement appropriate for your lines.
• Deliver your oral performance of the monologue.
• As part of the audience, listen to other students’ performances. Use the Scoring Guide
Criteria to compare and contrast the most effective elements of an oral performance.
Being healthy is a frequent topic of conversation among friends and family. People often ask each other how they
are feeling and sometimes give each other advice, but this advice might conflict with the perspectives of healthcare
professionals. You have just read a work using multiple perspectives. Now work with a partner to gather reliable
health information. Search websites of renowned healthcare facilities, such as mayoclinic.org and ucsfhealth.
org. Use what you learn to complete the graphic organizer. Carefully record the Internet address or the name
of the cellphone app in the graphic organizer. Then work with your partner to use what you learn about these
health-related technologies to write a monologue. Then take turns using video or audio technology to record your
monologue. You can share the recorded monologue with family members, friends, and peers at school.
Define the Technology Internet Address
Where to Find or Use an App Cell phone or Internet App
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Creating Context for Shakespearean
4.14 Comedy
Learning Strategies Learning Targets

• Research topics to build knowledge about Shakespeare.
Note-taking
Marking the Text • Gather relevant information to understand the context of the play
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Skimming/Scanning
In this activity, you will build background knowledge about William
Shakespeare and his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Genre Study: Shakespearean Drama

1. Complete the sentence starters about William Shakespeare in the first column
of the following graphic organizer. Support your responses to the statements,
and note any questions you have about him.
Who Is Shakespeare? How Do I Know This? Questions I Have
Shakespeare was an author of plays I have seen a movie based on one of How many of his other works have
and poetry. his plays, called Romeo and Juliet. been made into movies?
Shakespeare lived ...

Shakespeare accomplished ...
Shakespeare ...
SAMPLE
4.14
2. Pick a question that you identified in the third column of your chart about My Notes
Shakespeare. With guidance from your teacher, do research to answer
that question. Use at least 3 different sources (the Internet, books, and
other resources you have available). Identify at least 2 follow-up questions
that occur to you based on what you learned in your research. Record the
questions and answers in your Reader/Writer Notebook. Then share the
results of your research with your group.

Expand the brief sentence that follows by answering the questions and then
combining them into a complete sentence.
He lived.
Who?
Where?
When?
Expanded Sentence:

3. Read these scenarios to determine how you would respond. Make notes
about your reactions in the My Notes space.
The person you are in love with has invited you to your high school dance.
Your parents, who disapprove of this person, lay down the law, saying, “You
are absolutely not allowed to attend the dance with this person. If you wish to
attend, you may go with X. Your choices are to go to the dance with X or not
go at all.” You are now faced with a dilemma. You are forbidden to go to the
dance with the person you love, but you are permitted to attend with X, who
has been in love with you forever and whom your parents adore.
Consider this: Would you still go to the dance under these conditions? Why or
why not?
Since you were forbidden by your parents to attend the dance with the person
you love, the two of you devise a plan to sneak out and attend the dance
anyway. All of a sudden you notice that your love is nowhere in sight. You
begin to search the room for her/him. Eventually, you find her/him in the
corner of the room talking with your best friend. You happily interrupt the
conversation only to be horrified to discover that your love is confessing her/
his love to your best friend.
Consider this: What would you do if you saw your girlfriend/boyfriend
confessing her/his love to your best friend? How would you feel?
SAMPLE
4.14
You confront your love after seeing her/him kiss your best friend. Your girlfriend/boyfriend
loudly announces that she/he is no longer interested in you and no longer wants anything to
do with you. Your best friend seems confused about the situation as she/he has always been
in love with your boyfriend or girlfriend, but the feeling was never shared.
Consider this: What would you do if your girlfriend/boyfriend treated you this way? Would you
be mad at your best friend?
Connection to the Play

In Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, four characters—Lysander, Hermia,
Helena, and Demetrius—are entangled in a very complicated love relationship that leaves them
open to all sorts of comical mishaps.
Using the following information about the key characters from the play, create a visual that shows
the relationship among the listed characters. Consult appropriate print or digital resources to find
the pronunciations of character names. Add these to the chart and practice pronouncing them.
Remember to note the long and short vowel sounds and silent letters as a guide to facilitate your
pronunciation.
Character’s Name Pronunciation I am ... I love ...
Hermia The daughter of a wealthy Lysander

nobleman
Lysander A prominent businessman Hermia
Demetrius Hermia’s father’s choice Hermia too!
for her husband
Helena Hermia’s best friend Demetrius
Visual Representation of Characters’ Relationships

Using the information from the three scenarios, write your own scenarios for the four key
characters described above. Be sure to:
• Incorporate genre characteristics of comedy examined earlier in this unit.
• Provide detail about the situation described in your scenario.
• Use precise diction.
• Use an online or print dictionary to check the definitions and spellings of any words that
SAMPLE
are frequently confused with similar words. Also check and practice the pronunciation of
the word.

ACTIVITY
Insulting Language 4.15
Learning Targets
• Read closely to interpret the meaning of Shakespeare’s language.
• Deliver a line with proper inflection, tone, gestures, and movement.
Preview
In this activity, you will create a Shakespearean insult and deliver it aloud.
Decoding Shakespeare’s Language

Note that punctuation marks signal tone of voice and timing, crucial elements of performance. Read
the two lines that follow, pausing briefly for commas and longer for end punctuation. Practice until
you achieve a flow that sounds authentic.
“Hang off, thou cat, thou burr! Vile thing, let loose,
Or I will shake thee from me like a serpent.”
1. As you complete the chart, think about how punctuation affects the meaning of each line. What
impact does it have on the tone of the speaker?
Character Quote/Insult Paraphrase (Modern English)
Helena says to Hermia ... “I will not trust you,

Nor longer stay in your
curst company.”
Lysander says to Hermia ... “Out, tawny Tartar, out!

Out, loathed medicine!
O, hated, potion, hence!”
Hermia says to Helena ... “You juggler, you canker-blossom!

You thief of love!
What, have you come by night
And stol’n my love’s heart from him?
Helena says to Hermia ... “Fie, fie! You counterfeit, you

puppet, you!”
SAMPLE
4.15
2. Once you have determined the meaning of the lines, select one and complete the chart that
follows. Rehearse your line in preparation for a performance. Then, role-play by becoming that
character and feeling that emotion. Move throughout the room and deliver your insult with
flair. Be sure to allow time for peers to react to your delivery.
What inflection will you

How will you alter your What gestures/
use? What words will you
Record your chosen insult. tone when you deliver movements will you use
stress when you speak
your line? to enhance your line?
your lines?
3. What tone of voice do people usually use when delivering an insult? What emotions might
someone be feeling when they insult another person, and why?

Reflect on your understanding of Shakespeare’s language. What resources did you use to help you

interpret his words? Were they useful? What would you do differently the next time you have to
read his words? Discuss with a partner.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Close Reading of a Scene 4.16

Learning Targets Learning Strategies
• Analyze graphical elements in drama.
Skimming/Scanning
• Summarize text to maintain meaning. Diffusing
Paraphrasing
Preview
Close Reading
In this activity, you will read a scene from a Shakespearean play and think Summarizing
about its meaning.
Rereading
Visualizing
• As you read the scene, underline words and phrases that are meant to
be insults. My Notes
About the Author

Little is known about the early life of William
Shakespeare (1564–1616), except that he
was born and grew up in Stratford-on-Avon in
England. As a young man, he went to London
and became an actor and playwright. He wrote
at least 37 plays (comedies, tragedies, and
histories) and is considered one of the greatest
playwrights who ever lived. A Midsummer
Night’s Dream was written around the same time
as Romeo and Juliet and marks an increasing
depth and maturity in Shakespeare’s work.
Drama
from
A Midsummer
Night’s Dream
Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 282–305
HERMIA: Oh me! you juggler! you canker-blossom!

You thief of love! What, have you come by night
And stolen my love’s heart from him?
HELENA: Fine, i’faith!
SAMPLE
285 Have you no modesty, no maiden shame,
No touch of bashfulness? What, will you tear

4.16
GRAMMAR & USAGE Impatient answers from my gentle tongue?
Fie, fie! you counterfeit, you puppet, you!
Punctuation HERMIA: Puppet? Why so? Ay, that way goes the game.
Punctuation gives clear cues
as to how lines should be 290 Now, I perceive that she hath made compare
performed, particularly in Between our statures; she hath urged her height;
poetry and plays. And with her personage, her tall personage,
An exclamation mark shows Her height, forsooth, she hath prevail’d with him.
surprise, extreme happiness, or And are you grown so high in his esteem;
anger: Oh me! you juggler! you
295 Because I am so dwarfish and so low?
canker-blossom!
How low am I, thou painted maypole? speak;
A question mark indicates a
question or confusion on the How low am I? I am not yet so low
part of the speaker: Puppet? But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.
Why so? HELENA: I pray you, though you mock me, gentlemen,
A comma indicates a pause,
usually for dramatic effect: 300 Let her not hurt me: I was never curst;
Fie, fie! you counterfeit, you I have no gift at all in shrewishness;
puppet, you! I am a right maid for my cowardice:
A semicolon marks a pause Let her not strike me. You perhaps may think,
that is longer than that for a Because she is something lower than myself,
comma but not as long as that
305 That I can match her.
for a period: And are you grown
so high in his esteem;/Because HERMIA: Lower! hark, again.
I am so dwarfish and so low?
As you prepare to read a piece
out loud, highlight the different Making Observations
forms of punctuation and think • What do you notice about the characters?
about how they will affect your
reading. • How do the characters speak to each other?

INDEPENDENT
READING LINK
Read and Connect
Read an excerpt from another
Shakespearean play classified
as a comedy. Compare and
contrast the use of punctuation
in your reading to the excerpt
from A Midsummer Night’s
Dream. Note the similarities
and differences in your Reader/
Writer Notebook.
Illustration from an 1895 edition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William

forsooth: indeed; used to Shakespeare, published in London by J. M. Dent.
SAMPLE
express surprise or indignation

4.16
Complete the given sentences using because, but, and so.
Hermia insults Helena because
Hermia insults Helena, but
Hermia insults Helena, so

your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the drama excerpt in your Reader/Writer
Notebook.
1. What details in the text should a director consider when casting Helena and Hermia?
2. Which details in Hermia’s opening statement reveal her emotions? How does this set the tone
of the scene?
3. How does the use of apostrophes affect the meaning of lines in this excerpt?

4. Reread the text orally with your group. Use print or digital resources to determine the
pronunciation of unfamiliar or archaic words.
5. As you listen to the text being read a third time, visualize how the characters would be moving,
gesturing, and speaking. Write comments, draw pictures, or stand to act out what you are
visualizing.

Explain how this scene is intended to be comical onstage. What elements of comedy are
represented?
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Acting Companies and Collaborative
4.17 Close Reading
Learning Strategies Learning Targets

• Collaborate to annotate a dramatic scene.
Close Reading
Skimming/Scanning • Analyze the elements of a dramatic scene and rehearse it collaboratively.
Rereading
Preview
Paraphrasing
Summarizing In this activity, you will rehearse a dramatic scene.
Marking the Text
Rehearsing
Preparing for a Dramatic Scene
1. Quickwrite: Describe the attitudes and behaviors (norms) of a positive and
productive member of an acting group.
My Notes
2. In the spaces that follow, write the names of the members of your acting
company for the roles they will play. Write the scene you will perform, the
names of the characters, and who will play each character.
Acting Company Members
Director:
Actors:

Scene:
Characters:
SAMPLE
4.17
Analyzing a Dramatic Scene My Notes
3. You will next be assigned a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream that
your acting group will perform. Work collaboratively in your acting group to
make meaning of the text. Follow these steps to guide your close reading and
annotation of the text. You will be responsible for taking notes on your script
and for using this script and notes as you plan and rehearse your scene.
• Skim/scan the text and circle unfamiliar words. Use a dictionary or thesaurus to
replace each unfamiliar word with a synonym.
• Reread the scene and paraphrase the lines in modern English.
• Summarize the action. What is happening in the scene?
• Reread the scene and mark the text to indicate elements of humor (caricature,
situation, irony, wordplay, hyperbole).
• Mark the punctuation and determine how the punctuation affects the spoken
lines. Look up the pronunciation and syllable breakdown of words in a print or
digital resource as needed. Discuss tone of voice and inflection.
• Analyze the movement in your scene:
What is each character doing?
When should characters enter and exit?
How should characters enter and exit?
What could you do to exaggerate the humor or create a humorous spin?
• Analyze the blocking in your scene, that is, the movement and placement of
characters as they speak:
Where is each character standing?
To whom is each spoken line addressed?
• Analyze your scene in the context of the play:
What has happened in the play before this scene? What happens after this
scene?
How does this scene affect the dramatic action of the play?
Rehearsing a Dramatic Scene

4. Divide lines equally between group members. You may have to be more than
one character. One person in your group will be both a player (actor) and
the director.
Player (student’s name) Acting As (character’s name)
Director:
SAMPLE
4.17
My Notes 5. Rehearse your scene. To accurately portray your character and achieve your
intended comic effect, be sure to focus on the following:
• tone and inflection
• correct pronunciation of words
• facial expression and gesture

Reflect on the process of reading your scene and determining the meaning of the
text, as well as your preparation for and rehearsal of the scene.
• What went well? What will you want to replicate in future rehearsals and in your
performance?
• What is a revision or something new you plan to do as you continue to
rehearse?
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Facing the Challenge of Performance 4.18

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Marking the Text
• Recognize the controlling idea and supporting details of an informational
Discussion Groups
text.
Note-taking
• Make connections to an informational text by identifying tips to help your
Rehearsal
dramatic performance.
• Memorize and rehearse lines for a performance.
about a topic. My Notes
Preview
In this activity, you will read two informational texts about performing and
think about how these tips can help you prepare for your performance.

• Underscore the main ideas and supporting details about how to overcome
stage fright.
About the Author

Gary Guwe is an award-winning speaker and
authority in the areas of delivering presentations,
influencing others, and impromptu (improvised)
speaking. Using his unique methods and
curriculum, he has coached many students to
impromptu speech championships. Guwe has
trained and helped more than 12,500 people.
Informational Text
Fear Busters
Adapted from
KNOWLEDGE
10 Tips to Overcome Stage Fright! QUEST
Knowledge Question:
by Gary Guwe What are effective ways to
overcome stage fright?
In Activity 4.18, you will read
F – Focus on Your Most Powerful Experience an informational text and an
1 Think about your most memorable and powerful experience when you article on the topic of stage
accomplished a goal—maybe a time you worked extremely hard on a project or fright. While you read and build
knowledge about the topic,
did well on a test. Reflect on your most powerful experience and remember the
SAMPLE
think about your answer to the
feeling of confidence; think about everything you did to create that feeling and Knowledge Question.
how proud you felt after doing something challenging.

4.18
My Notes E – Energize Yourself
2 You have adrenaline pumping through your veins. Your heart is racing
and your muscles are all tensed up. Your eyes are shifty and you are unsettled.
You are ready to bolt for the door ... or are you?
3 An adrenaline rush is a built-in defense mechanism for human beings.
It is a natural response mechanism that allows us to fight or take flight in the
event of danger. That explains the heightened sensitivity we have when we are
nervous and excited.
4 Harness this nervous energy and make it work for you! One way we
harness this nervous energy is to move around. Your character will at some
point move and gesture. Use the times when your character can move and react
as opportunities to dissipate your nervous energy.
A – Acknowledge Your Fears

5 It is said that fear is here to protect us, not paralyze us. Don’t run away
from being afraid. Acknowledge it as being part of you ... use it to identify
the possible pitfalls, then work to think about how you can avoid the pitfalls
or how you can adjust or adapt if something goes wrong during your
performance.
R – Relax ... Breathe!

6 Take deep breaths and regulate your breathing. Let the breathing regulate
and calm your heart rate. Practice breathing when you rehearse.
B – Believe in Yourself

7 Know that your performance has the potential for being a powerful and
memorable moment in your life. You will feel a huge sense of accomplishment
and pride when you successfully perform your scene. Be knowledgeable about
your part and prepared with your lines, and you will be ready to execute with
confidence.
U – Understand the Audience

8 Understand that the audience is here to see you succeed. They know how
it feels to perform, and they’re not here to sabotage you, or poke fun at you ...
they’re here to learn from you, to laugh, and to be entertained.
S – Smile!
dissipate: lessen 9 Changing one’s physiology can impact one’s mental state.
regulate: adjust to a standard
sabotage: destroy or interfere 10 Before your performance, when your character allows, and immediately
SAMPLE
with your task afterwards—smile. Soon enough, your body will tell your brain that you’re
happy ... and before you know it, any fear you have will melt away.

4.18
T – Talk to Yourself My Notes
11 Many people will begin telling themselves various reasons why they will
not be able to perform well. Counter that.
12 Tell yourself that you will be able to do a good job and remind yourself of
the reasons why you can (“I am prepared.” “I will have fun.” “I know my peers
will laugh when ... ”).
E – Enjoy Yourself
13 Get out on the stage and seek to have fun!
R – Rejoice!
14 Many people begin visualizing their worst case scenario as they ready
themselves to perform.
15 Visualize yourself victorious at the end of the performance. Think of the
amount of effort you will have put into preparing and think about the smiles
and laughter which you will create and the skills and concepts you will have
practiced and mastered.
Knowledge Quest
• What word is created when you put together the first letters in the
magenta headings of the text?
• Which tip in “Fear Buster” did you find most useful? Explain why.

1. Quickwrite: What is the biggest challenge you face when it comes to

performing your comic scene?
2. Refer to the text and write your personal response to each tip in the My Notes
space. Use them as a guide for a collaborative discussion.
3. Discuss the ten tips with your acting group. Which tips did you notate as
applying most to you? How will you use this advice?
SAMPLE
4.18
4. Refer to the words and phrases you underlined and summarize the main idea
INDEPENDENT of each section. Then discuss the overall controlling idea of the informational
READING LINK text with your acting group.
Read and Discuss
Think about the play you
are reading independently.
Which of your friends or
family members would you
cast in the lead roles? Why?
Come up with your cast and
justify your choices based on
personality, appearance, or
other characteristics.
5. How is the text structured? Why do you think the author structured the text in
My Notes this way? How does the structure support the controlling idea of the text?
Memorization Tips
Memorizing lines is a key part of delivering a good performance. Think about
school plays you may have seen. Characters who deliver their lines clearly and
without hesitation perform well.
Tip 1: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

Say the line over and over, but do it one word at a time, returning to the beginning
of the line each time.
Example: Line 108 from Scene 5: “If we offend, it is with our good will.”
“If.” “If we.” “If we offend.” “If we offend, it.” “If we offend, it is.” “If we offend,

it is with.” “If we offend, it is with our.” “If we offend, it is with our good.” “If we
offend, it is with our good will.”
Tip 2: Recite and Erase

Write your line(s) on a whiteboard, and then practice the words.
• Recite the line.
• Erase a word or phrase, and recite the missing piece from memory.
• Repeat the process until all the words have disappeared and you are saying the
line(s) from memory.
6. Discuss other tips your peers may have for memorizing lines. Then, select
your hardest line to memorize and use the memorization tips to work on it.
SAMPLE
4.18
• Underscore the main ideas and supporting details about how to overcome
stage fright.
About the Author

Emma Sarran Webster is a Chicago-based freelance writer, editor, and
journalist. She covers a range of lifestyle topics like home, fashion, and
relationships for publications like WIRED, The Muse, Babble, and Made Man.
She is currently a regular contributor to Teen Vogue.
Article
9 Public Speaking Tips

Adapted from
KNOWLEDGE
to Get Over Stage Fright

QUEST
Knowledge Question:
What are effective ways to
by Emma Sarran Webster overcome stage fright?
You can do this.
1 Ugh, public speaking. That’s generally how most people feel about the
topic—90% of us, in fact. According to Forbes, only about 10 percent of the
population actually loves public speaking. “The fear of public speaking really
comes down to a fear of rejection, humiliation, and isolation,” Josephine Lee,
an entrepreneur and seasoned public speaker who placed third in the 2016
Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking competition, tells Teen
Vogue.
2 The good news? Even though that fear may be biologically ingrained in us,
it’s one we can overcome—and it’s worth it to try doing so. So how do you get
to that point? Heed this expert advice.
1. Know that anyone can become a good public speaker.
3 You could just say, “I’m not good at public speaking, so I’m not going to do
it,” but that’s neither beneficial (remember: it’s tough to avoid) nor the truth.
You may not have been born a proficient orator, but you can certainly get
there. “Just like any other skill, some may naturally have more confidence than
others, but anyone can learn to become a better public speaker,” Josephine says.
That said, it won’t happen overnight. Manage your expectations, and know that
your first attempt may not be the best presentation you’ve ever given. That’s
okay: Just start small and give it time.
orator: person who is skilled in
SAMPLE
giving speeches

4.18
My Notes 2. Practice, practice, practice.
4 Of course, the best way to get better is through repetition. “It’s just like
learning how to play the violin,” Josephine says. “Practice, practice, practice!”
For her part, Josephine joined Toastmasters International, a nonprofit devoted
to helping members with public speaking, communication, and leadership in
what she says is a “supportive setting,” with chapters all over the world.
5 Outside of groups like Toastmasters, you can practice on your own in front
of a mirror, as well as friends and family. Before each presentation, prepare
thoroughly so you’re as comfortable as possible going into it.
3. Visualize your success.
6 In whatever you do, visualizing your success beforehand can be a powerful
tool. Before your next presentation, try closing your eyes and mentally taking
yourself through the entire thing beforehand, like Josephine does. “The day of
the speech, I start to envision myself onstage and the audience members,” she
says. “I envision how I will deliver my lines, how the audience will respond,
and how I will feel giving a great speech. Doing this gives me confidence to
deliver just as I envisioned.”
4. Be aware of your body language.
7 The way you present yourself, physically, can have a real effect on your
presentation—both in the way the audience perceives you and the way you feel
about yourself. Body language and image expert Yana German points out a few
key things to remember when you’re standing in front of the crowd. First, stand
in a solid position with your feet shoulder-width apart and facing the audience;
avoid crossing your legs or standing in a way that makes you unsteady. Keep
your hands in front of you and your palms up, above your waistline for as
much of your speech as you can. Don’t cross your arms, in front of you or
behind your back, the latter of which Yana says sends the signal that you don’t

want to be noticed and you lack confidence.
5. Pass on the podium, and keep moving.
8 A podium certainly looks official, but using one may do you a disservice.
“Podiums can act as barriers from the audience, not allowing you to connect
with them,” Yana says. Instead, pass on the podium (if you have notes, try
holding small note cards so they’re more manageable) and move around the
stage or floor every so often. “If you are able to walk around and even make eye
contact with the audience, not only does it allow you to relate more to [them],
but it [also] shows you are grounded and firm in what you are saying.”
6. Consider the audience.
9 Most of us go into public speaking situations focused almost completely
on ourselves. But remember: Speeches are given for the benefit of the
envision: make a picture of in audience rather than the speaker. You’re providing information, insight, or
one’s head entertainment that they want (or need) to hear; so they’re going to be more
podium: a stand at which a focused on what they’re getting out of it than anything else. Keep that in mind
SAMPLE
person gives a speech
when you’re up there.

4.18
7. Smile and make eye contact. My Notes
10 It’s easy to build up the people in the audience as scary and judgmental in
your mind, particularly if you’ve never met or talked to them. If you have time,
chat with a few people before you get started so you’ll have some friendly faces
you can look to when you get nervous. And while you’re giving your speech,
smile, look at your audience, and make eye contact.
8. Project your voice.
11 Not everyone has a naturally booming voice; but Yana notes that it’s
important to project as much as you can (without yelling or straining your vocal
chords, of course) to give yourself more presence and authority onstage—aside
from the whole practical aspect of making it so the audience can hear you, of
course. “The best way to project your voice is by taking relaxed deep breaths
before you speak,” she says.
9. Know that nerves are okay.
12 Here’s the thing: Regardless of how much you practice and how many times
you do this, the nerves may never fully go away. But that’s okay. In fact, it’s
probably more natural than you think. “Even after 5 years of public speaking,
I still get nervous,” Josephine says. “But it’s not about getting rid of your
nerves; it’s about learning how to convert [them] to excitement and using the
adrenaline to your advantage.” And that’s where all of these tips and all of your
practice come in. The more of this you do, the more likely it is that you’ll be able
to harness your nerves for good, rather than letting them derail you.
13 And when all else fails, remember that challenging yourself to do something
you’re scared of comes with its own benefits, regardless of how well you
“perform.” “So many of us don’t pursue things that are scary to us,” Josephine
says. “But it is precisely at those moments that we grow the most.”
Knowledge Quest
• What details in this article are similar to ideas in the previous one?
• What details surprised you?
• What questions will you ask yourself as you reread this article?

• Return to the text as you respond to the following questions. Use evidence from
the text to support your responses.
• Write any additional questions you have about the excerpt in your Reader/
Writer Notebook.
adrenaline: a substance in
the body triggered by stress,
increasing heart rate and
SAMPLE
sweating

4.18
7. According to “Fear Busters,” what is the purpose of fear? What does the second article say is
the cause of fear of public speaking?
8. According to the authors, why is moving around while public speaking important?
9. What is Emma Sarran Webster’s opinion on public speaking? Why does she think it is
worthwhile? How does she support her idea?
10. KQ How does the word adrenaline play a role in these two texts? Why does each author
mention adrenaline?

11. KQ How does knowing the biological reasons for the fear of speaking in front of an audience
help a fearful public speaker? Use evidence from the two texts to support your answer.
SAMPLE
4.18

Use your knowledge of the two articles to consider how you can use what READING LINK
you learned to overcome stage fright. Work with a partner. Together choose You can continue to build
a word from the text and make up your own acronym that responds to the your knowledge about public
question: What are effective ways to overcome stage fright? Be sure to: speaking by reading other
articles and speeches at
• Include a clear statement about each author’s ideas. ZINC Reading Labs. Search
• Explain how the details in each text support the author’s central idea. for keywords such as public
speaking or speech.
• Cite evidence from the text to support your ideas.

12. Refer to the text and write your personal response to each tip in the
My Notes space.

Describe at least three strategies you can use to overcome stage fright. How will
you remind yourself of those strategies on the day of the performance?
You have been reading about stage fright when communicating to a group. But
communicating well with friends and family is also important. Work with a partner to look
up the communication skills in the graphic organizer. Together read the articles. Then
communicate about what you learned. When you are finished, summarize the articles and
your conversation in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
Communication Skills My Notes

How to Set Boundaries
h ttp://www.rookiemag.com/2018/02/
how-to-set-boundaries/
How to Give a Real Apology
give-real-apology/
How to Ask for Help
how-to-ask-for-help/
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Working with Acting Companies and
4.19 Focus Groups
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Rereading
• Use evidence to support understanding of a character.
Close reading
• Synthesize information to create a performance plan.
Note-taking
Rehearsal
In this activity, you will work in focus groups to deepen your understanding
of your character(s) before returning to your acting company to rehearse.
Character Focus Groups

1. Players: Reread your lines, using the graphic organizer to guide a close
reading and analysis of your character.
Meet in a focus group whose members are all acting as the same character,
and work collaboratively to interpret what the lines reveal about your
character. Take turns sharing your individual analysis, and add new insights
to the graphic organizer.
I am playing:
Interpretation
Aspects of Characterization Detail from Text What does this reveal about
the character?
Appearance

Actions
Words
SAMPLE
4.19
Interpretation
Aspects of Characterization Detail from Text What does this reveal about
the character?
Thoughts/Feelings/Motivations
Others’ Reactions
Comedic Actions/Words
2. Take turns reading your character’s lines. Practice making the analysis of your character come
to life through your tone, inflection, facial expression, and gestures.
3. Directors: Select key action sequences and consider possible stage directions to determine
how these scenes might be performed onstage.
Stage Directions and What This Reveals About the

Key Action Sequences
Movement Onstage Overall Scene (Comedic Effect)
Thoughts/Feelings/Motivations
Others’ Reactions
Comedic Actions/Words
SAMPLE
4.19
Acting Groups
4. Return to your acting group and share your analysis in the order that your character speaks
during your scene. Discuss the implications of each character’s words and actions.
5. Develop a detailed performance plan by consulting the Scoring Guide.
After reviewing the Scoring Guide criteria, I need to ...

6. Work with your acting company to complete this chart, and outline your performance plan.
Performance Plan
Contribution to
Character Played By Prop(s) Costume
Set Design
SAMPLE
4.19
7. Individually, synthesize all the details of your performance plan.
Element of Performance Ideas for Character Explanation
Blocking
Movements
Enter/Exit
Gestures
Facial Expression(s)
Emotion
Comedic Emphasis
8. Complete this section if you are the director. Share your plan with the members of your acting
company.
We want to create a ______ mood. To accomplish this goal, we will ...

I will introduce the acting company and scene by ...
The scene will end when ______ so the audience will be left with a feeling of ...
We will focus on the comic effects listed below (create the list) to ensure that ...
9. Use your performance plan to rehearse your scene to accurately portray your character and
achieve your intended comic effect. Be sure to focus on the following:
• tone and inflection
• correct pronunciation of words
• gestures and movement

Reflect on the process of planning for and rehearsing your scene. Think about what went well and
what you will want to improve in future performances. In your Reader/Writer Notebook, write one
improvement you would like to make on your own part, and one suggestion for improvement you
can offer the group as a whole.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
4.20 Same Text, Different Text
Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Discussion Groups
• Compare and contrast scenes in different media.
Note-taking
• Evaluate the effects of directors’ choices in film.
Brainstorming
Rehearsal Preview
In this activity, you will learn why a director might change a script and how a
director’s choices create a comedic effect.
Viewing Shakespeare on Film

1. Unlike comparing novels to film versions, turning a play script into a movie
allows the viewer to make a close comparison. Think about the extent to
which the film scripts adhere to or stray from the original Shakespeare
scene and how the actors make the lines come alive through their voices,
expressions, and movements.
2. As you view the film or a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, take notes
on what you observe about your assigned scene. Use the graphic organizer for
either “Actors” or “Directors.”
Actors:
Version of Physical Gestures Costume Interpretive Choices

A Midsummer and Movements and in the
Night’s Dream Makeup Delivery of Lines
(Director/Year)
Film 1:
Film 2:
SAMPLE
4.20
Actors’ Questions
3. To what extent do these films stay faithful to or depart from the original script? Why might
these particular choices have been made, and what effect do these choices have on the
viewers’ understanding of the scene?
4. How do your character’s gestures, movements, and language achieve a comical effect? What
elements of humor did you see?
Directors:
Version of Placement of Actors Music or Other Set Design,

A Midsummer in Relationship Sound Effects Lighting,
Night’s Dream to Props, Scenery, Props
(Director/Year) Each Other
Film 1:
Film 2:
SAMPLE
4.20
Directors’ Questions
INDEPENDENT
5. How has the director stayed faithful to or departed from the scene as written
READING LINK
by Shakespeare? What effects do certain staging and technical choices have
Read and Research on the viewers’ understanding of the scene?
See if there is a modern-day
retelling of the play you are
reading independently. Watch
it and fill out a similar graphic
organizer for it.
6. How do the staging, set design, lighting, sound, and props achieve a comical
My Notes effect? What elements of humor did you see?

Why would a film director choose to portray a scene differently than the way the
author wrote it? What effects might the director be trying to achieve?

Directors’ Questions
7. Collaborative Discussion: Now that you have seen the play in its entirety,
analyze how Shakespeare uses the structure of the play, acts and scenes, to
develop dramatic action.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY
Dress Rehearsal 4.21

Learning Strategies
Learning Targets
Rehearsal
• Demonstrate understanding of the characteristics of drama by rehearsing
a dramatic scene.
• Reflect on performance strengths and challenges and use this
information to refine a performance. My Notes
Preview
In this activity, you will participate in a dress rehearsal and reflect on your
performance.
Dress Rehearsal
1. Participate in a dress rehearsal in which you perform your scene in front of
another group. This rehearsal will help you determine what works well in your
performance and what does not.
2. When you are in the role of a small group audience, use the Scoring Guide
criteria to provide constructive feedback to enable the acting company to
adjust its performance.
3. Consider using these questions to start your feedback conversation:

• What elements of humor do you think you were most successful at using?
Least successful?
• Can you explain why you made the choice to ...
• When did you feel the audience was most with you?
• When did you feel the audience was least connected to your performance?
• Did you ever have to adapt or adjust differently than you had planned?
Explain. How did it work out?
Dress Rehearsal Reflection

4. What went well? What will you want to replicate in your performance?
5. What is the most significant thing you are going to do differently? How will
you prepare?

Write a paragraph in which you analyze how the playwright of the play you have
SAMPLE
been reading independently develops dramatic action through the use of acts and
scenes.

EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
1
2 Performing Shakespearean Comedy
ASSIGNMENT
Present your assigned scene in front of your peers to demonstrate your understanding of
Shakespeare’s text, elements of comedy, and performance.
Planning: As an acting ■■ How will you collaborate as a group on a performance plan that
company, prepare to demonstrates an understanding of Shakespeare’s humor?
perform your scene. ■■ Does each member of the acting company understand the scene’s
meaning, as well as his or her role?
■■ What elements of humor will your company focus on in performance?
■■ How will you emphasize these elements through the delivery of lines,
characterization, gestures, movements, props, and/or setting?
■■ How will you mark your script to help you pronounce words correctly,
emphasize words appropriately, and remember your lines and deliver
them smoothly?
■■ How will you use blocking and movement to interact onstage and
emphasize elements of humor?
Rehearsing: Rehearse and ■■ How will you show how characters, conflicts, and events contribute to a
revise your performance universal idea?
with your acting company. ■■ How will you introduce and conclude the scene?
■■ How can the Scoring Guide help you evaluate how well your performance
meets the requirements of the assignment?
■■ How can you give and receive feedback about your use of eye contact,
volume, and inflection in order to improve your own and others’
performances?
Performing and Listening: ■■ How will you convey ideas and emotions through your performance?

Perform your scene and ■■ How will you take notes on the elements of humor emphasized in other
participate as an audience performances?
member.
Reflection
• How did different performers emphasize the elements of humor in their scenes?
• Which performances were successful in eliciting a humorous response from the audience,
and what made them effective?
SAMPLE
EMBEDDED
ASSESSMENT
1
2
SCORING GUIDE
Scoring
Criteria
Ideas The performance The performance The performance The performance

• demonstrates a • demonstrates • demonstrates a • demonstrates little
deep understanding an adequate partial or uneven or no understanding
of Shakespeare’s understanding of understanding of of Shakespeare’s
intended humor Shakespeare’s Shakespeare’s intended humor
• uses a variety of intended humor intended humor • lacks performance
effective performance • uses some • uses disconnected elements
elements (staging, performance or basic performance • does not show
set design, lighting, elements (staging, elements (staging, evidence of planning,
sound, props) for set design, lighting, set design, lighting, rehearsal, and
comic effect sound, props) for sound, props) reflection.
• shows evidence of comic effect • shows evidence
extensive planning, • shows evidence of of ineffective or
rehearsal, and sufficient planning, insufficient planning,
reflection. rehearsal, and rehearsal, and
reflection. reflection.
Structure The performance The performance The performance The performance

• demonstrates • demonstrates • demonstrates • demonstrates a
extensive evidence of adequate evidence of uneven or ineffective failure to collaborate
collaboration collaboration collaboration • provides no
• provides context in an • provides context • provides a partial or introduction
engaging introduction in an appropriate weak introduction • does not
• communicates a introduction • communicates an communicate
satisfying ending to • communicates abrupt or illogical an ending to the
the audience. an ending to the ending to the audience.
audience. audience.
Use of The performer The performer The performer The performer

Language • makes effective • makes appropriate • makes undeveloped • makes undeveloped
interpretive choices to interpretive choices to or inappropriate or inappropriate
deliver lines for comic deliver lines for comic interpretive choices interpretive choices to
effect and to convey effect and to convey to deliver lines deliver lines
meaning (including meaning (including (including tone, • does not recognize
tone, pronunciation, tone, pronunciation, pronunciation, punctuation cues or
inflection, facial inflection, facial inflection, facial use them incorrectly
expressions, expressions, expressions, • does not have any
gestures, movement, gestures, movement, gestures, movement, lines memorized.
and blocking) and blocking) and blocking)
• uses punctuation • uses some • uses punctuation
cues consistently and punctuation cues to cues unevenly or
naturally to inform inform vocal delivery inconsistently
vocal delivery • demonstrates an • demonstrates
• memorizes lines fully adequate ability to insufficient ability to
SAMPLE
and accurately. memorize lines. memorize lines.

SAMPLE
Resources
Independent Reading Learning Strategies
Learning Strategies
Suggestions for Independent Reading Reading Strategies

This list, divided into the categories of Literature and Nonfiction/Informational Text, comprises titles related to the LEARNING
themes and content of the unit. For your independent reading, you can select from this wide array of titles, which have STRATEGIES
been chosen based on complexity and interest. You can do your own research and select titles that intrigue you. STRATEGY DEFINITION PURPOSE
Activating Prior Providing an opportunity for students to think
To prepare students to encounter new
concepts, places, persons, cultures,
about what they already know about a concept,
Unit 1 Independent Reading List: The Challenge of Heroism Knowledge
place, person, culture, and so on, and shareand so on, prior to reading a text; an
Nonfiction/Informational Text their knowledge with a wider audience Anticipation Guide and a Quickwrite can
Literature be used to DEFINITION STRATEGY
activate and assess prior PURPOSE
Author Title Lexile knowledge
Author Title Lexile OPTIC
Strategy for evaluating visual images. To analyze graphic and visual images as
Bardhan-Quallen, Sudipta Up-Close: Jane Goodall 1140L forms of text
Alvarez, Julia Antes de ser libres N/A Chunking the Text Breaking the text into smaller, manageable units To reduce the intimidation
O (Overview): factor
Write when
notes on what the
Beales, Melba Pattilo Warriors Don’t Cry 1000L of sense (e.g., words, sentences, paragraphs, encounteringvisual long words,
appears sentences, or
to be about.
Alvarez, Julia Before We Were Free 890L whole text) by numbering, separating phrases, whole texts; to increase comprehension
Bradley, James P (Parts): Zoom in on the parts of the visual and
Anderson, Laurie Halse Fever 1793 580L Flags of Our Fathers 950L drawing boxes of difficult ordescribe
challengingany text
elements or details that seem
Avi Crispin: The Cross of Lead Chin-Lee, Cynthia 780L Akira to Zoltan: 26 Men Who Changed the World 1060L important.
Close Reading Accessing small chunks of text to read, reread, To develop comprehensive
Butler, Octavia The Parable of the Sower Chin-Lee, Cynthia 710L Amelia to Zora: 26 Women Who Changed the World 1040L mark, and annotate key passages, word-for- understandingT (Title): Highlightinthe
by engaging onewords
or of the title of the
word, sentence-by-sentence, and line-by-line visual (if one
more focused readings of a text is available).
Coelho, Paul The Alchemist Collier, Peter 910L Choosing Courage: Inspiring Stories of What It Means to Be a Hero 1150L
I (Interrelationships): Use the title as the theory
Crew, Linda Children of the River Cooper, Michael L 700L Fighting for Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II 1040L Diffusing Reading a passage, noting unfamiliar words, To facilitate and
a closethe reading
parts ofof text,
the theas clues to detect
visual
discovering meaning of unfamiliar words using use of resources, an understanding
and specify how the elements of the graphic
Crutcher, Chris Whale Talk Freedman, Russell 1000LKids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor 1140L context clues, dictionaries, and/or thesauruses, of synonyms, and increased
are related.
Dashner, James The Maze Runner Ganges, Montse 770L Viajeros intrépidos 970L and replacing unfamiliar words with familiar comprehension of text
ones C (Conclusion); Draw a conclusion about the
Dashner, James Maze Runner: Correr o morir Hillenbrand, Laura HL710L
Unbroken: An Olympian’s Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive 850L visual as a whole. What does the visual mean?
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders 750L World’s Greatest Olympians Double-Entry Journal Creating a two-column journal (also called Summarize and
To assist in note-taking the message
organizingof the visual in one or
Hurley, Michael 960L two sentences.
Dialectical Journal) with a student-selected key textual elements and responses
Johnston, E.K. The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim 1020LLives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the passage in one column and the student’s noted during reading in order to
Krull, Kathleen 1150L
Jones, Diana Wynne Howl’s Moving Castle 800L Neighbors Thought) response in the second column (e.g.,Predicting
asking Makingsupport
generate textual guesses about
that can the
be text by using the To help students become actively
questions of the text, forming personal incorporated title anda pictures
into and/or thinking
piece of writing at ahead about involved, interested, and mentally
L’Engle, Madeline A Wrinkle in Time Meltzer, Milton 740L Lincoln: In His Own Words 1140L
responses, interpreting the text, reflecting on a later timeevents that may occur based on evidence in the prepared to understand ideas
Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia series Myers, Walter Dean N/A The Greatest: Muhammad Ali 1030L the process of making meaning of the text) text
Lewis, Richard The Killing Sea Peet, Mal 760L The Keeper 780L Using a visual representation for thePreviewing To facilitateExamining
increasedacomprehension
text’s structure, features, layout, To gain familiarity with the text, make
Graphic Organizer
format, questions, directions, prior to reading connections to the text, and extend

Lupica, Mike Hero Wells, Susan 730L Amelia Earhart: The Thrill of It All N/A organization of information from the text and discussion
prior knowledge to set a purpose for
O’Connor, George Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess Yousafzai, Malala 720L I Am Malala 830L KWHL Chart Setting up discussion that allows students to To organize thinking, access prior reading
Paolini, Christopher Eragon 710L activate prior knowledge by answering, “What knowledge, and reflect on learning
do I know?”; QHT
?”; sets a purpose by answering, to increaseExpanding
comprehension prior knowledge
and of vocabulary To allow students to build on their prior
Park, Linda Sue When My Name Was Keoko 610L words by marking words with a Q, H, or T (Q knowledge of words, to provide a forum
“What do I want to know?”; helps preview a task engagement
Paulsen, Gary Soldier’s Heart 1000L by answering, “How will I learn it?”; and reflects signals words students do not know; H signals for peer teaching and learning of new
on new knowledge by answering, “What have I words students have heard and might be able words, and to serve as a prereading
Pierce, Tamora Alanna: The First Adventure 690L to identify; T signals words students know well exercise to aid in comprehension
learned?”

Riordan, Rick Heroes of Olympus series N/A enough to teach to their peers)
Robbins, Trina Freedom Songs: A Tale of the Underground Railroad 580L Marking the Text Selecting text by highlighting, underlining, and/ To focus reading for specific purposes,
Questioning
or annotating for specific components, such as the
such as author’s craft, and to organize about text; that
Developing levels of questions To engage more actively and
Robbins, Trina
Lily Renee, Escape Artist: From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book
510L main idea, imagery, literary devices,Text*
and so on informationis,from
literal, interpretive,
selections; and universal questions
to facilitate independently with texts, read with
Pioneer that of
reexamination prompt
a textdeeper thinking about a text greater purpose and focus, and
ultimately answer questions to gain
Selznick, Brian The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Graphic Novel) 820L greater insight into the text; helps
Metacognitive Responding to text with a system of cueing To track responses to texts and use
Sepetys, Ruta Between Shades of Gray 490L Markers marks where students use a ? for questions those responses as a point of departure students to comprehend and interpret
Storrie, Paul Hercules: The 12 Labors N/A about the text; a ! for reactions related to the for talking or writing about texts
text; an * for comments about the text;Paraphrasing
and an Restating in one’s own words the essential To encourage and facilitate
White, T.H. The Once and Future King 1080L underline to signal key ideas information expressed in a text, whether it be comprehension of challenging text
narration, dialogue, or informational text
RAFT Primarily used to generate new text, this To initiate reader response; to facilitate
strategy can also be used to analyze a text an analysis of a text to gain focus prior
by examining the role of the speaker (R), the to creating a new text
458 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8 intended
SpringBoard audience
Learning (A), the format
Strategies 467 of the text (F),
and the topic of the text (T).
Rereading Encountering the same text with more than one To identify additional details; to
reading clarify meaning and/or reinforce
comprehension of texts
Independent Reading 459 468 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
Graphic Organizers English-Spanish Glossary

NAME DATE
Active Listening Feedback Glossary/Glosario

Presenter’s name:
A argument: facts or reasoning offered to support a position as
being true
NAME DATE
Content advertising: the use of print, graphics, or videos to persuade argumento: hechos o razonamiento entregados para apoyar GLOSSARY/
people to buy a product or use a service una posición como verdadera GLOSARIO
What is the presenter’s purpose? Active Listening Notes publicidad: uso de impresos, gráfica o videos para persuadir artifact: an object made by a human being, typically an item
a las personas a comprar un producto o usar un servicio that has cultural or historical significance
What is the presenter’s main point?
Title: allegory: a story in which the characters, objects, or actions artefacto: objeto hecho por un ser humano, habitualmente
have a meaning beyond the surface of the story un objeto que tienecharacter: a person
significación or oanimal
cultural that takes part in the action of
histórica communication: the process of giving or exchanging
Do you agree with the presenter? Why or why not? a literary work information. Verbal communication involves the written
alegoría: cuento en el que los personajes, objetos o acciones atmosphere: the feeling created by a literary work or passage
Who? What? tienen un significado que va más allá de la superficie de personaje: persona o animal que participa en la acción de or spoken word. Nonverbal communication involves
atmósfera: sentimiento creado por una obra o pasaje
la historia una obra literaria movement, gestures, or facial expressions.
literario
comunicación: proceso de dar o intercambiar información.
alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the characterization: the methods a writer uses to develop
audience: the intended readers of specific types of texts or La comunicación verbal involucra palabras escritas
beginnings of words that are close together characters; for example, through description, actions,
the viewers of a program or performance o habladas. La comunicación no verbal involucra
Form aliteración: repetición de sonidos consonánticos al and dialogue
público: lectores objetivo de tipos específicos de textos o movimientos, gestos o expresiones faciales.
comienzo de palabras que están cercanas caracterización: métodos que usa un escritor para
Did the presenter use a clear, loud voice? yes no espectadores de un programa o actuación
desarrollar personajes; por ejemplo, a través de descripción, compare: to identify similarities in two or more items; see
allusion: a reference to a well-known person, place, event, acciones y diálogo also contrast
Did the presenter make eye contact? yes no
literary work, or work of art
alusión: referencia a una persona, lugar, obra literaria u obra
B citation: giving credit to the authors of source information
comparar: identificar semejanzas entre dos o más elementos;
ver también, contrastar
de arte muy conocidos balanced sentence: cita: dar crédito
a sentence thata presents
los autores de información
ideas of usada
como fuente
equal weight in similar grammatical form to emphasize the concluding sentence: a final sentence that pulls together
One thing I really liked about the presentation: analogy: a comparison of the similarity of two things; for the ideas in a paragraph by restating the main idea or by
similarity or difference
claim:between thestatement
a writer’s ideas of a position or opinion about a
example, comparing a part to a whole or the whole to a part summarizing or commenting on the ideas in the paragraph
analogía: comparación de la semejanza de dos cosas; por
oración balanceada: topicoración que presenta ideas de igual
peso en forma gramatical similar para enfatizar oración concluyente: oración final que reúne las ideas de
ejemplo, comparar una parte con un todo o el todo con afirmación: declaración de unlaescritor
semejanza
acerca de una
o diferencia entre las ideas u opinión sobre un tema un párrafo, reformulando la idea principal o resumiendo o
una parte posición
Where? When? comentando las ideas del párrafo
bibliography: a list of source
cliché: materialsexpression
an overused used to prepare
or ideaa
analyze (literary): study the details of a work to identify conclusion: the ending of a paragraph or essay, which brings
One question I still have: research paper or presentation
cliché: expresión o idea usada en exceso
essential features or meaning it to a close and leaves an impression with the reader
bibliografía: lista de las fuentes utilizadas para preparar una
analizar (literario): estudiar los detalles de una obra para the turning point or the high point of a story conclusión: fin de un párrafo o ensayo, que lo lleva a su
investigación o unaclimax:
presentación
identificar características o significados esenciales clímax: punto de inflexión o momento culminante de un término y deja una impresión en el lector
body paragraph: acuento
paragraph that contains a topic sentence,
anecdote: a brief, entertaining account of an incident conflict: a struggle between opposing forces. In an external
supporting details and commentary, and a concluding
or event
usually partthe
sentence and that iscoherence: ofclear and text
a longer orderly presentation of ideas in a conflict, a character struggles with an outside force, such
anécdota: breve relato entretenido de un incidente o suceso paragraph or essay as another character or something in nature. In an internal
párrafo representativo: párrafo que contiene una oración
annotate: write notes to explain or present ideas that help coherencia:
principal, detalles de presentacióny una
apoyo y comentarios, claraoración
y ordenada de las ideas en un conflict, the character struggles with his or her own needs,
you analyze and understand a text párrafo o ensayo
concluyente que normalmente forma parte de un texto desires, or emotions.
anotar: tomar notas para explicar o presentar las ideas que te más extenso conflicto: lucha entre fuerzas opuestas. En un conflicto
Other comments or notes: collaborate: work together with other members of a group
externo, un personaje lucha contra una fuerza externa,
ayuden a analizar y a entender un texto colaborar: trabajar en conjunto con otros miembros de un
como por ejemplo otro personaje o algo de la naturaleza. En

antonyms: words with opposite meanings C grupo
un conflicto interno, el personaje lucha contra sus propias
antónimos: palabras con significados opuestos comedy: an entertainment that is amusing or humorous necesidades, deseos o emociones.
Why? How? caricature: a visual or verbal representation in which
archetype: a character, symbol, story pattern, or other comedia: espectáculo que es divertido o cómico
characteristics or traits are distorted for emphasis connotation: the suggested or implied meaning or emotion
element that is common to human experience across cultures visualexplanation
commentary:
caricatura: representación of que
o verbal en la the way
las the facts, details, and/or associated with a word—beyond its literal definition
and that occurs frequently in literature, myth, and folklore examples
características o rasgos in a paragraphpara
son distorsionados or essay support the topic sentence
dar énfasis connotación: significado o emoción sugerida o implícita que
arquetipo: personaje, símbolo, patrón de un cuento u otro comentario: explicación de la manera en que los hechos, se asocia con una palabra—más allá de su definición literal
elemento que es común a la experiencia humana a través de cause: an initial action; an event that makes something
detalles y ejemplos de un párrafo o ensayo apoyan la oración
diversas culturas y que aparece con frecuencia en literatura, else happen consumer: a buyer; a person who acquires goods
principal
mitos y folclor causa: acción inicial; suceso que hace que otra cosa ocurra and services
commercialism: an emphasis on gaining profits through consumidor: comprador, persona que adquiere bienes
advertising or sponsorship y servicios
mercantilismo: énfasis en obtener utilidades por medio de la
consumerism: the buying and consuming of goods and
publicidad o el auspicio
products; the belief that it is good to buy and consume goods
Graphic Organizers 475 518 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
and services
consumismo: compra y consumo de bienes y productos;
creencia de que es bueno comprar y consumir bienes
y servicios
476 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8 English-Spanish Glossary 519
Index of Skills Index of Authors and Titles
Index of Skills Index of Authors and Titles
Literary Skills Comedic skit, 405 Epic poem, 27 Abbott and Costello, 405 “Five Challenges for Self-Driving Midsummer Night’s Dream, A, 339,
Comedy, 72 Essay Address by Caesar Chavez, 330–332 Cars,” 202–207 426, 428, 431–432, 435
Acts, 257, 452 elements of, 405, 433INDEX OF analyzation of, 409 Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The, Fleischman, Paul, 417 Midsummer Night’s Dream, A (film),
Allegory, 91–93, 241–244 high, 354, 355, 356, 357,SKILLS
370, 373– argumentative, 179 388–391 Frank, Anne, 275 450
Alliteration, 398, 400 379, 400, 404, 406, 407 humorous, 360–362, 366, 370, 409 Aristotle, 110, 189 “Frederick Douglass,” 94–95 “Mooses,” 399
Allusion, 307 low, 354, 355, 356, 357, 370, 400, 404, informational text, 343–348, 410–411 “Banned Books Week: Celebrating “Freerice.com,” 323 More, Sir Thomas, 133
Analogy, 176, 177, 198, 322 406, 407 Essential questions, 4, 71, 122, 171, 222, the Freedom to Read,” 154–155 Free Rice Online Quiz Game, 323 Mulan, 103
Anecdote, 333, 363–364 satirical humor, 373–379 300, 342, 415 Barry, Dave, 366 Friedmann, Pavel, 289 Munro, Hector Hugh (Saki), 381
Archetype, 4, 7, 10, 17, 27, 41, 161, 168 Images/imagery, 13, 15, 27, 50, 142–143, Online article, 184–185, 195–197 Science fiction, 122, 148
Shakespearean, 429, 454
254, 356, 362, 370
Euphemism, 182, 245–246
Organization, 108, 161–162 Sermon, 89–90 Bible, The, 84 Gandhi, Mahatma, 224 Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Argument, 172, 326, 330, 333 universal truth in, 366, 371, 372, 405 Evidence, 149, 174, 182, 198 Big Hero 6 (film), 8–9 Gerard, Philip, 84 Douglass, an American Slave, The,
Argumentative essay, 173 Informational Text, 194, 312, 317–318, Panel, 50 Setting, 10, 23, 24, 25, 26, 148, 149,
Comic situations, 354, 355, 387, 406, 407, Extreme close-up, 50
324 Persona, 360 155–156, 229, 247, 254, 255, 264, 273, Bradbury, Ray, 17, 148, 151, 154, Giver, The, 148, 151, 154, 160, 163, 95–97
Article, 84, 89, 154–155, 177, 184–185, 435 Extreme long shot, 50 160, 163, 165 165 Newman, John Henry, 106
195–197, 202–207, 373–375 Interpreting/interpretation, 149–144, Perspective, 151–152, 160, 164, 267, 274, 280
Comic strips, 356, 357
161–162, 163,
Fantasy, 148
223, 224, 370, 380, 386, 271–272, 424 affecting characters, 235–236, 422 Bradley, Marion Zimmer, 224 Goodrich, Frances, 258 Niemöller, Martin, 237
Attitude (Tone), 77 Comic wordplay, 402–405, 406, 407, 435 Fiction, 133, 148, 254, 268–270 Brave New World, 148 “Grant and Lee: A Study in Night, 233–234
Audience, 80, 174, 207, 308, 334, 356, 402, 429–430, 446 Play, 257–264 social circumstances of, 155–156
Commentary, 273, 369
Interview, 294–298
Figurative language, 22, 186
Plot, 148, 229, 254, 255–256, 257, 263, Shakespearean comedy, 429 Brothers, 360–361 Contrasts,” 124–127 “9 Public Speaking Tips to Get Over
357, 370, 424 Conflict, 10, 24, 129, 141, 144, 149, 151, Figurative meaning, 76 Buergenthal, Thomas, 294 Gratz, Alan, 267 Stage Fright,” 441–443
Author’s purpose, 72, 80, 130, 174, 207, Irony, 377, 387, 394 273, 274, 280, 422 creating context for, 426–428
163, 164, 165, 254, 263, 422, 454 Flashback, 160–161, 237
situational, 387, 393, 406, 407 climax, 9, 10 insulting language in, 429 Bunting, Eve, 241 Gurley, Dr. Phineas D., 89 1980, 299
228, 302, 308, 350, 354, 355, 373 external, 228 Folklore, 103 Butterfly, The, 289 Guwe, Gary, 437 Nobel Acceptance Speech Delivered
Autobiography, 95–97, 99, 232–234, Jargon, 393 development of, 10 performing, 454
internal, 24, 228 Foreshadowing, 160–161, 232, 236, 237
Juxtaposition, 345, 350, 369 drama, 427 Short story, 17, 134–139, 381–383 Campbell, Joseph, 7, 17 Hackett, Albert, 258 by Elie Wiesel, The, 305–306
239–240 Connotation, 61, 72, 73, 77, 245 Format, 356, 357, 424 Carlyle, Thomas, 5 Hall, Don, 8–9 Nobel Lecture by Wangari Maathai,
Bandwagon appeals, 189, 193 Key ideas, 123, 155, 229, 237 exposition, 8, 10, 24, 26 Sound effect, 50
Context, 15, 253, 409, 411, 426
Literary analysis,
Full-length story, 11
74, 123, 133, 148, 149, falling action, 9, 10 Sources, primary/secondary, 194, 247, Cassian, Nina, 74 Hamers, Laurel, 202 319–321
Call to action, 302, 307, 333 Contrast, 93, 129, 165 Graphic novel, 50, 61 Catton, Bruce, 122 “Harrison Bergeron,” 119, 134–139, Nobleman, Marc Tyler, 343
Caption, 50 151–152, 154, 160, 163, 165, 267, 354, humorous, 354, 355, 370 251
Definition essay, 106–117
413
Gutter, 50
linear development, 160–162 Speaker, 6 Cavafy, C. P., 1, 13 155–156, 165 Number the Stars, 283–284
Caricature, 354, 380–386, 386, 406, 407, Definition strategies, 82–88, 98 Hero’s Journey, 4, 10, 11, 17, 27, 41, 160, Chavez, Cesar, 330 Hayden, Robert, 94 “O Captain! My Captain!,” 91–92
435 Literary devices, 237, 387, 417 main events, 40, 239–240, 454 Speech, 305–306, 308–309, 330–332
by example, 83–84, 87, 98 161–156, 163, 165
Literary Terms, 4, 7, 10, 14, 15, 23, 27, nonlinear development, 160–162, 232 Stanza, 238 Chorlton, Brooke, 173 Hemingway, Ernest, 67 Odyssey, The, 27, 28–34
Characterization, 40, 76, 149, 228, 267, by function, 83–84, 87 film, 7 Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 388 Hero With a Thousand Faces, The, 7 On a Sunny Evening, 290
380, 446–449, 454 50, 72, 91, 120, 149, 160, 220, 257, pacing, 10 Structure, 7, 15, 16, 24, 34, 37, 47, 48,
by negation, 83–84, 87, 106–107 illustrated, 38, 41 Creative Nonfiction, 84 Homer, 27, 28 Onion, The, 373
actions, 34, 35, 36, 160, 163, 228, 354, Denotation, 72, 245, 351 278, 340, 346, 360, 373, 387, 393, 398, patterns of, 7
nonfiction, 124–127, 225, 228, 247,
74, 81, 93, 94, 106, 123, 129, 130, 144,
Davies, Alex, 195 Hughes, Ted, 398 Opdyke, Irene Gut, 285
380, 386, 387, 446, 447 402, 415, 416, 417 resolution, 9, 10 155, 174, 207, 235–236, 239–240,
Details, 22, 23, 34, 47, 48, 61, 76, 80, 86,
Long shot, 50
251
rising action, 8, 10 271, 273, 278, 307, 308, 333, 350, 356, de Botton, Alain, 224 Humes, Edward, 179 “Open Window, The,” 381–383
appearance, 36, 380, 387, 446 93, 97, 99, 129, 137, 140, 174, 235– Humor, 342, 354, 358 “Definition of a Gentleman, A,” 107 Huxley, Aldous, 148 Orwell, George, 148
feelings, 35, 36, 163, 277, 447 Memoir, 232–234, 239–240, 285–288 sequence of events, 10, 37, 229, 354, 361–362, 369, 376, 384, 385, 394, 400,
236, 238, 262, 263, 271, 273, 278, 307, analyze, 356, 366, 387, 394, 405, 406,
Metaphor, 15, 91, 128, 182, 183 361–362 404, 409, 411, 440 The Devil’s Arithmetic, 291–293 Idea of a University, The, 107 Paris Review, The, 67
others’ reactions, 35, 36, 447
308, 322, 325, 333, 350, 361–362, 369,

Monologue, 358–359,
413
416, 423 Plot diagram, 10, 37 Style, 80, 239–240, 362, 394 Diary of Anne Frank, The (play), In My Hands: Memories of a Patton, George S., 5
thoughts, 35, 36, 48, 163, 386, 447 376, 380, 384, 385, 393, 394, 400, 405, anecdotes, 358–365 258–261 Holocaust Rescuer, 285–288 Pausch, Randy, 310
words, 34, 35, 36, 48, 163, 262, 263, Mood, 13, 15, 16, 38, 39, 47, 48, 50, 61, Poetry, 74, 91, 94, 237, 239, 289, 290, formal, 102
411, 433, 440 comic characters and caricatures,
76, 93, 229, 238, 254, 255, 256, 278 299, 399, 403 informal, 81 Diary of a Young Girl, The, 276 “Is Traffic Jam Delectable?,” 403 “Power of Pets, The,” 410–411
271, 385, 386, 387, 397, 446, 447 Dialect, 393, 394 380–386, 406, 407, 435 Do Something! A Handbook for “Ithaka,” 1, 13–14 Prelutsky, Jack, 402
Character(s), 10, 11, 24, 25, 26, 151, 152, Dialogue balloon, 50 Multimodal texts, 41 epic, 27 Symbol/symbolism, 4, 7, 155, 229, 271
Myth, 7
comic situations, 387–395, 406, 407,
found poem, 275, 278–279 Syntax, 370 Young Activists, 312 “It’s Time to Tap the Brakes on Self- Prisoner B-3087, 268–270
228, 254, 255, 256, 262, 273, 274, 280, Diary, 275–276 435 Douglass, Frederick, 95 Driving Cars,” 184–185 “Private Eyes,” 173
424, 454 Narration, 385 hyperbole, 398 Theme (universal truth), 13, 16, 74, 77,
Diction (word choice), 72, 80, 140, 228,
Narrative, 41, 273, 280
comic wordplay, 402–405, 406, 407,
imagery, 13 141, 149, 150, 152, 155, 165, 232–240, “Drummer Boy of Shiloh, The,” “I’ve Got a Few Pet Peeves About “Promise of a Post-Driver Life, The,”
analysis, 40, 93, 251 235–236, 362, 370, 404 435 17–21, 26 Sea Creatures,” 366–368 179–181
antagonist, 148, 164 autobiographical, 95–97, 99, 232–234, line length, 27, 80 241, 244, 247, 254, 256, 264, 267, 273,
connotation, 61, 73, 245–246, 263,
239–240
complexity of, 343
narrative, 27 274, 280, 342, 362, 366, 370, 395, 405, Einstein, Albert, 310 Jefferson, Thomas, 224 “Public Service Announcements,”
comic/humorous, 354, 355, 370, 351–352, 377 elements of, 357, 365, 380, 386, 387, Eliot, George, 224 King, Martin Luther, Jr., 5 326
380–386, 387, 434, 435 epic, 27 structure of, 15, 16, 74, 239–240 407, 409, 411, 413, 454
denotation, 351–352
Narrative Poetry, 27
395, 398, 401, 402, 406, 407
Point of view, 23, 24, 235–236, 273, 277 Theme statement, 16, 76, 77, 280 Fahrenheit 451, 148, 151, 154, 160, Larsen, Hope, 50 Reagon, Bernice Johnson, 5
protagonist (main character), 122, humorous, 351, 354, 387, 404 essay, 360–361, 366, 370, 410–411 163, 165 L’Engle, Madeleine, 41 “Representative Urges Action on the
Narrative techniques,
148, 149, 150, 160, 161–156, 163, 164, Digital text, 149, 152, 162, 164, 165, 245, 2, 17, 40, 151, 253 first, 416 Thought bubbles, 50
hyperbole, 398–401, 405, 406, 407, “Family” from The Death of Adam: Life After the Holocaust, 294–298 Media,” 177
SAMPLE
165, 168 description, 24, 25, 26, 40, 61, 97, 253, first person, 110, 253 Tone, 228, 257–264, 308, 362, 371, 372,
402
271
435
multiple, 416–425 385, 387, 400 Essays on Modern Thought, 83 Life is Beautiful (film), 254 Robinson, Marilynn, 83
relationships among, 428 Drama, 257, 279, 426 planned vs. unplanned, 350 Fault in Our Stars, The, 26 Lowry, Lois, 148, 151, 154, 160, 163, Saki (H.H. Munro), 381
types, 7, 148 dialogue, 23, 26, 34, 35, 40, 48, 61, second person, 416 attitude, 77
Dystopia, 122, 133, 141, 144 satirical, 373–379
139, 164, 253, 257, 262, 263, 271, 273, third, 416 list of tone words, 73 Fear Busters: 10 Tips to Overcome 165, 283 Scieszka, Jon, 360
Children’s book, 230, 241 Effect, 24, 34, 47, 50, 61, 80, 140, 163, universal truth in, 366, 371, 372, 405 Stage Fright!, 437–439 Lublin, Nancy, 311 Seedfolks, 417–422
Circular reasoning, 189 385 third-person, 24 nuance of, 72
228, 235–236, 252, 302, 356, 358, 369,
epic poetry, 27
words to describe, 72, 356
Political cartoons, 356, 357 shifts in, 23, 76, 77, 262 Fiege, Gale, 78 Maathai, Wangari, 319 Shakespeare, William, 426, 428, 431,
Claim, 333 380, 384, 385, 394, 405, 409 Humorous skit, 405 “First They Came for the “Made You Laugh,” 343–348 450
Close-up, 50 humor, 350 Primary sources, 194, 247, 251 Topic, 356, 357, 424
Epic, 27 Hyperbole, 398–401, 405, 406, 407, 435
pacing, 10, 24, 26, 34, 40, 61, 253 Prose, 275 Use of language, 37, 47, 61, 77, 80, 94, Communists,” 237 “Man, A,” 75 Sharma, Isha, 410
reflection, 34, 48, 253, 430 Puns, 402, 404, 405, 406, 407 128, 140, 235–236, 355, 371, 372, 429
Nonfiction, 84, 124–127 Index
Quotations, 529223, 224, 376, 397
of Skills 5–6, Utopia, 122, 133, 141, 144, 148 536 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
Novel, 41, 148, 150, 151, 160, 163, 165, Repetition, 369, 400 Visual prompt, 1, 119, 219, 339
268–270, 283–284, 291–293, 388–391, Ridicule, 377 Wordplay, 402–405, 406, 407, 435
417–422 Role, 356, 357, 424
Nuance of Tone, 72 Sarcasm, 377
One-liners, 406, 407 Satire, 373–379

Suggestions for Independent Reading
This list, divided into the categories of Literature and Nonfiction/Informational Text, comprises titles related to the
themes and content of the unit. For your independent reading, you can select from this wide array of titles, which have
been chosen based on complexity and interest. You can do your own research and select titles that intrigue you.
Unit 1 Independent Reading List: The Challenge of Heroism

Literature
Author Title Lexile
Alvarez, Julia Antes de ser libres N/A
Alvarez, Julia Before We Were Free 890L
Anderson, Laurie Halse Fever 1793 580L
Avi Crispin: The Cross of Lead 780L
Butler, Octavia The Parable of the Sower 710L
Coelho, Paul The Alchemist 910L
Crew, Linda Children of the River 700L
Crutcher, Chris Whale Talk 1000L
Dashner, James The Maze Runner 770L
Dashner, James Maze Runner: Correr o morir HL710L
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders 750L
Johnston, E.K. The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim 1020L
Jones, Diana Wynne Howl’s Moving Castle 800L
L’Engle, Madeline A Wrinkle in Time 740L
Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia series N/A
Lewis, Richard The Killing Sea 760L

Lupica, Mike Hero 730L
O’Connor, George Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess 720L
Paolini, Christopher Eragon 710L
Park, Linda Sue When My Name Was Keoko 610L
Paulsen, Gary Soldier’s Heart 1000L
Pierce, Tamora Alanna: The First Adventure 690L
Riordan, Rick Heroes of Olympus series N/A
Robbins, Trina Freedom Songs: A Tale of the Underground Railroad 580L
Lily Renee, Escape Artist: From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book
Robbins, Trina 510L
Pioneer
Selznick, Brian The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Graphic Novel) 820L
Sepetys, Ruta Between Shades of Gray 490L
Storrie, Paul Hercules: The 12 Labors N/A
White, T.H. The Once and Future King 1080L
SAMPLE
Nonfiction/Informational Text
Author Title Lexile
Bardhan-Quallen, Sudipta Up-Close: Jane Goodall 1140L
Beales, Melba Pattilo Warriors Don’t Cry 1000L
Bradley, James Flags of Our Fathers 950L
Chin-Lee, Cynthia Akira to Zoltan: 26 Men Who Changed the World 1060L
Chin-Lee, Cynthia Amelia to Zora: 26 Women Who Changed the World 1040L
Collier, Peter Choosing Courage: Inspiring Stories of What It Means to Be a Hero 1150L
Cooper, Michael L Fighting for Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II 1040L
Freedman, Russell Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor 1140L
Ganges, Montse Viajeros intrépidos 970L
Hillenbrand, Laura Unbroken: An Olympian’s Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive 850L
Hurley, Michael World’s Greatest Olympians 960L
Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the
Krull, Kathleen 1150L
Neighbors Thought)
Meltzer, Milton Lincoln: In His Own Words 1140L
Myers, Walter Dean The Greatest: Muhammad Ali 1030L
Peet, Mal The Keeper 780L
Wells, Susan Amelia Earhart: The Thrill of It All N/A
Yousafzai, Malala I Am Malala 830L
SAMPLE
Independent Reading 459
Unit 2 Independent Reading List: The Challenge of Utopia
Literature
Author Title Lexile
Ada, Alma Love, Amalia 940L
Asimov, Isaac I, Robot 820L
Bradbury, Ray The Martian Chronicles: Something Wicked This Way Comes 820L
Budhos, Marina Ask Me No Questions 790L
Burg, Ann All the Broken Pieces 680L
Borges, Jorge Luis El aleph 940L
Carlson, Lori Marie Red Hot Salsa N/A
Cisneros, Sandra The House on Mango Street 870L
Collins, Suzanne The Hunger Games 810L
Dayton, Arwen Elys Seeker 800L
Farmer, Nancy The House of the Scorpion 660L
Frank, Pat Alas, Babylon 870L
Heinlein, Robert Stranger in a Strange Land 940L
Huxley, Aldous Brave New World 870L
LeGuin, Ursula The Left Hand of Darkness 970L
Lu, Marie Legend 710L
Meyer, Marissa Cinder 790L
More, Thomas Utopia 1370L
Orwell, George 1984 1090L
Orwell, George Animal Farm 1170L
Reinhardt, Dana A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life 910L

Roth, Veronica Divergent 700L
Salisbury, Graham House of the Red Fish 610L
Verne, Jules Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea 1030L
Wells, H.G. The Time Machine 1070L
Wells, H.G. The War of the Worlds 1040L
Westerfield, Scott Uglies 770L
Yancey, Rick The Fifth Wave N/A
Yang, Dori Jones Daughter of Xanadu 780L
SAMPLE
Author Title Lexile
Denied, Detained, Deported: Stories from the Dark Side of American
Bausum, Ann 1170L
Immigration
Carson, Rachel Silent Spring 1340L
Carson, Rachel The Sea Around Us 1340L
Corey, Shana Es horado actuar: El gran discurso de John F. Kennedy 870L
D’Aluisio, Faith and Peter Menzel What the World Eats 1150L
Engle, Margarita The Lightening Dreamer: Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionists N/A
Fallon, Michael Self-Driving Cars 1200L
Gore, Al Global Warming Is an Immediate Crisis N/A
Hatkoff, Juliana and Isabella
Winter’s Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again 930L
Hatkoff
Hesse, Karen Aleutian Sparrow N/A
Hoose, Philip The Race to Save the Lord God Bird 1150L
Kalan, Robert We Are Not Beasts of Burden 1150L
Lasky, Kathryn John Muir: America’s First Environmentalist 1050L
Markle, Sandra How Many Baby Pandas? N/A
Pollan, Michael In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto 1390L
Schlosser, Eric Fast Food Nation 1240L
Scholsser, Eric and Wilson,
Chew on This: Everything You Don’t Want to Know About Fast Food 1110L
Charles,
Sivertsen, Linda and Josh Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an
N/A
Sivertsen Eco-Friendly Life
Somervill, Barbara Animal Survivors of the Wetlands 1060L
Stearman, Kaye Taking Action Against Homelessness N/A
Waters, Alice Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea N/A

Welsbacher, Anne Earth-Friendly Design N/A
SAMPLE
Unit 3 Independent Reading List: The Challenge to Make a Difference
Literature
Author Title Lexile
Adlington, L. J. The Diary of Pelly D. 770L
Arato, Rona The Last Train: A Holocaust Story 580L
Bergman, Tamar Along the Tracks 650L
Boom, Corrie Ten The Hiding Place 900L
Boyne, John El nino con el pijama de rayas 880L
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker La guerra que salvó mi vida 580L
Chotjewitz, David Daniel Half Human: And the Good Nazi 740L
Drucker, Malka and Michael
Halperin Jacob’s Rescue 680L
Gratz, Alan and Gruener, Ruth Prisoner B-3087 760L
Hesse, Karen The Cats in Krasinski Square 990L
Hoestlandt, Jo Star of Fear, Star of Hope 490L
Isaacs, Anne Torn Thread 880L
Lowry, Lois Number the Stars 670L
Matas, Carol Daniel’s Story 720L
Matas, Carol The Garden 810L
Mazer, Norma Fox Good Night, Maman 510L
Meminger, Neesha Shine, Coconut Moon 740L
Morpurgo, Michael Waiting for Anya 770L
Na, An The Fold 700L
Napoli, Donna Jo Stones in Water 630L

Nye, Naomi Shihab 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East 970L
Orgel, Doris The Devil in Vienna 700L
Orlev, Uri Run, Boy, Run 570L
Orlev, Uri The Island on Bird Street 690L
Peacock, Carol Antoinette Red Thread Sisters 700L
Polacco, Patricia The Butterfly 430L
Radin, Ruth Yaffe Escape to the Forest: Based on a True Story of the Holocaust 660L
Spinelli, Jerry Milkweed 510L
Venkatraman, Padma Climbing the Stairs 750L
Yep, Laurence Golden Mountain Chronicles: Child of the Owl 920L
Yolen, Jane The Devil’s Arithmetic 730L
Zullo, Allan We Fought Back: Teen Resisters of the Holocaust 1070L
Zusak, Markus The Book Thief 730L
SAMPLE
Author Title Lexile
Bachrach, Susan D. Tell Them We Remember: The Story of the Holocaust 1190L
Bitton-Jackson, Livia I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust 720L
Boas, Jacob We Are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust 970L
Deedy, Carmen Agra The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark 550L
Frank, Anne The Diary of a Young Girl 1080L
Freedman, Russell Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor 1140L
Gregory, Josh Cesar Chavez 930L
Herman, Gail Who Was Jackie Robinson? 670L
Hoose, Philip The Race to Save the Lord God Bird 1150L
Lobel, Anita No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War 750L
Meltzer, Milton Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust 1020L
Millman, Isaac Hidden Child 860L
Nir, Yehuda The Lost Childhood: A World War II Memoir 920L
Opdyke, Irene Gut In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer 890L
Perl, Lila and Lazan, Marion Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story 1080L
Blumenthal
Sender, Ruth Minsky The Cage 500L
Siegal, Aranka Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939–1944 830L
Swanson, Jennifer Environmental Activist Wangari Maathai 880L
Thompson, Laurie Ann Be a Changemaker: How to Start Something That Matters 1130L
van de Rol, Rudd and Verhoeven, Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary: A Photographic Remembrance 1030L
Rian
Warren, Andrea Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London 1160L
Wiesel, Elie Night 570L
SAMPLE
Unit 4 Independent Reading List: The Challenge of Comedy
Literature
Author Title Lexile
Adams, Douglas The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 1000L
Alexie, Sherman The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 600L
Allison, Jennifer Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator: A Mystery 1000L
Cofer, Judith Ortiz Una isla como tú 830L
Dahl, Roald The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: And Six More 850L
Eliott, Rob Laugh Out Loud Jokes for Kids N/A
Healey, Christopher Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom Series 750L
Kindl, Patrice Keeping the Castle 1050L
Kinney, Jeff Diary of a Wimpy Kid 900L
Kinney, Jeff El Diario de Greg, un renacuajo 880L
Kipling, Rudyard Just So Stories 1190L
Korman, Gordon Don’t Care High 920L
Leavitt, Lindsey Princess for Hire 670L
McAlpine, Gordon The Tell-Tale Start: The Misadventures of Edgar & Allan Poe (series) 850L
McCloskey, Robert Homer Price 1000L
Paulsen, Gary Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day 960L
Pilkey, Dav Captain Underpants Collection 800L
Scieszka, Jon Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor 730L
Snicket, Lemony The Bad Beginning 1010L
Snicket, Lemony The Grim Grotto 1120L
Sparknotes No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels N/A

Swift, Jonathan A Modest Proposal 1520L
Twain, Mark The Celebrated Jumping Frog and Other Stories 1000L
Vonnegut, Kurt Cat’s Cradle 790L
Author Title Lexile
Cameron, W. Bruce A Dog’s Purpose 970L
Crutcher, Chris King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography 1180L
Dahl, Roald Boy 1090L
Fey, Tina Bossypants 950L
Jackson, Donna What’s So Funny? Making Sense of Humor 1060L
Kimmel, Haven A Girl Named Zippy 1010L
Marcus, Leonard S Funny Business 920L
Martin, Steve Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life N/A
SAMPLE
Mayfield, Katherine Acting A to Z: The Young Person’s Guide to a Stage or Screen Career 1030L
Wilson, Daniel H. How to Survive a Robot Uprising 1140L

NAME DATE
Independent Reading Log

Directions: This log is a place to record your progress and thinking about your independent reading
during each unit. Add your log pages to your Reader/Writer Notebook or keep them as a separate
place to record your reading insights.
Unit
Independent Reading Title
Author(s) Text Type
Pages read: from to

Author(s) Text Type
Pages read: from to

Author(s) Text Type
Pages read: from to

SAMPLE
Independent Reading Log 465
NAME DATE
Unit
Author(s) Text Type
Pages read: from to

Author(s) Text Type
Pages read: from to

Author(s) Text Type
Pages read: from to

Author(s) Text Type
Pages read: from to
SAMPLE
Learning Strategies
Reading Strategies
STRATEGY DEFINITION PURPOSE

Activating Prior Providing an opportunity for students to think To prepare students to encounter new
Knowledge about what they already know about a concept, concepts, places, persons, cultures,
place, person, culture, and so on, and share and so on, prior to reading a text; an
their knowledge with a wider audience Anticipation Guide and a Quickwrite can
be used to activate and assess prior
knowledge
Chunking the Text Breaking the text into smaller, manageable units To reduce the intimidation factor when
of sense (e.g., words, sentences, paragraphs, encountering long words, sentences, or
whole text) by numbering, separating phrases, whole texts; to increase comprehension
drawing boxes of difficult or challenging text
Close Reading Accessing small chunks of text to read, reread, To develop comprehensive
mark, and annotate key passages, word-for- understanding by engaging in one or
word, sentence-by-sentence, and line-by-line more focused readings of a text
Diffusing Reading a passage, noting unfamiliar words, To facilitate a close reading of text, the
discovering meaning of unfamiliar words using use of resources, an understanding
context clues, dictionaries, and/or thesauruses, of synonyms, and increased
and replacing unfamiliar words with familiar comprehension of text
ones
Double-Entry Journal Creating a two-column journal (also called To assist in note-taking and organizing
Dialectical Journal) with a student-selected key textual elements and responses
passage in one column and the student’s noted during reading in order to
response in the second column (e.g., asking generate textual support that can be
questions of the text, forming personal incorporated into a piece of writing at
responses, interpreting the text, reflecting on a later time
the process of making meaning of the text)
Graphic Organizer Using a visual representation for the To facilitate increased comprehension
organization of information from the text and discussion
KWHL Chart Setting up discussion that allows students to To organize thinking, access prior
activate prior knowledge by answering, “What knowledge, and reflect on learning
do I know?”; sets a purpose by answering, to increase comprehension and
“What do I want to know?”; helps preview a task engagement
by answering, “How will I learn it?”; and reflects
on new knowledge by answering, “What have I
learned?”
Marking the Text Selecting text by highlighting, underlining, and/ To focus reading for specific purposes,
or annotating for specific components, such as such as author’s craft, and to organize
main idea, imagery, literary devices, and so on information from selections; to facilitate
reexamination of a text
Metacognitive Responding to text with a system of cueing To track responses to texts and use
Markers marks where students use a ? for questions those responses as a point of departure
about the text; a ! for reactions related to the for talking or writing about texts
text; an * for comments about the text; and an
underline to signal key ideas
SAMPLE
SpringBoard Learning Strategies 467
LEARNING
STRATEGIES

OPTIC Strategy for evaluating visual images. To analyze graphic and visual images as
O (Overview): Write notes on what the forms of text
visual appears to be about.
P (Parts): Zoom in on the parts of the visual and
describe any elements or details that seem
important.
T ( Title): Highlight the words of the title of the
visual (if one is available).
I (Interrelationships): Use the title as the theory
and the parts of the visual as clues to detect
and specify how the elements of the graphic
are related.
C (Conclusion); Draw a conclusion about the
visual as a whole. What does the visual mean?
Summarize the message of the visual in one or
two sentences.
Predicting Making guesses about the text by using the To help students become actively
title and pictures and/or thinking ahead about involved, interested, and mentally
events that may occur based on evidence in the prepared to understand ideas
text
Previewing Examining a text’s structure, features, layout, To gain familiarity with the text, make
format, questions, directions, prior to reading connections to the text, and extend
prior knowledge to set a purpose for
reading
QHT Expanding prior knowledge of vocabulary To allow students to build on their prior
words by marking words with a Q, H, or T (Q knowledge of words, to provide a forum
signals words students do not know; H signals for peer teaching and learning of new
words students have heard and might be able words, and to serve as a prereading
to identify; T signals words students know well exercise to aid in comprehension

enough to teach to their peers)
Questioning the Developing levels of questions about text; that To engage more actively and
Text* is, literal, interpretive, and universal questions independently with texts, read with
that prompt deeper thinking about a text greater purpose and focus, and
ultimately answer questions to gain
greater insight into the text; helps
students to comprehend and interpret
Paraphrasing Restating in one’s own words the essential To encourage and facilitate
information expressed in a text, whether it be comprehension of challenging text
narration, dialogue, or informational text
RAFT Primarily used to generate new text, this To initiate reader response; to facilitate
strategy can also be used to analyze a text an analysis of a text to gain focus prior
by examining the role of the speaker (R), the to creating a new text
intended audience (A), the format of the text (F),
and the topic of the text (T).
Rereading Encountering the same text with more than one To identify additional details; to
reading clarify meaning and/or reinforce
SAMPLE
comprehension of texts

LEARNING
STRATEGIES

SIFT* Analyzing a fictional text by examining stylistic To focus and facilitate an analysis of a
elements, especially symbol, imagery, and fictional text by examining the title and
figures of speech in order to show how all work text for symbolism, identifying images
together to reveal tone and theme and sensory details, analyzing
figurative language and identifying
how all these elements reveal tone and
theme
Skimming/Scanning Skimming by rapid or superficial reading of a To quickly form an overall impression

text to form an overall impression or to obtain a prior to an in-depth study of a text; to
general understanding of the material; scanning answer specific questions or quickly
focuses on key words, phrases, or specific locate targeted information or detail in
details and provides speedy recognition of a text
information
SMELL* Analyzing a persuasive speech or essay by To analyze a persuasive speech or essay

asking five essential questions: by focusing on five essential questions
• Sender-receiver relationship—What is the
sender-receiver relationship? Who are the
images and language meant to attract?
Describe the speaker of
the text.
• Message—What is the message? Summarize
the statement made in the text.
• Emotional Strategies—What is the desired
effect?
• Logical Strategies—What logic is operating?
How does it (or its absence) affect the
message? Consider the logic of the images as
well as the words.
• L anguage—What does the language of the
text describe? How does it affect the meaning
and effectiveness of the writing? Consider the

language of the images as well as the words.
SOAPSTone* Analyzing text by discussing and identifying To facilitate the analysis of specific
Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, elements of nonfiction, literary, and
and Tone informational texts, and show the
relationship among the elements to an
understanding of the whole
Summarizing Giving a brief statement of the main points To facilitate comprehension and recall
or essential information expressed in a of a text
text, whether it be narration, dialogue, or
informational text
Think Aloud Talking through a difficult passage or task by To reflect on how readers make meaning
using a form of metacognition whereby the of challenging texts and to facilitate
reader expresses how he/she has made sense discussion
of the text
SAMPLE
LEARNING
STRATEGIES

TP-CASTT* Analyzing a poetic text by identifying and To facilitate the analysis of specific
discussing Title, Paraphrase, Connotation, elements of a literary text, especially
Attitude, Shift, Theme, and Title again poetry. To show how the elements work
together to create meaning
Visualizing Forming a picture (mentally and/or To increase reading comprehension and

literally) while reading a text promote active engagement with text
Word Maps Using a clearly defined graphic To provide a visual tool for identifying
organizer such as concept circles or word webs and remembering multiple aspects of
to identify and reinforce word meanings words and word meanings
Writing Strategies
Adding Making conscious choices to enhance a text by To refine and clarify the writer’s
adding additional words, phrases, sentences, or thoughts during revision and/or drafting
ideas
Brainstorming Using a flexible but deliberate process of listing To generate ideas, concepts, or key
multiple ideas in a short period of time without words that provide a focus and/or
excluding any idea from the preliminary list establish organization as part of the
prewriting or revision process
Deleting Providing clarity and cohesiveness for a text by To refine and clarify the writer’s
eliminating words, phrases, sentences, or ideas thoughts during revision and/or drafting
Drafting Composing a text in its initial form To incorporate brainstormed or initial

ideas into a written format
Freewriting Writing freely without constraints in order to To refine and clarify the writer’s
capture thinking and convey the writer’s purpose thoughts, spark new ideas, and/or

generate content during revision and/or
drafting
Generating Clarifying and developing ideas by To clarify and develop ideas in a draft;
Questions asking questions of the draft. May be part of used during drafting and as part of
self-editing or peer editing writer response
Graphic Organizer Organizing ideas and information visually (e.g., To provide a visual system for
Venn diagrams, flowcharts, cluster maps) organizing multiple ideas, details,
and/or textual support to be included
in a piece of writing
Looping After freewriting, one section of a text To refine and clarify the writer’s
is circled to promote elaboration or thoughts, spark new ideas, and/or
the generation of new ideas for that generate new content during revision
section. This process is repeated to further and/or drafting
develop ideas from the newly generated
segments.
SAMPLE
LEARNING
STRATEGIES

Mapping Creating a graphic organizer that To generate ideas, concepts, or key
serves as a visual representation of the words that provide a focus and/or
organizational plan for a written text establish organization during the
prewriting, drafting, or revision process
Marking the Draft Interacting with the draft version of a piece To encourage focused, reflective
of writing by highlighting, underlining, color- thinking about revising drafts
coding, and annotating to indicate revision ideas
Note-taking Making notes about ideas in response to text To assist in organizing key textual
or discussions; one form is the double-entry elements and responses noted during
journal in which textual evidence is recorded on reading in order to generate textual
the left side support that can be incorporated into a
and personal commentary about the piece of writing at a later time. Note-
meaning of the evidence on the other side taking is also a reading and listening
strategy.
Outlining Using a system of numerals and letters in order To generate ideas, concepts, or key
to identify topics and supporting details and words that provide a focus and/or
ensure an appropriate balance of ideas establish organization prior to writing
an initial draft and/or during the
revision process
Quickwrite Writing for a short, specific amount of time in To generate multiple ideas in a quick
response to a prompt provided fashion that could be turned into longer
pieces of writing at a later time (may
be considered as part of the drafting
process)
RAFT Generating a new text and/or To generate a new text by identifying

transforming a text by identifying and the main elements of a text during the
manipulating its component parts of Role, prewriting and drafting stages of the
Audience, Format, and Topic writing process
Rearranging Selecting components of a text and moving To refine and clarify the writer’s
them to another place within the text and/or thoughts during revision and/or drafting
modifying the order in which the author’s ideas
are presented
Self-Editing/Peer Working individually or with a partner to To provide a systematic process

Editing examine a text closely in order to identify areas for editing a written text to ensure
that might need to be corrected for grammar, correctness of identified components
punctuation, spelling such as conventions of standard English
Sharing and Communicating with another person or a small To make suggestions for improvement
Responding group of peers who respond to a piece of to the work of others and/or to receive
writing as focused readers (not necessarily as appropriate and relevant feedback on
evaluators) the writer’s own work, used during the
drafting and revision process
Sketching Drawing or sketching ideas or ordering of ideas To generate and/or clarify ideas by
(includes storyboarding, visualizing) visualizing them (may be part of
prewriting)
Substituting/ Replacing original words or phrases in a text To refine and clarify the writer’s
SAMPLE
Replacing with new words or phrases that achieve the thoughts during revision and/or drafting
desired effect

LEARNING
STRATEGIES

TWIST* Arriving at a thesis statement that incorporates To craft an interpretive thesis in
the following literary elements: Tone, Word response to a prompt about a text
choice (diction), Imagery, Style, and Theme
Webbing Developing a graphic organizer that consists of a To generate ideas, concepts, or key
series of circles connected with lines to indicate words that provide a focus and/or
relationships among ideas establish organization prior to writing
an initial draft and/or during the
revision process
Writer’s Checklist Using a co-constructed checklist (that could be To focus on key areas of the writing
written on a bookmark and/or displayed on the process so that the writer can
wall) in order to look for specific features of a effectively revise a draft and correct
writing text and check for accuracy mistakes
Writing Groups A type of discussion group devoted to sharing To facilitate a collaborative approach to
and responding to student work generating ideas for and revising writing
Speaking and Listening Strategies

Choral Reading Reading text lines aloud in student groups and/ To develop fluency; differentiate
or individually to present an interpretation between the reading of statements and
questions; practice phrasing, pacing,
and reading dialogue; show how a
character’s emotions are captured
through vocal stress and intonation
Note-taking Creating a record of information while listening To facilitate active listening or close
to a speaker or reading a text reading; to record and organize ideas
that assist in processing information

Oral Reading Reading aloud one’s own text or the texts of To share one’s own work or the work of
others (e.g., echo reading, others; build fluency and increase
choral reading, paired readings) confidence in presenting to a group
Rehearsal Encouraging multiple practices of a piece of text To provide students with an opportunity
prior to a performance to clarify the meaning of a text prior to
a performance as they refine the use of
dramatic conventions (e.g., gestures,
vocal interpretations, facial
expressions)
Role-Playing Assuming the role or persona of a To develop the voice, emotions, and
character mannerisms of a character to facilitate
improved comprehension of a text
SAMPLE
LEARNING
STRATEGIES
Collaborative Strategies

Discussion Groups Engaging in an interactive, small-group To gain new understanding of or insight
discussion, often with an assigned role; to into a text from multiple perspectives
consider a topic, text, or question
Think-Pair-Share Pairing with a peer to share ideas before sharing To construct meaning about a topic or
ideas and discussion with a larger group question; to test thinking in relation
to the ideas of others; to prepare for a
discussion with a larger group
SAMPLE
Graphic Organizer Directory
Contents
Active Listening Feedback��475 Paragraph Frame for Sequencing��498

Active Listening Notes��476 Paraphrasing and Summarizing Map��499
Audience Notes and Feedback��477 Peer Editing��500
Cause and Effect ��478 Persuasive/Argument Writing Map��501
Character Map ��479 Presenting Scoring Guide ��502
Collaborative Dialogue�� 480 RAFT��503
Conclusion Builder��481 Roots and Affixes Brainstorm��504
Conflict Map��482 Round Table Discussion ��505
Conversation for Quickwrite��483 Sequence of Events Time Line ��506
Definition and Reflection �� 484 SMELL ��507
Discourse Starters ��485 SOAPSTone ��508
Editor’s/Writer’s Checklists��487 Text Structure Stairs��509
Evaluating Online Sources��489 TP-CASTT Analysis�� 510
Idea and Argument Evaluator��490 TP-CASTT �� 511
Idea Connector ��491 Unknown Word Solver��512
Key Idea and Details Chart ��492 Venn Diagram for Writing a Comparison��513
Narrative Analysis and Writing ��493 Verbal & Visual Word Association�� 514
Notes for Reading Independently��494 Web Organizer �� 515
Opinion Builder��496 Word Choice Analyzer�� 516

Paragraph Frame for Conclusions ��497 Word Map�� 517
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Active Listening Feedback

Presenter’s name:
Content
What is the presenter’s purpose?
What is the presenter’s main point?
Do you agree with the presenter? Why or why not?
Form
Did the presenter use a clear, loud voice? yes no
Did the presenter make eye contact? yes no
One thing I really liked about the presentation:
One question I still have:

Other comments or notes:
SAMPLE
Graphic Organizers 475
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Active Listening Notes

Title:
Who? What?
Where? When?

Why? How?
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Audience Notes and Feedback

Scoring Criteria Notes/Feedback
Introduction/
Conclusion
Timing
Voice
Eye Contact/
Gestures
Use of Media,
Visuals, Props
Audience
Engagement
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Cause and Effect

Title:
Cause: What happened? Effect: An effect of this is
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Character Map
Character name:
What does the character look like?
How does the character act and feel?

What do other characters say or think about the character?
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Collaborative Dialogue
Topic:
Use the space below to record ideas.
“Wh-” Prompts
Who? What? Where? When? Why?
Speaker 1
Speaker 2
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Conclusion Builder
Evidence
Evidence Evidence
Based on this evidence, I can conclude

SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Conflict Map
Title:
What is the main conflict in this story?
What causes this conflict?
How is the conflict resolved?
What are some other ways the conflict could have been resolved?
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Conversation for Quickwrite
1. Turn to a partner and restate the prompt in your own words.
2. Brainstorm key words to use in your quickwrite response.
Key
Words
3. Take turns explaining your ideas to your partner. Try using some of the key words you brainstormed.
4. On your own, write a response to the quickwrite.
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Definition and Reflection
Academic Vocabulary Word
Definition in own words
Illustration (literal or symbolic)
My experiences with this concept: My level of understanding:
• I haven’t really thought about this concept. • I am still trying to understand this concept.
___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

• I have only thought about this concept in English • I am familiar with this concept, but I am not
Language Arts class. comfortable applying it.
___________________________________________ ___________________________________________
• I have applied this concept in other classes. • I am very comfortable with this concept and I know
how to apply it.
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
• I have applied this concept outside of school.
• I could teach this concept to another classmate.
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Discourse Starters
Questioning and Discussing a Text Summarizing
One question I have is . The main events that take place are .
Could this mean ?

The major points of the text are .
Why do you think the author ?
The main idea of is .
I understand , but I wonder .
I notice that . One central idea of this text is .
I think this (word/sentence/paragraph) means . Another central idea is .

I think because the text says .
All in all, the message is .
In paragraph , the author says .
According to the text, . The author’s main purpose is to .
One way to interpret is . Basically, the author is saying that .
Comparing and Contrasting Clarifying
and are similar because . I’m not sure I understand the instructions.
and are similar in that they both . Could you repeat that please?
is . Similarly, is . I have a question about .
One thing and have in common is . I am having trouble with .
and are different because . Will you explain that again?
and are different in that . Could you clarify ?
is . On the other hand, is . Would you mind helping me with ?
One difference between and is . Which (page/paragraph/section) are we reading?
How do you spell/pronounce ?
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Discourse Starters
Agreeing and Disagreeing Arguing and Persuading with Evidence
I agree with the idea that because . I believe that because .
I share your point of view because . It is clear that because .
You made a good point when you said . One reason I think is .
I agree with (a person) that . Based on evidence in the text, I think .
Evidence such as suggests that .

Although I agree that , I also think .
An example to support my position is .
I understand where you’re coming from, but .
This is evident because .
I disagree with the idea that because .
What evidence supports the idea that ?
I see it a different way because .
Can you explain why you think ?
You have a point, but the evidence suggests .
Evaluating Giving Feedback and Suggesting
This is effective because . The part where you is strong because .
The evidence is strong because . What impressed me the most is how you .

This is convincing because . This is a good start. Maybe you should add .
I see why the author , but I think . I like how you , but I would try .
This is not very effective because . You might consider changing .
The evidence is weak because . I would suggest revising so that .
One suggestion would be to .
This would have been better if . Why did you choose ?
What do you think about the writer’s choice to ? A better choice might be .
Why do you think (is/isn’t) effective? This would be clearer if .
SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Editor’s Checklist
Over the course of the year with SpringBoard, customize this Editor’s Checklist as your knowledge of
language conventions grows. The three examples below show you how to write a good checklist item.
Are all the sentences complete?
Do the subject and verb of each sentence agree?
Do all the sentences have correct punctuation?

SAMPLE
NAME DATE
Writer’s Checklist
Ideas
Does your first paragraph hook the reader?
Is the purpose of your writing clear (to inform, to make an argument, etc.)?
Is the genre of writing appropriate for your purpose?
Is your main idea clear and easy to summarize?
Does your text contain details and information that support your main idea?
Are the ideas in the text well organized?
Do you connect your ideas by using transitions?
Do you use parallel structure to keep your ideas clear?
Does each paragraph have a conclusion that transitions to the next paragraph?
Does your writing end with a strong conclusion that restates the original purpose of the text?
Language
Do you keep a consistent point of view throughout?
Do you use the present tense when writing about a text?

Are any shifts in verb tense easy to follow and necessary?
Have you removed unnecessary or confusing words?
Do you use vivid verbs and descriptive adjectives when appropriate?
Do you use different styles of language (like figurative or sensory) when appropriate?
Do you use a variety of sentence types?
Do you vary the way you begin your sentences?
Did you split up run-on sentences?
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Are your pronoun references clear?

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Evaluating Online Sources

The URL
• What is its domain?
• .com = a for-profit organization
• .gov, .mil, .us (or other country code) = a government
site
• .edu = affiliated with an educational institution
• .org = a nonprofit organization
• Is this URL someone’s personal page?
• Do you recognize who is publishing this page?
Sponsor:
• Does the website give information about the organization or
group that sponsors it?
• Does it have a link (often called “About Us”) that leads you to
that information?
• What do you learn?
Timeliness:
• When was the page last updated (usually this is posted at the
top or bottom of the page)?
• Is the topic something that changes frequently, like current
events or technology?
Purpose:
• What is the purpose of the page?
• What is its target audience?
• Does it present information, opinion, or both?
• Is it primarily objective or subjective?

• How do you know?
Author:
• What credentials does the author have?
• Is this person or group considered an authority on the topic?
Links
• Does the page provide links?
• Do they work?
• Are they helpful?
• Are they objective or subjective?
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Idea and Argument Evaluator
What is the author's idea or argument?
Supporting Idea from the Text

Does the author
give evidence?
q yes
q no

Does the author

give evidence?
q yes
q no

Does the author
give evidence?
q yes
q no
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Idea Connector
Directions: Write two simple sentences about the same topic. Next, write transition words
around the Idea Connector. Then, choose an appropriate word to connect ideas in the two
sentences. Write your combined sentence in the space below.
Sentence One Sentence Two
IDEA CONNECTOR
Combined Sentence
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Key Idea and Details Chart

Title/Topic
Key Idea
Supporting detail 1

Supporting detail 2

Supporting detail 3


Supporting detail 4

Restate topic sentence:

Concluding sentence:

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Narrative Analysis and Writing
Response Response
Incident
Reflection Reflection
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Notes for Reading Independently

Fiction
Title:
Author:
Something interesting I noticed: A question I have:
Summary:

Illustration: Connections to my life/other texts I’ve
read:
How challenging this text was:

Easy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Challenging
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Notes for Reading Independently

Nonfiction
Title:
Author:
Main idea: Facts I learned:
Summary:
Questions I still have: Connections to my life/other texts I’ve

read:
How challenging this text was:

Easy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Challenging
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Opinion Builder
Reason Reason
Based on these reasons, my opinion is

Reason Reason
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Paragraph Frame for Conclusions
The (story, poem, play, passage, etc.)

Conclusion
shows that (helps us to conclude that)
Words and
Phrases
shows that
based on There are several reasons why. First,
suggests that

leads to

indicates that

influences

A second reason is
Finally,
In conclusion,
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Paragraph Frame for Sequencing
In the (story, poem, play, passage, etc.)

Sequence
there are three important
Words and
Phrases (events, steps, directions, etc.)
at the beginning First,

in the first place
as a result
later

eventually

in the end
Second,
lastly

Third,

Finally,
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Paraphrasing and Summarizing Map
What does the text say? How can I say it in my own words?
How can I use my own words to summarize the text?
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Peer Editing
Writer’s name:
Did the writer answer the prompt? yes no
Did the writer use appropriate details or evidence to develop their writing? yes no
Is the writing organized in a way that makes sense? yes no
Did the writer use a variety of sentence types to make the writing more interesting? yes no
Are there any spelling or punctuation mistakes? yes no
Are there any grammar errors? yes no
Two things I really liked about the writer’s story:
1.

2.


One thing I think the writer could do to improve the writing:
1.

Other comments or notes:
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Persuasive/Argument Writing Map
Thesis
Reason Reason Reason
Evidence Evidence Evidence

Conclusion
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Presenting Scoring Guide

Scoring Criteria Exemplary Proficient Emerging Incomplete
Introduction / The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation
Conclusion • provides a clear, • provides a clear • provides an • does not provide
engaging, and and appropriate adequate an introduction
appropriate introduction introduction to the topic or
introduction to the to the topic or to the topic or performance
topic or performance performance performance • does not provide
• provides a clear, • provides a clear • provides an a conclusion that
engaging, and and appropriate adequate closes, summarizes,
appropriate conclusion that conclusion that draws connections
conclusion that closes, closes, summarizes, closes, summarizes, to broader themes,
summarizes, draws draws connections draws connections or supports the
connections to broader to broader themes, to broader themes, ideas presented.
themes, or supports or supports the or supports the
the ideas presented. ideas presented. ideas presented.
Timing The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation
• thoroughly delivers • mostly delivers its • delivers some of its • does not deliver its
its intended message intended message intended message intended message
within the allotted within the allotted within the allotted within the allotted
time time time time
• is thoughtfully and • is appropriately • is sometimes • is not paced
appropriately paced paced most of the not paced appropriately.
throughout. time. appropriately.
Voice (Volume, The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation
Enunciation, • is delivered with • is delivered with • is delivered with • is not delivered with
Rate) adequate volume adequate volume somewhat adequate adequate volume,
enabling audience enabling audience volume enabling so that audience
members to fully members to mostly audience members members are unable
comprehend what is comprehend what to comprehend to comprehend what
said is said some of what is said is said
• is delivered with clear • is delivered with • is delivered with • is delivered with
enunciation. mostly clear somewhat clear unclear enunciation.
enunciation. enunciation.

Eye Contact/ The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation
Gestures • is delivered with • is delivered with • is delivered with • is not delivered
appropriate eye contact some appropriate occasional eye with eye contact to
that helps engage eye contact that contact that engage audience
audience members helps engage sometimes engages members
• makes use of natural audience members audience members • makes little or no
gestures and/or body • makes use of • makes some use use of gestures
language to convey gestures and/or of gestures and/or and/or body
meaning. body language to body language to language to convey
convey meaning. convey meaning. meaning.
Use of Media, The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation
Visuals, Props • makes use of highly • makes use of • makes use of some • makes use of few
engaging visuals, visuals, multimedia, visuals, multimedia, or no visuals,
multimedia, and/or and/or props that and/or props that multimedia, and/or
props that enhance enhance delivery. somewhat enhance props that enhance
delivery. delivery. delivery.
Audience The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation
Engagement • includes thoughtful • includes • includes a few • does not include
and appropriate appropriate interactions with interactions with
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interactions with interactions with and responses to and responses to
and responses to and responses to audience members. audience members.
audience members. audience members.
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RAFT
Role Who or what are you as a writer?
Audience As a writer, to whom are you writing?
Format As a writer, what format would be appropriate for your audience (essay, letter, speech,
poem, etc.)?
Topic As a writer, what is the subject of your writing? What points do you want to make?
SAMPLE
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Roots and Affixes Brainstorm
Directions: Write the root or affix in the circle. Brainstorm or use a dictionary to find the
meaning of the root or affix and add it to the circle. Then, find words that use that root or
affix. Write one word in each box. Write a sentence for each word.
Root or Affix
Meaning
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Round Table Discussion
Directions: Write the topic in the center box. One student begins by stating his or her ideas while
the student to the left takes notes. Then the next student speaks while the student to his or her left
takes notes, and so on.
Speaker 1: Speaker 2:
Speaker 4: Speaker 3:
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Sequence of Events Time Line

Title:
What happened first? Next?
Beginning Middle End
Then? Finally?
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SMELL
Sender-Receiver Relationship—Who are the senders and receivers of the message, and what is their
relationship (consider what different audiences the text may be addressing)?
Message—What is a literal summary of the content? What is the meaning/significance of this

information?
Emotional Strategies—What emotional appeals (pathos) are included? What seems to be their desired
effect?
Logical Strategies—What logical arguments/appeals (logos) are included? What is their effect?
Language—What specific language is used to support the message? How does it affect the text's
effectiveness? Consider both images and actual words.
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SOAPSTone
SOAPSTone Analysis Textual Support
S ubject
What does the
reader know
about the writer?
O ccasion
What are the
circumstances
surrounding this
text?
A udience
Who is the target
audience?
P urpose
Why did the
author write this

text?
S ubject
What is the topic?
T one
What is the
author’s tone, or
attitude?
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Text Structure Stairs

Finally, what
happened last?
Next?
Then?
What happened
first?
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TP-CASTT Analysis
Poem Title:
Author:
Title: Make a Prediction. What do you think the title means before you read the poem?
Paraphrase: Translate the poem in your own words. What is the poem about? Rephrase difficult sections
word for word.
Connotation: Look beyond the literal meaning of key words and images to their associations.
Attitude: What is the speaker's attitude? What is the author's attitude? How does the author feel about the
speaker, about other characters, about the subject?

Shifts: Where do the shifts in tone, setting, voice, etc., occur? Look for time and place, keywords,
punctuation, stanza divisions, changes in length or rhyme, and sentence structure. What is the purpose
of each shift? How do they contribute to effect and meaning?
Title: Reexamine the title. What do you think it means now in the context of the poem?
Theme: Think of the literal and metaphorical layers of the poem. Then determine the overall theme.
The theme must be written in a complete sentence.
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TP-CASTT
Poem Title:
Author:
T itle
P araphrase
C onnotation
A ttitude
S hifts
T itle
T heme
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Unknown Word Solver
Unknown Word
Can you find any context Do you recognize any word

clues? List them. parts?
Prefix:
Root Word:
Do you know another
meaning of this word that
does not make sense in this
Suffix:
context?
Does it look or sound like a

word in another language?

What is the dictionary definition? How can you define the word in your own
words?
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Venn Diagram for Writing a Comparison
Both
They are similar in that They are different in that
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Verbal & Visual Word Association
Definition in Your Own Words Important Elements
Academic
Visual Representation Vocabulary Personal Association
Word
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Web Organizer
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Word Choice Analyzer
Word or phrase Definition of word How can I restate the What effect did the author
from the text or phrase definition in my own produce by choosing these
words? words?

Explain Your Analysis
The author uses the word or phrase , which means

Another way to say this is

I think the author chose these words to

One way I can modify this sentence to add detail is to

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Word Map
Definition Visual
Academic
Vocabulary Word
Example Example
Example
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Glossary/Glosario
A argument: facts or reasoning offered to support a position as

being true
advertising: the use of print, graphics, or videos to persuade argumento: hechos o razonamiento entregados para apoyar
people to buy a product or use a service una posición como verdadera
publicidad: uso de impresos, gráfica o videos para persuadir artifact: an object made by a human being, typically an item
a las personas a comprar un producto o usar un servicio that has cultural or historical significance
allegory: a story in which the characters, objects, or actions artefacto: objeto hecho por un ser humano, habitualmente
have a meaning beyond the surface of the story un objeto que tiene significación cultural o histórica
alegoría: cuento en el que los personajes, objetos o acciones atmosphere: the feeling created by a literary work or passage
tienen un significado que va más allá de la superficie de atmósfera: sentimiento creado por una obra o pasaje
la historia literario
alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the audience: the intended readers of specific types of texts or
beginnings of words that are close together the viewers of a program or performance
aliteración: repetición de sonidos consonánticos al público: lectores objetivo de tipos específicos de textos o
comienzo de palabras que están cercanas espectadores de un programa o actuación
allusion: a reference to a well-known person, place, event,
literary work, or work of art
alusión: referencia a una persona, lugar, obra literaria u obra
B
de arte muy conocidos balanced sentence: a sentence that presents ideas of
equal weight in similar grammatical form to emphasize the
analogy: a comparison of the similarity of two things; for
similarity or difference between the ideas
example, comparing a part to a whole or the whole to a part
oración balanceada: oración que presenta ideas de igual
analogía: comparación de la semejanza de dos cosas; por
peso en forma gramatical similar para enfatizar la semejanza
ejemplo, comparar una parte con un todo o el todo con
o diferencia entre las ideas
una parte
bibliography: a list of source materials used to prepare a
analyze (literary): study the details of a work to identify
research paper or presentation
essential features or meaning
bibliografía: lista de las fuentes utilizadas para preparar una
analizar (literario): estudiar los detalles de una obra para
investigación o una presentación
identificar características o significados esenciales
body paragraph: a paragraph that contains a topic sentence,

anecdote: a brief, entertaining account of an incident
supporting details and commentary, and a concluding
or event
sentence and that is usually part of a longer text
anécdota: breve relato entretenido de un incidente o suceso
párrafo representativo: párrafo que contiene una oración
annotate: write notes to explain or present ideas that help principal, detalles de apoyo y comentarios, y una oración
you analyze and understand a text concluyente que normalmente forma parte de un texto
anotar: tomar notas para explicar o presentar las ideas que te más extenso
ayuden a analizar y a entender un texto
antonyms: words with opposite meanings C
antónimos: palabras con significados opuestos
caricature: a visual or verbal representation in which
archetype: a character, symbol, story pattern, or other characteristics or traits are distorted for emphasis
element that is common to human experience across cultures caricatura: representación visual o verbal en la que las
and that occurs frequently in literature, myth, and folklore características o rasgos son distorsionados para dar énfasis
arquetipo: personaje, símbolo, patrón de un cuento u otro
elemento que es común a la experiencia humana a través de cause: an initial action; an event that makes something
diversas culturas y que aparece con frecuencia en literatura, else happen
mitos y folclor causa: acción inicial; suceso que hace que otra cosa ocurra
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GLOSSARY/
GLOSARIO
character: a person or animal that takes part in the action of communication: the process of giving or exchanging
a literary work information. Verbal communication involves the written
personaje: persona o animal que participa en la acción de or spoken word. Nonverbal communication involves
una obra literaria movement, gestures, or facial expressions.
comunicación: proceso de dar o intercambiar información.
characterization: the methods a writer uses to develop
La comunicación verbal involucra palabras escritas
characters; for example, through description, actions,
o habladas. La comunicación no verbal involucra
and dialogue
movimientos, gestos o expresiones faciales.
caracterización: métodos que usa un escritor para
desarrollar personajes; por ejemplo, a través de descripción, compare: to identify similarities in two or more items; see
acciones y diálogo also contrast
comparar: identificar semejanzas entre dos o más elementos;
citation: giving credit to the authors of source information
ver también, contrastar
cita: dar crédito a los autores de información usada
como fuente concluding sentence: a final sentence that pulls together
the ideas in a paragraph by restating the main idea or by
claim: a writer’s statement of a position or opinion about a
summarizing or commenting on the ideas in the paragraph
topic
oración concluyente: oración final que reúne las ideas de
afirmación: declaración de un escritor acerca de una
un párrafo, reformulando la idea principal o resumiendo o
posición u opinión sobre un tema
comentando las ideas del párrafo
cliché: an overused expression or idea
conclusion: the ending of a paragraph or essay, which brings
cliché: expresión o idea usada en exceso
it to a close and leaves an impression with the reader
climax: the turning point or the high point of a story conclusión: fin de un párrafo o ensayo, que lo lleva a su
clímax: punto de inflexión o momento culminante de un término y deja una impresión en el lector
cuento
conflict: a struggle between opposing forces. In an external
coherence: the clear and orderly presentation of ideas in a conflict, a character struggles with an outside force, such
paragraph or essay as another character or something in nature. In an internal
coherencia: presentación clara y ordenada de las ideas en un conflict, the character struggles with his or her own needs,
párrafo o ensayo desires, or emotions.
conflicto: lucha entre fuerzas opuestas. En un conflicto
collaborate: work together with other members of a group
externo, un personaje lucha contra una fuerza externa,
colaborar: trabajar en conjunto con otros miembros de un
como por ejemplo otro personaje o algo de la naturaleza. En

grupo
un conflicto interno, el personaje lucha contra sus propias
comedy: an entertainment that is amusing or humorous necesidades, deseos o emociones.
comedia: espectáculo que es divertido o cómico
connotation: the suggested or implied meaning or emotion
commentary: explanation of the way the facts, details, and/or associated with a word—beyond its literal definition
examples in a paragraph or essay support the topic sentence connotación: significado o emoción sugerida o implícita que
comentario: explicación de la manera en que los hechos, se asocia con una palabra—más allá de su definición literal
detalles y ejemplos de un párrafo o ensayo apoyan la oración
consumer: a buyer; a person who acquires goods
principal
and services
commercialism: an emphasis on gaining profits through consumidor: comprador, persona que adquiere bienes
advertising or sponsorship y servicios
mercantilismo: énfasis en obtener utilidades por medio de la
consumerism: the buying and consuming of goods and
publicidad o el auspicio
products; the belief that it is good to buy and consume goods
and services
consumismo: compra y consumo de bienes y productos;
creencia de que es bueno comprar y consumir bienes
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y servicios
English-Spanish Glossary 519

GLOSSARY/
GLOSARIO
context clue: information in words and phrases surrounding dialogue: conversation between characters
an unfamiliar word that hint at the meaning of the diálogo: conversación entre personajes
unfamiliar word.
diction: a writer’s or speaker’s choice of words
clave de contexto: información en las palabras y frases que
dicción: selección de palabras por parte del escritor u orador
rodean una palabra no conocida y que dan una pista acerca
del significado de esa palabra. dissolve: the slow fading away of one image in a film as
another fades in to take its place
contrast: to identify differences in two or more items; see
desvanecimiento: desaparición lenta de una imagen en una
also compare
película a medida que otra aparece progresivamente para
contrastar: identificar diferencias entre dos o más elementos;
tomar su lugar
ver también, comparar
drama: a genre of literature that is intended to be performed
controversy: a public debate or dispute concerning a matter
before an audience; a play
of opinion
drama: género literario destinado a ser representado ante un
controversia: debate público o disputa sobre una cuestión
público; obra teatral
sujeta a opinión
dystopia: an imagined place or state in which the condition
copy: the actual text in an advertisement
of life is imperfect or bad
texto publicitario: información actual en un anuncio
distopía: lugar o estado imaginario en el que las condiciones
publicitario
de vida son imperfectas o malas
counter-argument: reasoning or facts given in opposition to
an argument
contraargumento: razonamiento o hechos dados en
E
oposición a un argumento editorial: a short essay in which a publication, or someone
credible: to be trusted or believed speaking for a publication, expresses an opinion or takes a
creíble: ser confiable o creíble stand on an issue
editorial: ensayo corto en el que una publicación, o alguien
criteria: the facts, rules, or standards on which judgments que representa una publicación, expresa una opinión o toma
are based. partido acerca de un tema
criterios: hechos, reglas o estándares sobre las cuales están
basadas las opiniones. effect: the result of an event or action
efecto: resultado de un suceso o acción
D

epic: a long narrative poem about the deeds of heroes or gods
épica: poema narrativo largo acerca de las proezas de héroes
debate: n. a discussion involving opposing points of o dioses
view; v. to present the sides of an argument by discussing
epilogue: a section at the end of a book or play that extends
opposing points
or comments on the ending
debate: s. discusión que involucra puntos de vista opuestos;
epílogo: sección al final de un libro u obra teatral, que
v. presentar los lados de un argumento discutiendo puntos
extiende o comenta el final
opuestos
essay: a short literary composition on a single subject
definition: the process of making clear the meaning or
ensayo: composición literaria corta acerca de un único tema
nature of something
definición: proceso de aclarar el significado o naturaleza ethos: a rhetorical appeal that focuses on the character or
de algo qualifications of the speaker
ethos: recurso retórico centrado en el carácter o las
denotation: the exact, literal meaning of a word
capacidades del orador
denotación: significado exacto y literal de una palabra
euphemism: an inoffensive expression that is used in place of
detail: in writing, evidence (facts, statistics, examples) that
one that is considered harsh or blunt
supports the topic sentence
eufemismo: expresión inofensiva usada en lugar de una
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detalle: en la escritura, evidencia (hechos, estadística,
considerada cruel o ruda
ejemplos) que apoya la oracón principal

GLOSSARY/
GLOSARIO
evaluate: to examine and judge carefully to determine the falling action: events after the climax of a story but before
value of something, such as an idea, a comment, or a source the resolution
evaluar: estudiar y juzgar cuidadosamente para determinar acción descendente: sucesos posteriores al clímax de un
el valor de algo, tal como una idea, un comentario, o una cuento, pero antes de la resolución
fuente
fantasy: a story based on things that could not happen in
evidence: the information that supports or proves an idea or real life
claim; forms of evidence include facts, statistics (numerical fantasía: cuento basado en cosas que no podrían ocurrir en
facts), expert opinions, examples, and anecdotes; see also, la vida real
anecdotal, empirical, and logical evidence
fiction: writing that consists of imagined events
evidencia: información que apoya o prueba una idea o
ficción: escritura que consiste en acontecimientos
afirmación; algunas formas de evidencia incluyen hechos,
imaginados
estadísticas (datos numéricos), opiniones de expertos,
ejemplos y anécdotas; ver también evidencia anecdótica, figurative language: imaginative language that is not meant
empírica y lógica to be interpreted literally
lenguaje figurativo: lenguaje imaginativo que no pretende
explanatory essay: an essay that makes an assertion
ser interpretado literalmente
and explains it with details, reasons, textual evidence,
and commentary flashback: a sudden and vivid memory of an event in the
ensayo explicativo: ensayo que hace una afirmación y la past; also, an interruption in the sequence of events in the
explica con detalles, razones, evidencia textual y comentarios plot of a story to relate events that occurred in the past
narración retrospectiva: recuerdo repentino y vívido de un
explanatory paragraph: a paragraph that makes an
suceso del pasado; además, interrupción en la secuencia de
assertion and supports it with details and commentary
los sucesos del argumento de un cuento para relatar sucesos
párrafo explicativo: párrafo que hace una afirmación y la
ocurridos en el pasado
apoya con detalles y comentarios
fluency: the ability to use language clearly and easily
exposition: events that give a reader background
fluidez: capacidad de usar el lenguaje fácilmente y de
information needed to understand a story
manera clara
exposición: sucesos que entregan al lector los antecedentes
necesarios para comprender un cuento folk literature: the traditional literature of a culture,
consisting of a variety of myths and folk tales
F literatura folclórica: literatura tradicional de una cultura,

consistente en una variedad de mitos y cuentos folclóricos

fable: a brief story that teaches a lesson or moral, usually folk tale: an anonymous traditional story passed on orally
through animal characters that take on human qualities from one generation to another
fábula: cuento breve que enseña una lección o moraleja, cuento folclórico: cuento tradicional anónimo pasada
normalmente por medio de personajes animales que asumen oralmente de generación en generación
cualidades humanas
folklore: the stories, traditions, sayings, and customs of a
fact: a statement that can be proven culture or a society
hecho: enunciado que puede demostrarse folclor: historias, tradiciones, dichos y costumbres de una
fairy tale: a story that involves fantasy elements such as cultura o sociedad
witches, goblins, and elves. These stories often involve princes foreshadowing: clues or hints signaling events that will
and princesses and today are generally told to entertain occur later in the plot
children. presagio: claves o pistas que señalan sucesos que ocurrirán
cuento de hadas: cuento que involucra elementos mas adelante en el argumento
fantásticos como brujas, duendes y elfos. A menudo, estos
cuentos involucran a príncipes y princesas y hoy se cuentan formal style: a style of writing or speaking that is
generalmente para entretener a los niños. appropriate for formal communication such as in academics
or business
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estilo formal: estilo de escribir o hablar adecuado para la
comunicación formal como la académica o comercial

GLOSSARY/
GLOSARIO
free verse: a kind of poetry that does not follow any regular iambic pentameter: a rhythmic pattern of five feet (or units)
pattern, rhythm, or rhyme of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
verso libre: tipo de poesía que no sigue ningún patrón, pentámetro yámbico: patrón rítmico de cinco pies (o
ritmo o rima regular unidades) de una sílaba átona seguida de una sílaba tónica
idiom: a figure of speech that cannot be defined literally
G expresión idiomatica: figura del discurso que no puede
definirse literalmente
genre: a category or type of literature, such as short story,
folk tale, poem, novel, play image: a picture, drawing, photograph, illustration, chart, or
género: categoría o tipo de literatura, como el cuento corto, other graphic that is designed to affect the audience in some
cuento folclórico, poema, novela, obra teatral purposeful way
imagen: pintura, dibujo, fotografía, ilustración, cuadro u otra
global revision: the process of deeply revising a text to gráfica diseñada para producir algún efecto intencional sobre
improve organization, development of ideas, focus, and voice el público
revisión global: proceso de revisar en profundidad un texto
para mejorar su organización, desarrollo de ideas, enfoque imagery: descriptive or figurative language used to create
y voz word pictures; imagery is created by details that appeal to one
or more of the five senses
graphic novel: a narrative told through visuals and captions imaginería: lenguaje descriptivo o figurativo utilizado para
novela gráfica: narrativa que se cuenta por medio de efectos crear imágenes verbales; la imaginería es creada por detalles
visuales y leyendas que apelan a uno o más de los cinco sentidos
improvise: to respond or perform on the spur of the moment
H improvisar: reaccionar o representar impulsivamente
headline: a short piece of text at the top of an article, incident: a distinct piece of action as in an episode in a story
usually in larger type, designed to be the first words the or a play. More than one incident may make up an event.
audience reads incidente: trozo de acción distintivo como un episodio de
titular: trozo corto de texto en la parte superior de un un cuento o de una obra teatral. Más de un incidente puede
artículo, habitualmente en letra más grande, diseñado para conformar un suceso.
ser las primeras palabras que el público lear
inference: a logical guess or conclusion based on
humor: the quality of being comical or amusing observation, prior experience, or textual evidence

humor: cualidad de ser cómico o divertido inferencia: conjetura o conclusión lógica basada en la
observación, experiencias anteriores o evidencia textual
hook: n. a compelling idea or statement designed to get
readers’ attention in an introduction inflection: the emphasis a speaker places on words through
gancho: n. idea o afirmación atractiva diseñada para captar change in pitch or volume
la atención del lector en una introducción inflexión: énfasis que pone un orador en las palabras por
medio del cambio de tono o volumen
hyperbole: extreme exaggeration used for emphasis, often
used for comic effect interpretation: a writer’s or artist’s representation of the
hypérbole: exageración extrema usada para dar énfasis, meaning of a story or idea
habitualmente usada para dar efecto cómico interpretación: representación que hace un escritor o artista
del significado de un cuento o idea
I interview: a meeting between two people in which one,
usually a reporter, asks the other questions to get that person’s
iamb: a metrical foot that consists of an unstressed syllable views on a subject
followed by a stressed syllable entrevista: reunión entre dos personas, en la que una,
yambo: pie métrico que consta de una sílaba átona seguida normalmente un reportero, hace preguntas a la otra para
de una sílaba tónica conocer sus opiniones acerca de un tema
SAMPLE
GLOSSARY/
GLOSARIO
introduction: the opening paragraph of an essay, which must

get the reader’s attention and indicate the topic
M
introducción: párrafo inicial de un ensayo, que debe captar la media: the various means of mass communication, such as
atención del lector e indicar el tema radio, television, newspapers, and magazines
medios de comunicación: los diversos medios de
L comunicación masiva, como radio, televisión, periódicos
y revistas
legend: a traditional story believed to be based on actual
media channel: a type of media, such as television
people and events. Legends, which typically celebrate heroic
or newspaper
individuals or significant achievements, tend to express the
canal mediático: tipo de medios de comunicación, como
values of a culture.
televisión o periódicos
leyenda: cuento tradicional que se considera basado en
personas y sucesos reales. Las leyendas, que típicamente metaphor: a comparison between two unlike things in which
celebran a individuos heroicos o logros importantes, tienden one thing becomes another
a expresar los valores de una cultura. metáfora: comparación entre dos cosas diferentes en la que
una cosa se convierte en otra
limerick: a light, humorous, nonsensical verse of few lines,
usually with a rhyme scheme of a-a-b-b-a monologue: a speech or written expression of thoughts by
quintilla: verso liviano, humorístico, disparatado y de pocas a character
líneas, normalmente con un esquema a-a-b-b-a monólogo: discurso o expresión escrita de pensamientos por
parte de un personaje
listening: the process of receiving a message and making
meaning of it from verbal and nonverbal cues mood: the overall emotional quality of a work, which is
escuchar: proceso de recibir el mensaje y comprender su created by the author’s language and tone and the subject
significado a partir de claves verbales y no verbales matter
carácter: la calidad emocional general de una obra, que es
literary analysis: the process of examining closely and
creada por el lenguaje y tono del autor y por el tema
commenting on the elements of a literary work
análisis literario: proceso de examinar atentamente y motif: a recurring element, image, or idea in a work
comentar los elementos de una obra literaria of literature
motivo: elemento, imagen o idea recurrente en una
local revision: revising a text on a word or sentence level
obra literaria
revisión local: revisar un texto a nivel de palabras o
de oraciones multimedia: the use of several media (for example, print,

film, audio, and video) to communicate ideas
logo: a unique design symbol used to identify a
multimedia: uso de varios medios de comunicación (por
company visually
ejemplo: impresos, cine, audio y video) para comunicar ideas
logotipo: símbolo único de diseño, utilizado para identificar
visualmente una empresa multiple intelligences: the variety of learning styles that
everyone has in varying degrees. In each individual, different
logos: a rhetorical appeal to reason or logic through
intelligences predominate.
statistics, facts, and reasonable examples
inteligencias múltiples: diversidad de estilos de aprendizaje
logos: apelación retórica a la razón o la lógica por medio de
que todos tienen en diversos grados. En cada individuo
estadísticas, hechos y ejemplos razonables
predominan diferentes inteligencias.
myth: a traditional story that explains the actions of gods or
heroes or the origins of the elements of nature
mito: cuento tradicional que explica las acciones de dioses o
héroes o los orígenes de los elementos de la naturaleza
SAMPLE
GLOSSARY/
GLOSARIO
N one-liner: a short joke or witticism expressed in a

single sentence
narrative: a type of writing that tells a story or describes a agudeza: chiste u comentario ingenioso que se expresa en
sequence of events in an incident una sola oración.
narrativa: tipo de escritura que cuenta un cuento o describe opinion: a perspective that can be debated
una secuencia de sucesos de un incidente opinión: perspectiva que es debatible
narrative poem: a story told in verse oral interpretation: reading aloud a literary text
poema narrativo: historia contada en verso with expression
news article: an article in a news publication that objectively interpretación oral: leer en voz alta un texto literario
presents both sides of an issue con expresión
artículo noticioso: artículo de una publicación noticiosa que oxymoron: a figure of speech in which the words seem to
presenta objetivamente ambos lados de un asunto contradict each other; for example, “jumbo shrimp”
nonfiction: writing that is based on facts and actual events oxímoron: figura del discurso en la que las palabras parecen
no ficción: escritura que se basa en hechos o acontecimientos contradecirse mutuamente; por ejemplo, “audaz cobardía”
reales
nonprint text: a text, such as film or graphics, that P
communicates ideas without print
pantomime: a form of acting without words, in which
texto no impreso: texto, como una película o gráfica, que
motions, gestures, and expressions convey emotions
comunica ideas sin imprimir
or situations
nonverbal communication: gestures, facial expressions, and pantomima: forma de actuación sin palabras, en la que los
inflection that form unspoken communication movimientos, gestos y expresiones transmiten emociones
comunicación no verbal: gestos, expresiones faciales e o situationes
inflexión que forman la comunicación no hablada
paraphrase: to restate in one’s own words
novel: a type of literary genre that tells a fictional story parafrasear: reformular en nuestras propias palabras
novela: tipo de género literario que cuenta una
parody: a humorous imitation of a literary work
historia ficticia
parodia: imitación humorística de una obra literaria
O pathos: a rhetorical appeal to the reader’s or listener’s senses

or emotions through connotative language and imagery
objective: supported by facts and not influenced by pathos: apelación retórica a los sentidos o emociones
personal opinion del lector u oyente por medio de un lenguaje connotativo
objetivo: apoyado por hechos y no influenciado por la y figurado
opinión personal performance: presenting or staging a play
objective camera view: in film, when the camera takes a actuación: presentar o poner en escena una obra teatral
neutral point of view persona: the voice or character speaking or narrating a story
visión objetiva de la cámara: en el cine, cuando la cámara persona: voz o personaje que habla o narra una historia
toma un punto de vista neutro
personal letter: a written communication between friends,
omniscient: a third-person point of view in which the relatives, or acquaintances that shares news, thoughts, or
narrator is all-knowing feelings
omnisciente: punto de vista de una tercera persona, en la carta personal: comunicación escrita entre amigos,
que el narador lo sabe todo parientes o conocidos, que comparte noticias, pensamientos
onomatopoeia: the use of words that imitate the sounds of o sentimientos
what they describe
onomatopeya: el uso de palabras que imitan los sonidos de
SAMPLE
lo que describen

GLOSSARY/
GLOSARIO
personal narrative: a piece of writing that describes an prediction: a logical guess or assumption about something
incident and includes a personal response to and reflection that has not yet happened
on the incident predicción: conjetura lógica o suposición acerca de algo que
narrativa personal: texto escrito que describe un incidente aún no ha ocurrido
e incluye una reacción personal ante el incidente y una
presentation: delivery of a formal reading, talk, or
reflexión acerca de él
performance
personification: a kind of metaphor that gives objects or presentación: entrega de una lectura, charla o
abstract ideas human characteristics representación formal
personificación: tipo de metáfora que da características
prose: the ordinary form of written language, using
humanas a los objetos o ideas abstractas
sentences and paragraphs; writing that is not poetry, drama,
perspective: the way a specific character views a situation or or song
other characters prosa: forma común del lenguaje escrito, usando oraciones y
perspectiva: manera en que un personaje específico visualiza párrafos; escritura que no es poesía, drama ni canción
una situación o a otros personajes
pun: the humorous use of a word or words to suggest another
persuasion: the act or skill of causing someone to do or word with the same sound or a different meaning
believe something retruécano: uso humorístico de una o varias palabras
persuasión: acto o destreza de hacer que alguien haga o para sugerir otra palabra que tiene el mismo sonido o un
crea algo significado diferente
persuasive essay: an essay that attempts to convince the purpose: the reason for writing; what the writer hopes
reader to take an action or believe an idea to accomplish
ensayo persuasivo: ensayo que intenta convencer al lector propósito: razón para escribir; lo que el escritor espera lograr
de que realice una acción o crea una idea
phrasing: dividing a speech into smaller parts, adding pauses Q
for emphasis
frasear: dividir un discurso en partes más pequeñas, quatrain: a four-line stanza in poetry
añadiendo pausas para dar énfasis cuarteta: en poesía, estrofa de cuatro versos
pitch: the highness or lowness of a sound, particularly the

voice in speaking R
tono: altura de un sonido, especialmente de la voz al hablar

rate: the speed at which a speaker delivers words
plagiarism: taking and using as your own the words and rapidez: velocidad a la que el orador pronuncia las palabras
ideas of another
reasons: the points that explain why the author is making a
plagio: tomar y usar como propias las palabras e ideas de
certain claim
otro
razones: los puntos que explican por qué un autor propone
plot: the sequence of related events that make up a story cierta afirmacón
or novel
reflection: a kind of thinking and writing that seriously
trama: secuencia de sucesos relacionados, que conforman un
explores the significance of an experience, idea, or
cuento o novela
observation
point of view: the perspective from which a story is told. In reflexión: tipo de pensamiento y escritura que explora
first-person point of view, the teller is a character in the story seriamente la importancia de una experiencia, idea
telling what he or she sees or knows. In third-person point of u observación
view, the narrator is someone outside of the story.
reflective essay: an essay in which the writer explores the
punto de vista: perspectiva desde la cual se cuenta una
significance of an experience or observation
historia. En el punto de vista de la primera persona, el relator
ensayo reflexivo: ensayo en que el autor explora la
es un personaje del cuento que narra lo que ve o sabe. En el
importancia de una experiencia u observación
SAMPLE
punto de vista de la tercera persona, el narrador es alguien
que está fuera del cuento.

GLOSSARY/
GLOSARIO
refrain: a regularly repeated word, phrase, line, or group of rising action: major events that develop the plot of a story
lines in a poem or song and lead to the climax
estribillo: palabra, frase, verso o grupo de versos de un acción ascendente: sucesos importantes que desarrollan la
poema o canción que se repite con regularidad trama de un cuento y conducen al clímax
relevant: closely connected to the matter at hand (for
example, evidence supporting a claim) S
relevante: relacionado estrechamente con el asunto
en cuestión (por ejemplo, la evidencia que apoya una science fiction: a genre in which the imaginary elements of
afirmación) the story could be scientifically possible
ciencia ficción: género en que los elementos imaginarios del
repetition: the use of the same words or structure over again cuento podrían ser científicamente posibles
repetición: uso de las mismas palabras o estructura una
y otra vez sensory language: words or information that appeal to the
five senses
research: (v.) to locate information from a variety of sources; lenguaje sensorial: palabras o información que apelan a los
(n.) the information found from investigating a variety of cinco sentidos
sources
investigar: (v.) proceso de buscar información en una sequence: the order in which events happen
variedad de fuentes; también, investigación (n.) información secuencia: orden en que ocurren los sucesos
que se halla al investigar una variedad de fuentes setting: the time and the place in which a narrative occurs
resolution: the outcome of the conflict of a story, when loose ambiente: tiempo y lugar en que ocurre un relato
ends are wrapped up short story: a work of fiction that presents a sequence of
resolución: resultado del conflicto de un cuento, cuando se events, or plot, that deals with a conflict
atan los cabos sueltos cuento corto: obra de ficción que presenta una secuencia de
revision: a process of evaluating a written piece to improve sucesos, o trama, que tratan de un conflicto
coherence and use of language; see also local revision, simile: a comparison between two unlike things, using the
global revision words like or as
revisión: proceso de evaluar un texto escrito para mejorar la símil: comparación entre dos cosas diferentes usando las
coherencia y el uso del lenguaje; ver también, revisión local, palabras como o tan
revisión global
slogan: a catchphrase that evokes a particular feeling about a

rhetorical appeals: the use of emotional, ethical, and logical company and its product
arguments to persuade in writing or speaking eslogan: frase o consigna publicitaria que evoca un
recursos retóricos: uso de argumentos emotivos, éticos y sentimiento en particular acerca de una empresa y
lógicos para persuadir al escribir o hablar su producto
rhetorical question: a question asked to emphasize a point source: a place from which information comes or is obtained
or create an effect; no answer is expected fuente: lugar de donde surge o se obtiene la información
pregunta retórica: pregunta que se hace para enfatizar un
punto o crear un efecto; no se espera una respuesta speaker: the voice that communicates with the reader
of a poem
rhyme: the repetition of sounds at the ends of words hablante: la voz que se comunica con el lector de un poema
rima: repetición de sonidos al final de las palabras
speaking: the process of sharing information, ideas, and
rhyme scheme: a consistent pattern of end rhyme emotions using verbal and nonverbal means communication
throughout a poem hablar: proceso de compartir información, ideas y
esquema de la rima: patrón consistente de una rima final a emociones usando medios de comunicación verbales y no
lo largo de un poema verbales
rhythm: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in stanza: a group of lines, usually similar in length and
spoken or written language, especially in poetry pattern, that form a unit within a poem
SAMPLE
ritmo: patrón de sílabas acentuadas y no acentuadas en estrofa: grupo de versos, normalmente similares en longitud
lenguaje hablado o escrito, especialmente en poesía y patrón, que forman una unidad dentro de un poema

GLOSSARY/
GLOSARIO
stereotype: a fixed, oversimplified image of a person, group, talking points: important points or concepts to be included
or idea; something conforming to that image in a presentation
estereotipo: imagen fija y demasiado simplificada de una puntos centrales: puntos o conceptos importantes a
persona, grupo o idea; algo que cumple esa imagen incluirse en una presentación
subjective: influenced by personal opinions or ideas tall tale: a highly exaggerated and often humorous story
subjectivo: influenciado por opiniones o ideas personales about folk heroes in local settings
cuento increíble: cuento muy exagerado y normalmente
subjective camera view: in film, when the camera seems to
humorístico acerca de héroes folclóricos en ambientes locales
show the events through a character’s eyes
visión subjetiva de la cámara: en el cine, cuando la target audience: the specific group of people that advertisers
cámara parece mostrar los sucesos a través de los ojos de aim to persuade to buy
un personaje público objetivo: grupo específico de personas a quienes los
publicistas desean persuadir de comprar
subplot: a secondary plot that occurs along with a main plot
trama secundaria: argumento secundario que ocurre tempo: the speed or rate of speaking
conjuntamente con un argumento principal ritmo: velocidad o rapidez al hablar
sufficient: adequate for the purpose of supporting a claim or textual evidence: quotations, summaries, or paraphrases
reason from text passages to support a position
suficiente: adecuado para cumplir con el propósito de evidencia textual: citas, resúmenes o paráfrasis de pasajes de
apoyar una afirmación o razón texto para apoyar una position
summarize: to briefly restate the main ideas of a piece theme: the central idea, message, or purpose of a
of writing literary work
resumir: reformular brevemente las ideas principales de un tema: idea, mensaje o propósito central de una obra literaria
texto escrito
thesis statement: a sentence, in the introduction of an essay,
supporting details: in writing, evidence (facts, statistics, that states the writer’s position or opinion on the topic of
examples) that supports the topic sentence the essay
detalles de apoyo: en la escritura, evidencia (hechos, enunciado de tesis: oración, en la introducción de un
estadísticas ejemplos) que apoya la oracon principal ensayo, que plantea el punto de vista u opinión del autor
acerca del tema del ensayo
symbol: an object, a person, or a place that stands for
something else tone: a writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject
símbolo: objeto, persona o lugar que representa otra cosa tono: actitud de un escritor u orador hacia un tema
symbolism: the use of symbols topic sentence: a sentence that states the main idea of a
simbolismo: el uso de símbolos paragraph; in an essay, it also makes a point that supports the
thesis statement
synonyms: words with similar meanings
oración principal: oración que plantea la idea principal de
sinónimos: palabras con significados semejantes
un párrafo; en un ensayo, también plantea un punto que
synthesize: to combine elements from different sources to apoya el enunciado de tesis
create, express, or support a new idea
transitions: words or phrases that connect ideas, details, or
sintetizar: combinar elementos de diferentes fuentes para
events in writing
crear, expresar o apoyar una idea nueva
transiciones: palabras o frases que conectan ideas, detalles o
sucesos de un escrito
T TV news story: a report on a news program about a
tableau: a purposeful arrangement of characters frozen as if specific event
in a painting or a photograph documental de televisión: reportaje en un programa
cuadro: disposición intencional de personajes que noticioso acerca de un suceso específico
permanecen inmóviles como en una pintura o foto
SAMPLE
GLOSSARY/
GLOSARIO
U
utopia: an ideal or perfect place
utopía: lugar ideal o perfecto
V
verse: a unit of poetry, such as a line or a stanza
verso: unidad de la poesía, como un verso o una estrofa
voice: a writer’s distinctive use of language
voz: uso distintivo del lenguaje por parte de un escritor
voice-over: the voice of an unseen character in film
expressing his or her thoughts
voz en off: voz de un personaje de una película, que no se ve
pero que expresa sus pensamientos
volume: the degree of loudness of a speaker’s voice or
other sound
volumen: grado de intensidad sonora de la voz de un orador
o de otro sonido
W
wordplay: a witty or clever verbal exchange or a play
on words
juego de palabras: intercambio verbal ingenioso u
ocurrente o un juego con palabras
SAMPLE
Index of Skills
Literary Skills Comedic skit, 405 Epic poem, 27

Comedy, 72 Essay
Acts, 257, 452 elements of, 405, 433 analyzation of, 409
Allegory, 91–93, 241–244 high, 354, 355, 356, 357, 370, 373– argumentative, 179
Alliteration, 398, 400 379, 400, 404, 406, 407 humorous, 360–362, 366, 370, 409
Allusion, 307 low, 354, 355, 356, 357, 370, 400, 404, informational text, 343–348, 410–411
Analogy, 176, 177, 198, 322 406, 407 Essential questions, 4, 71, 122, 171, 222,
Anecdote, 333, 363–364 satirical humor, 373–379 300, 342, 415
Archetype, 4, 7, 10, 17, 27, 41, 161, 168 Shakespearean, 429, 454 Euphemism, 182, 245–246
Argument, 172, 326, 330, 333 universal truth in, 366, 371, 372, 405 Evidence, 149, 174, 182, 198
Argumentative essay, 173 Comic situations, 354, 355, 387, 406, 407, Extreme close-up, 50
Article, 84, 89, 154–155, 177, 184–185, 435 Extreme long shot, 50
195–197, 202–207, 373–375 Comic strips, 356, 357 Fantasy, 148
Attitude (Tone), 77 Comic wordplay, 402–405, 406, 407, 435 Fiction, 133, 148, 254, 268–270
Audience, 80, 174, 207, 308, 334, 356, Commentary, 273, 369 Figurative language, 22, 186
357, 370, 424 Conflict, 10, 24, 129, 141, 144, 149, 151, Figurative meaning, 76
Author’s purpose, 72, 80, 130, 174, 207, 163, 164, 165, 254, 263, 422, 454 Flashback, 160–161, 237
228, 302, 308, 350, 354, 355, 373 external, 228 Folklore, 103
Autobiography, 95–97, 99, 232–234, internal, 24, 228 Foreshadowing, 160–161, 232, 236, 237
239–240 Connotation, 61, 72, 73, 77, 245 Format, 356, 357, 424
Bandwagon appeals, 189, 193 Context, 15, 253, 409, 411, 426 Full-length story, 11
Call to action, 302, 307, 333 Contrast, 93, 129, 165 Graphic novel, 50, 61
Caption, 50 Definition essay, 106–117 Gutter, 50
Caricature, 354, 380–386, 386, 406, 407, Definition strategies, 82–88, 98 Hero’s Journey, 4, 10, 11, 17, 27, 41, 160,
435 by example, 83–84, 87, 98 161–156, 163, 165
Characterization, 40, 76, 149, 228, 267, by function, 83–84, 87 film, 7
380, 446–449, 454 by negation, 83–84, 87, 106–107 illustrated, 38, 41
actions, 34, 35, 36, 160, 163, 228, 354, Denotation, 72, 245, 351 nonfiction, 124–127, 225, 228, 247,
380, 386, 387, 446, 447 Details, 22, 23, 34, 47, 48, 61, 76, 80, 86, 251
appearance, 36, 380, 387, 446 93, 97, 99, 129, 137, 140, 174, 235– Humor, 342, 354, 358
feelings, 35, 36, 163, 277, 447 236, 238, 262, 263, 271, 273, 278, 307, analyze, 356, 366, 387, 394, 405, 406,
others’ reactions, 35, 36, 447
308, 322, 325, 333, 350, 361–362, 369, 413

thoughts, 35, 36, 48, 163, 386, 447 376, 380, 384, 385, 393, 394, 400, 405, anecdotes, 358–365
words, 34, 35, 36, 48, 163, 262, 263, 411, 433, 440 comic characters and caricatures,
271, 385, 386, 387, 397, 446, 447 Dialect, 393, 394 380–386, 406, 407, 435
Character(s), 10, 11, 24, 25, 26, 151, 152, Dialogue balloon, 50 comic situations, 387–395, 406, 407,
228, 254, 255, 256, 262, 273, 274, 280, Diary, 275–276 435
424, 454 Diction (word choice), 72, 80, 140, 228, comic wordplay, 402–405, 406, 407,
analysis, 40, 93, 251 235–236, 362, 370, 404 435
antagonist, 148, 164 connotation, 61, 73, 245–246, 263, complexity of, 343
comic/humorous, 354, 355, 370, 351–352, 377 elements of, 357, 365, 380, 386, 387,
380–386, 387, 434, 435 denotation, 351–352 395, 398, 401, 402, 406, 407
protagonist (main character), 122, humorous, 351, 354, 387, 404 essay, 360–361, 366, 370, 410–411
148, 149, 150, 160, 161–156, 163, 164, Digital text, 149, 152, 162, 164, 165, 245, hyperbole, 398–401, 405, 406, 407,
165, 168 402 435
relationships among, 428 Drama, 257, 279, 426 planned vs. unplanned, 350
types, 7, 148 Dystopia, 122, 133, 141, 144 satirical, 373–379
Children’s book, 230, 241 Effect, 24, 34, 47, 50, 61, 80, 140, 163, universal truth in, 366, 371, 372, 405
Circular reasoning, 189 228, 235–236, 252, 302, 356, 358, 369, words to describe, 72, 356
SAMPLE
Claim, 333 380, 384, 385, 394, 405, 409 Humorous skit, 405
Close-up, 50 Epic, 27 Hyperbole, 398–401, 405, 406, 407, 435
Index of Skills 529

INDEX OF
SKILLS
Images/imagery, 13, 15, 27, 50, 142–143, Online article, 184–185, 195–197 Science fiction, 122, 148
254, 356, 362, 370 Organization, 108, 161–162 Sermon, 89–90
Informational Text, 194, 312, 317–318, Panel, 50 Setting, 10, 23, 24, 25, 26, 148, 149,
324 Persona, 360 155–156, 229, 247, 254, 255, 264, 273,
Interpreting/interpretation, 149–144, Perspective, 151–152, 160, 164, 267, 274, 280
161–162, 163, 223, 224, 370, 380, 386, 271–272, 424 affecting characters, 235–236, 422
402, 429–430, 446 Play, 257–264 social circumstances of, 155–156
Interview, 294–298 Plot, 148, 229, 254, 255–256, 257, 263, Shakespearean comedy, 429
Irony, 377, 387, 394 273, 274, 280, 422 creating context for, 426–428
situational, 387, 393, 406, 407 climax, 9, 10 insulting language in, 429
Jargon, 393 development of, 10 performing, 454
Juxtaposition, 345, 350, 369 drama, 427 Short story, 17, 134–139, 381–383
Key ideas, 123, 155, 229, 237 exposition, 8, 10, 24, 26 Sound effect, 50
Literary analysis, 74, 123, 133, 148, 149, falling action, 9, 10 Sources, primary/secondary, 194, 247,
151–152, 154, 160, 163, 165, 267, 354, humorous, 354, 355, 370 251
413 linear development, 160–162 Speaker, 6
Literary devices, 237, 387, 417 main events, 40, 239–240, 454 Speech, 305–306, 308–309, 330–332
Literary Terms, 4, 7, 10, 14, 15, 23, 27, nonlinear development, 160–162, 232 Stanza, 238
50, 72, 91, 120, 149, 160, 220, 257, pacing, 10 Structure, 7, 15, 16, 24, 34, 37, 47, 48,
278, 340, 346, 360, 373, 387, 393, 398, patterns of, 7 74, 81, 93, 94, 106, 123, 129, 130, 144,
402, 415, 416, 417 resolution, 9, 10 155, 174, 207, 235–236, 239–240,
Long shot, 50 rising action, 8, 10 271, 273, 278, 307, 308, 333, 350, 356,
Memoir, 232–234, 239–240, 285–288 sequence of events, 10, 37, 229, 354, 361–362, 369, 376, 384, 385, 394, 400,
Metaphor, 15, 91, 128, 182, 183 361–362 404, 409, 411, 440
Monologue, 358–359, 416, 423 Plot diagram, 10, 37 Style, 80, 239–240, 362, 394
Mood, 13, 15, 16, 38, 39, 47, 48, 50, 61, Poetry, 74, 91, 94, 237, 239, 289, 290, formal, 102
76, 93, 229, 238, 254, 255, 256, 278 299, 399, 403 informal, 81
Multimodal texts, 41 epic, 27 Symbol/symbolism, 4, 7, 155, 229, 271
Myth, 7 found poem, 275, 278–279 Syntax, 370
Narration, 385 hyperbole, 398 Theme (universal truth), 13, 16, 74, 77,
Narrative, 41, 273, 280 imagery, 13 141, 149, 150, 152, 155, 165, 232–240,

autobiographical, 95–97, 99, 232–234, line length, 27, 80 241, 244, 247, 254, 256, 264, 267, 273,
239–240 narrative, 27 274, 280, 342, 362, 366, 370, 395, 405,
epic, 27 structure of, 15, 16, 74, 239–240 407, 409, 411, 413, 454
Narrative Poetry, 27 Point of view, 23, 24, 235–236, 273, 277 Theme statement, 16, 76, 77, 280
Narrative techniques, 2, 17, 40, 151, 253 first, 416 Thought bubbles, 50
description, 24, 25, 26, 40, 61, 97, 253, first person, 110, 253 Tone, 228, 257–264, 308, 362, 371, 372,
271 multiple, 416–425 385, 387, 400
dialogue, 23, 26, 34, 35, 40, 48, 61, second person, 416 attitude, 77
139, 164, 253, 257, 262, 263, 271, 273, third, 416 list of tone words, 73
385 third-person, 24 nuance of, 72
epic poetry, 27 Political cartoons, 356, 357 shifts in, 23, 76, 77, 262
humor, 350 Primary sources, 194, 247, 251 Topic, 356, 357, 424
pacing, 10, 24, 26, 34, 40, 61, 253 Prose, 275 Use of language, 37, 47, 61, 77, 80, 94,
reflection, 34, 48, 253, 430 Puns, 402, 404, 405, 406, 407 128, 140, 235–236, 355, 371, 372, 429
Nonfiction, 84, 124–127 Quotations, 5–6, 223, 224, 376, 397 Utopia, 122, 133, 141, 144, 148
Novel, 41, 148, 150, 151, 160, 163, 165, Repetition, 369, 400 Visual prompt, 1, 119, 219, 339
268–270, 283–284, 291–293, 388–391, Ridicule, 377 Wordplay, 402–405, 406, 407, 435
417–422 Role, 356, 357, 424
Nuance of Tone, 72
One-liners, 406, 407
SAMPLE
Sarcasm, 377
Satire, 373–379

INDEX OF
SKILLS
Reading Skills Marking the text, 4, 7, 13, 16, 41, 74, 77, SOAPSTone strategy, 308
78, 84, 89, 94, 103, 106, 124, 133, 154, Stage directions, 257, 262
Analyzing the text, 5–6, 17, 27, 37, 61, 164, 174, 179, 184, 202, 232, 237, 258, Summarizing, 13, 17, 34, 37, 74, 89, 144,
74, 78, 89, 238, 241, 308, 317, 356, 388 267, 275, 279, 305, 311, 313, 317, 324, 160, 247, 334, 431, 435, 440
Annotating the text, 61, 263, 308, 317, 326, 330, 335, 336, 343, 354, 360, 366, Text features, 194
395, 407, 411, 435, 437 373, 377, 381, 388, 398, 402, 405, 407, Text organization, 194
Big ideas, 4, 122, 222, 342 409, 417, 431, 437 Textual evidence, 22, 23, 34, 37, 39, 47,
Close reading, 4, 7, 17, 41, 74, 89, 109, Metacognitive markers, 7, 317 48, 86, 130, 140, 141, 148, 164, 174,
122, 123, 133, 160, 163, 165, 171, 179, Note-taking, 4, 5, 27, 72, 77, 124, 148, 186, 207, 235–236, 277, 308, 314, 322,
407, 431, 434–436, 446 156, 163, 166, 167, 168, 201, 242–243, 325, 351, 363–364, 371, 372, 377, 384,
Compare, 74, 78, 80–81, 89, 95, 99, 115, 247, 308, 313, 355, 361–362, 370–371, 392, 400, 404, 407–409, 422, 444
154, 238, 405 376, 377, 380, 384, 394, 395, 401, 404, TP-CASTT strategy, 74, 76–77, 89
Compare and contrast, 123, 124, 411, 415, 426, 427, 435 TWIST strategy, 363–364
155–156, 186, 239–240, 356 Observation, 27 Visualizing, 16, 27, 41, 148, 176, 405, 431
Connecting to the text, 342, 361–362, Paraphrase, 4, 6, 77, 89, 122, 140, 141, Working from text, 16, 23, 35, 48, 61, 76,
426, 428 171, 215, 300, 376, 435 80–81, 86–87, 93, 98, 108, 129–130,
text-to-self, 228, 280, 314, 361–362 Predicting, 12, 41, 148, 179, 182, 254, 141–142, 155, 174, 183, 187, 198, 209,
text-to text, 228, 244, 280, 361–362 267, 342 238, 262–264, 272–274, 277–279,
text-to-world, 228, 280, 361–362 Previewing, 7, 11, 17, 41, 74, 78, 89, 106, 307–310, 314, 323, 325, 327–329, 334,
Context, 16, 179 124, 133, 149, 154, 173, 179, 223, 225, 351–352, 362–363, 370–373, 376–377,
Context clues, 7, 13, 27, 41, 74, 77, 78, 232, 241, 258, 267, 275, 305, 311, 317, 385–386, 393–395, 404–405, 411–412,
84, 89, 94, 106, 124, 154, 155, 174, 324, 326, 330, 342, 343, 360, 373, 381, 423, 433, 439–440, 443–444
184, 198, 207, 232, 237, 241, 258, 267, 388, 398, 402, 431, 437
275, 277, 305, 311, 317, 324, 326, 330, Questioning the text, 149–144, 156, 201 Writing Skills
343, 350, 360, 366, 373, 381, 384, 385, Read aloud, 66, 223, 405
388, 392, 398, 402, 409, 417, 437 Advertisements, 323
Reader/Writer Notebook, 4, 6, 15, 16, 22,
Contrast, 23 Analytical paragraph, 378
34, 47, 76, 80, 93, 97, 108, 128, 140,
Essays, humorous, 360–361, 366–368 Anecdote, 109, 358–365
149, 152, 164, 178, 182, 186, 198, 207,
Independent Reading Checkpoint, 68, AQQS strategy, 109–110
222, 238, 242, 262, 271, 277, 307, 322,
115, 168, 215, 279, 334, 412, 453 Argument, 172, 173, 176, 178, 190, 202,
333, 350, 361–362, 369, 376, 384, 392,
Independent Reading Link, 16, 26, 27, 211
395, 400, 401, 404, 422, 427, 433, 443
71, 87, 108, 115, 122, 150, 166, 171, effectiveness of, 326, 330, 334
Rereading, 15, 22, 34, 47, 76, 80, 86, 93,

176, 179, 190, 201, 222, 237, 251, 258, validity of, 182, 188, 189, 190, 192
97, 128, 140, 160, 163, 174, 179, 182,
278, 300, 310, 324, 326, 342, 356, 365, Argumentative writing, 171, 172, 173,
186, 198, 207, 235–236, 238, 242, 262,
370, 372, 378, 395, 401, 415, 432, 440, 199–200, 210, 216, 309–310
271–272, 277, 279, 307, 322, 333, 350,
445, 452 Audience, 172, 191, 207, 216, 244, 327,
353, 361–362, 369, 376, 377, 384,
Independent Reading Log, 12 357
392–393, 397, 400, 404, 405, 411,
Independent Reading Plan, 11, 222 Background information, 110, 115, 213
422–423, 433, 435, 439
Inferring, 15, 27, 47, 128, 140–142, 149, Bibliography, 201, 216
Rhetorical device, 325, 326, 329
160, 183, 271, 307, 363–364 annotated, 201
Scanning, 27, 162, 192, 194, 263, 435
Informational text, 74, 78, 194, 307, note (research) cards for, 201, 209
Scenes, 37, 40, 47, 50, 61, 255, 256, 258,
437–439 Big idea, 351
262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 380, 391, 415,
Levels of questions, 149–150, 152, 156, Body (supporting) paragraph, 102, 110,
431–432, 435, 450, 451, 452
228, 372 112–114, 115, 213, 409, 411
Setting a purpose, 7, 17, 27, 41, 50, 74,
develop, 372 Book preview, 225
77, 78, 84, 89, 94, 106, 124, 133, 154,
interpretive, 372 Brainstorming, 5, 25, 82, 123, 174, 190,
173, 179, 184, 195, 202, 232, 237, 241,
literal, 372 192, 327
258, 267, 275, 305, 311, 317, 326, 330,
universal (thematic), 372 Bridge, 104, 110, 115, 116
343, 360, 366, 373, 381, 388, 398, 402,
Call to action, 213, 309–310, 323, 329,
409, 417, 431, 437
SAMPLE
337
Sketching, 13, 229, 380, 404, 405
Characters, 69, 98, 141
Skimming, 27, 41, 162, 192, 194, 263, 435
Index of Skills 531

INDEX OF
SKILLS
Claim, 172, 174, 175, 178, 179, 187, 188, 189, Editor’s Checklist, 147, 266, 336, 397 Lead-in, 104
191, 192, 194, 195, 198, 199–200, 201, Effect, 61, 131, 143, 213, 253, 309–310, List, 229
210, 211, 213, 216, 308, 309–310, 334 325, 357, 407–409 Logical fallacies, 189
debatable, 172, 176, 190–191 Embedded Assessment Marking the text, 102, 105, 106, 111, 190,
non-debatable, 190 assignment/scoring guide, 69–70, 192
Coherence, 88, 102, 103, 105, 108, 130, 116–117, 169–170, 216–217, 280–281, Monologue, 424
160, 162, 378 337–338, 413–414, 454–455 Mood, 26, 38, 40, 69, 132, 168, 264, 379
Collaborative timeline, 247, 250 drafting, 10, 26, 40, 61, 115 Narrative writing, 4, 10, 17, 26, 40, 61,
Commentary (analysis), 61, 88, 101, 108, graphic organizer for, 71, 300 67, 69, 251, 253, 304, 424, 428
110, 113, 141, 160, 161, 168, 199–200, previewing, 71, 171, 300, 415 Note taking, 6, 66, 109, 130, 198, 201,
209, 244, 245, 256, 264, 280, 395, 405, reading, 11 216, 225, 247, 386, 394, 412, 439–440
407, 409, 411 unpacking, 4, 71, 122, 171, 222, 300, Open-ended question, 66
Compare and contrast, 80–81, 82, 102, 342, 415 Opening statement, 304
123, 129, 130, 169–170 Essays, 336, 342 Organization, 35, 67, 69, 109–110, 129,
Conciseness, 71 argumentative, 171, 172, 173, 130, 167, 168, 213, 216, 248–249
Conclusion (within an argument), 182, 199–200, 210, 216 chronological, 161–162, 163
188, 189, 213, 309–310 compare and contrast, 123, 167, 169 compare/contrast, 123
Conclusion/ending, 69, 110, 112–113, definition, 4, 71, 82–88, 106–117 feature-by-feature, 123, 130
115, 169–170, 213, 216, 248–249, 264, humorous, 407, 413 sequencing, 10, 37, 40, 61, 161–162,
274, 280, 409, 411 informational, 169–170, 250 168, 253
Context, 69, 253 Evaluating writing, 24, 69, 110–112, 113, subject-by subject, 123, 130
Correspondences, 226–227 114, 116, 169, 216, 309–310, 413 Outlining, 115, 129, 213, 248–249, 250, 411
Counterclaim (counterargument), 174, Evidence, 24, 35, 102, 141, 144–145, 151– Pacing, 26
175, 186, 187, 188, 192, 198, 211, 216, 152, 153, 160, 164, 168, 169, 175, 179, Paraphrasing, 4, 6, 88, 104, 113, 114,
308, 309–310 189, 192, 201, 209, 213, 216, 264, 334 199–200, 201, 209, 215, 342, 393, 429
Defining, 71, 73, 88, 109, 245 relevant, 99, 113, 162, 176, 179, 183, Peer-editing, 67, 68, 147, 175, 213–214,
Definition strategies, 82–88, 101, 109 187, 188, 190, 211, 223, 334 336
by example, 83–84, 87, 88, 101 sufficient, 176 Personification, 15
by function, 83–84, 87, 88 Examples, 353 Planning, 69, 116, 123, 169, 216, 413
graphic organizer for, 4, 7, 82, 87 Expository writing, 26 Point of view, 69, 424
by negation, 83–84, 87, 88, 106, 108 Feedback, 68, 213–214, 256 Precise language, 109, 110, 113, 244, 386,

Description, 25, 34, 35, 47, 67, 69, 73, Figurative language, 67 395
304 Freewrite, 81, 191 Premise, 186, 189, 198
Details, 69, 428 Frequently confused words, 396–397, 405 Prewriting, 69, 82, 116, 123, 169, 216,
Details (supporting), 6, 25, 40, 61, 67, guiding questions for, 67, 69, 111 413
88, 101, 108, 109–110, 113, 114, 160, Hook, 26, 109–110, 115, 116, 213, 280, Proofreading, 68, 69, 116, 169, 216
199–200, 274, 280, 351, 357 409, 411 Publishing, 116, 169, 216, 413
Dialogue, 26, 69, 265–266, 393–394, 397 Humor, 353, 428 Purpose, 67, 175, 244, 327, 328
Diction (word choice), 40, 67, 69, 101, Illustrations, 69 Questions, 109, 148–149, 280, 333
166, 244, 424 Images/imagery, 24, 26, 27, 40, 61, Quickwrite, 5, 63, 87, 106, 155, 158, 164,
connotative, 61 142–143, 363–364 191, 274, 303, 329, 334, 385, 396, 434,
formal, 111, 113 Informational writing, 4, 16, 71, 81, 88, 439
precise, 353, 357, 365, 372, 379, 395, 95, 103, 108, 115, 122, 123, 130, 145, Quotations, 110, 112, 189, 199–200, 201,
405, 407, 409, 428 153, 162, 164, 167, 168, 244, 250, 256, 209, 274, 405
Double-entry journal, 230 274, 336, 353, 357, 365, 372, 379, 395, direct, 23, 104, 105, 141, 153, 162,
Drafting, 26, 41, 68, 69, 88, 106, 116, 131, 397, 405, 407 169, 215, 429
162, 168, 169, 216, 248–249, 253, 256, Interpretation, 102, 167, 199–200 embedded, 23, 88, 102, 104, 105, 110,
264, 280, 309–310, 337, 365, 407, 413 Intriguing statement, 110 113, 114, 141
Dramatic text, 429 Introduction, 102, 109–110, 115, 167, indirect (paraphrased), 88, 104,
Editing, 66, 67, 68, 69, 116, 169, 213, 216,
253, 265, 266, 397, 413
SAMPLE
168, 213, 216, 248–249, 274, 280, 336,
409, 411
199–200, 201, 215, 429
RAFT strategy, 356, 357, 424

INDEX OF
SKILLS
Reader/Writer Notebook, 10, 11, 24, 25, Slogan, 323 Works Cited page, 201, 216
93, 152, 167, 230, 365, 385, 386, 394, Sources, 193, 199–200, 213, 216 Writer’s checklist, 67, 68, 214
443 citing, 104, 105, 201, 209, 212, 213 Writing group, 66–68, 213–214, 254,
Reasoning, 175, 176, 179, 183, 186, 191, evaluating, 193, 194, 201, 216, 337 256, 314, 412
210, 308, 309–310, 334 Speech, 309–310 discussion/response starters for, 66–67
Reasons, 213, 216, 309–310 Structure, 10, 25, 26, 67, 130, 169, 365 roles and responsibilities in, 66–67
Reflection, 4, 69, 105, 116, 169, 211, 216, Style, 363, 364 Writing process, 67–68
253, 280, 315, 413 formal, 100, 102, 110, 379, 395 Writing prompts, 81, 88, 115, 168, 178,
Refutation, 175 informal, 81, 111 188, 200, 256
Research, 172, 192, 201, 209, 211, 216, Summarizing, 24, 48, 66, 77, 81, 89, 190, informational text, 353
313, 314, 327, 425 197, 201, 229, 256, 274, 280, 313, 351, narrative, 304, 424, 428
flow chart for, 215 353 preparing for, 71
notes on, 192, 201, 245, 247, 251–252, Synthesizing, 113, 337 Writing to sources
313, 314, 334 TAG (title, author, genre), 364 argument, 189, 210, 310
Research plan, 192, 211 Textual evidence, 24, 108, 130, 160, informational text, 16, 101, 108, 130,
Research question, 192, 194, 199, 201, 199–200, 238, 244, 256, 262, 308, 371, 145, 153, 162, 164, 168, 244, 256, 264,
212, 216 372, 379, 395, 409 274, 357, 365, 372, 379, 395, 405
Résumé, 229 Thematic statement, 81, 244, 274, 280, 395
Revision, 61, 66, 67–68, 69, 105, 110– Theme, 232, 363, 364 Media Skills
112, 114, 116, 147, 169, 213, 216, 253, Thesis (controlling idea), 24, 101, 110,
Advertisements, 304, 323
266, 280, 335, 336, 397, 412, 413 116, 141, 157, 162, 169, 213, 357, 371,
Clarity of message, 325, 327
Revision strategies 372, 379, 395, 405, 409, 411
Commercials, 326
adding, 61, 68, 103, 105, 253 Thesis statement, 111, 112, 115, 157, 353
Creating Web page, 317
deleting, 68 3-2-1 reflection, 385
Credits, 329, 337
rearranging, 68 TLQC strategy, 104, 169, 189, 216
Effect, 451, 452
substituting, 68, 105, 106, 253 Tone, 40, 69, 363, 364
Effectiveness, 38, 325, 329, 337
Rhetorical (persuasive) appeals, 176, list of tone words, 73
Evaluating
177, 178, 182, 187, 188, 216, 324, 326, punctuation showing, 265–266, 429,
advertisements, 304
327–328, 333, 334 435
film, 450–452
ethos (ethical), 176, 183, 216, 326, Topic, 67, 123, 169, 174, 192, 244
multimedia campaigns, 313–315
327–328, 333, 334, 337 Topic sentence, 61, 88, 98, 108, 113, 115,
PSAs, 302, 303
logos (logical), 176, 177, 178, 179, 152, 153, 161, 164, 244, 256, 264, 274,
websites, 193, 302, 303, 323, 334
183, 216, 326, 327–328, 330, 333, 334, 364, 409, 411
Film, 7, 254–256, 387, 450–452
337 Transitions, 67, 169, 216, 274
Illustration, 38, 40, 229, 304, 405
pathos (emotional), 176, 178, 216, to add information, 102, 161
Images, 38, 301, 304, 327, 329
326, 327–328, 330, 333, 334, 337 to clarify, 102, 129, 130, 131, 264, 378,
Interpretation, 39
Scenes, 434 395
Mood, 143–144, 255–256
Scoring guide, 69, 117, 170, 217, 281, for comparing and contrasting, 102,
Multimedia, 300–304
338, 414 130, 131
Multimedia campaign, 222, 300,
Search term, 193, 194, 201, 245 to conclude, 102
301–304, 313–316, 327–329, 337
Secondary sources, 194, 247 to connect ideas, 40, 104, 113–114,
Music, 303, 451
Self-editing, 67, 147, 214 130, 131, 353
Public service announcements, 302, 303,
Sentences to create cohesion, 88, 103, 105, 108,
326–329
focus on, 10, 16, 22, 99, 137, 162, 165, 162, 253, 378, 395, 409
Purpose, 302, 304
197, 209, 231, 235, 240, 251, 316, 349, list of, 102, 130, 378
Research, 247, 325, 337, 425, 426, 427
353, 361, 423, 427, 433 purposes of, 102
Search terms, 193, 201, 245
frames, 165 Use of language, 26, 40, 61, 67, 73,
Sketch, 229, 326, 329
revising, 64 109–110, 112, 213, 365
Slogan, 302, 304, 323, 329
variety, 397 Visualizing, 61
SAMPLE
Statistics, 329
Sequence, 69 Visual techniques, 40
Target audience, 325, 326, 334
Setting, 69 Voice, 169, 170, 253, 264, 360, 379
Index of Skills 533

Types of media, 301, 324, 326, 337 Evaluate performance, 454 collaborative, 244, 247, 250
Visual representation, 229, 428 Evaluating listening and speaking skills, Embedded Assessment, 69, 454
Visual techniques, 40, 61, 229, 451, 452 178, 253 Oral reading, 253, 256, 263–264, 267,
camera angle, 387 Eye contact, 6, 178, 223, 280, 454 278, 279, 280, 358–359, 360, 365
framing, 61, 387 Facial expression, 359, 436, 447, 449 Organization, 223, 247, 248–249, 250,
lighting, 451, 452 Feedback, 253, 256, 274, 280, 337, 365, 274, 365
props, 451, 452 452, 454 Pacing, 253, 359
set design, 451, 452 Figurative language, 359 Panel discussion, 267, 273–274, 280
sound, 387, 451, 452 Fishbowl strategy, 158 Pauses/phrasing, 244, 253, 263–264
staging, 451, 452 Focus group, 446–449 Performance, 429, 430, 437, 450, 454
Visuals, 16, 38, 39, 61, 176, 300, 302, Gestures, 359, 429, 430, 436, 447, 449, Performance notes, 453
304, 324, 325, 327, 329 450, 451, 454 Performance plan, 448
Group discussions, 10, 16, 40, 66–68, Persona, 360, 425
Speaking and 73, 150, 156, 157–158, 164, 165, Phrasing, 249, 253, 359
213–214, 228–230, 232, 239, 244, Pitch, 249, 253, 263–264, 425
Listening Skills 254–256, 302, 303, 314, 337, 372, Planning, 280, 337, 454
Acting group/company, 263–264, 381, 395, 401, 404, 439–440, 452 Precise diction, 351–352, 360, 365, 371,
439–440, 446–449 book pass, 11 404
collaboration in, 434–436, 446–449, collaborative, 5–6, 11, 13, 66, 109, Props, 448, 451, 454
454 164, 223–224 Rate/tempo, 253, 425
roles of members in, 263–264, 434 discussion sentence starters, 158 Reader/Writer Notebook, 225, 250, 443
Asking questions, 223, 229, 273 guidelines for, 157–158, 223, 239 Reflection, 224, 230, 244, 250, 280, 337,
Audience, 425, 452, 454 Humor, 358–359, 360, 454 436, 449, 453, 454
Barriers to listening, 223 Imagery, 359, 365 Rehearsal, 244, 274, 280, 425, 430,
Blocking, 435, 449, 454 Inflection, 359, 429, 430, 435, 436, 447, 435–436, 437, 449, 453, 454
Brainstorming, 176, 177, 223, 314, 315, 449, 454 Repetition, 440
325, 355, 356, 425 Lighting, 451 Responding to questions/comments,
Characterization, 434, 435, 436, 446–449 Listening 223, 229
Choral reading, 278 to analyze, 223 Scenes, 435–436, 437, 438, 439–440,
Collaboration, 5–6, 66–68, 148, 156, for comprehension, 6, 73, 223 447, 448, 449, 453, 454
164, 171, 223–224, 228–230, 232, to evaluate, 223 Scoring guide, 425, 455

238, 244, 247, 273–274, 337, 342, Literature Circles, 225–220, 239–240, Set design, 448, 451
351, 376, 377, 379, 381, 395, 404, 244, 245–246 Setting, 387, 454
407, 416, 427, 454 agenda for, 227 Shift in attitude, 359
Comedic emphasis, 449, 451 graphic organizer for, 225, 226, 227 Slogan, 329, 337
Conciseness, 229 roles in, 228–230, 238 Socratic Seminar, 157–159, 372
Costumes, 448, 450 text collection for, 282–299 Sound, 451
Debate, 176–178 Makeup, 450 Speech, 305–306, 330–332
sentence starters for, 178 Marking the text, 244, 258, 263–264, 454 Stage directions, 447
Descriptive details, 359, 386 Memorization, 437, 440 Stage fright, 441
Discussion prompt, 164, 256 Mnemonic devices, 27 Style
Dramatic reading/interpretation, 241, 244, Monologue, 358–359, 425 formal, 280, 371
273–274, 275, 279, 435–436, 450, 452 Mood, 449 humor, 365
Dress rehearsal, 453 Movement, 429, 430, 435, 449, 450, 451, Talking points, 247, 248–249, 274, 280
Effect, 359, 365, 436, 447, 451, 454 454 Tempo, 249
Effective communication, 178, 223, 445 Multimedia presentation, 300, 337 Tone (of voice), 244, 359, 425, 429, 430,
Emotion, 449, 454 Music, 451 435, 436, 447, 449
Emphasis, 244, 253, 359 Note-taking, 6, 73, 177, 223, 230, 247, list of tone words, 73
Enunciation/pronunciation, 249, 253, 250, 280, 337, 358, 359, 387 Topic, 178, 359
SAMPLE
280, 436, 449, 454 Oral presentation, 5–6, 73, 175, 176– Transitions, 274, 280, 359
6, 171, 213 178, 225, 241, 275, 425, 441–444 Visual delivery, 6, 450

Visual display, 6 parentheses, 261 Denotation, 245, 351–352, 391
Visualizing, 16, 431, 433 of pauses, 265–266 Etymology, 7, 18, 28, 44, 85, 110, 112,
Vocal delivery, 253, 274, 359, 450, 454 poetry, 27 125, 134, 148, 154, 196, 225, 246,
Voice, 178, 251–253 in poetry, 238 311, 358
Volume, 6, 178, 223, 244, 249, 253, proper nouns, 155 Frequently confused words, 396–397
263–264, 280, 359, 454 question mark, 432 Greek roots, 95, 245, 246
Word choice, 359 semicolons, 432 Latin roots, 103, 110, 162, 237, 245, 251,
of sentences, 10, 16 253, 346
Language Skills Sentences Literary allusions, 307
boundaries of, 62–65 Literary terms, 2, 4, 7, 10, 14, 15, 23, 27,
Acronym, 155
combining, 231 50, 72, 91, 120, 148, 160, 220, 257,
Active voice, 166, 189, 252, 253, 374,
complete, 10, 16, 22, 62–65, 427, 433 278, 340, 346, 360, 373, 387, 393,
379
complex, 111, 115, 231, 353 398, 402, 415, 416, 417
Adjectives, 83, 386
fragments, 10, 16, 62–65, 307, 331 Multiple meaning words, 188, 268, 388,
Adverb, 396
run-on, 63–65 404
Appositive, 165, 197
topic, 61 Nuance, 72
Capitalization, 10, 16, 215
types of, 99–101, 349, 423 QHT sort, 4, 71, 122, 123, 130, 171, 222,
Clauses
Subjects, 62, 146–147 300, 342, 415
adjectival, 310
Subject-verb agreement, 146–147, 153, Roots and affixes, 41, 44, 95, 103, 133,
adverbial, 310
164, 412 162, 237, 251, 253, 346, 403
dependent (subordinate), 111, 353
Subordinate conjunction, 353 Spellings, 428
independent, 111, 353
Synonyms, 15, 72–73, 385, 435 Synonyms, 72–73
nonrestrictive, 78
Verbals, 392, 394, 405, 412 Word meanings, 14, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23,
Comma Splices, 63–64
gerunds, 365 29, 30, 31, 32, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47,
Conditional mood, 132, 379
infinitives, 365 48, 72, 78, 79, 83, 85, 89, 90, 91, 92,
Conjunctions, 231, 361
participles, 233, 304, 365 94, 95, 96, 107, 124, 125, 126, 127,
Contractions, 396–397
Verbs, 34, 35, 73, 83, 146–147, 233 134, 135, 136, 137, 173, 179, 180,
Conventions, 109, 116, 138, 145, 169,
literary present, 377 181, 184, 185, 195, 196, 197, 201,
216
mood, 49, 166, 310, 379 202, 205, 233, 261, 269, 270, 305,
Nonrestrictive phases and clauses, 78
precise, 372 306, 317, 318, 319, 320, 331, 332,
Noun phrases, 78
in sentences, 62 367, 368, 374, 376, 381, 382, 383,
Nouns, 78, 83
shift in tenses, 336 385, 389, 391, 392, 393, 399, 403,
Passive voice, 166, 252, 253, 374, 379
subject-verb agreement, 146–146, 432, 438, 441, 442, 443
Phrases
153, 164, 412 Word origins, 7, 18, 27, 44, 85, 110, 112,
adjective, 42, 304
tenses, 330, 335–336, 365, 376 125, 134, 148, 154, 196, 225, 246,
adverb, 42
Voice, 251–253, 360 311, 358
nonrestrictive, 78
active, 166, 189, 252, 253, 374, 379 Word relationships, 261, 314, 323, 326,
participial, 233, 304, 313
appropriate use of, 169, 170, 253, 379 389
prepositional, 42, 153, 313
passive, 166, 252, 253, 374, 379
Possessive determiners, 396
Pronouns, 235, 259, 264, 310, 344, 353
Punctuation, 137, 261, 265–266, 412,
Vocabulary Skills
424, 435 Academic Vocabulary, 2, 18, 71, 83, 102,
apostrophe, 396–397, 433 120, 124, 151, 172, 176, 192, 220,
brackets, 145 223, 229, 245, 302, 340, 345, 373,
colon, 261 380, 415
commas, 265–266, 313, 432 Analogies, 176
dashes, 261, 265–266, 310 Clarifying, 395
ellipsis, 137, 145, 189, 261, 265–266 Cognates, 27, 46, 113, 354
SAMPLE
exclamation points, 261, 432 Connotation, 245, 351–352, 377, 391
internal, 265–266 Content connections, 126, 162, 331
Index of Skills 535

Index of Authors and Titles
Abbott and Costello, 405 “Five Challenges for Self-Driving Midsummer Night’s Dream, A, 339,
Address by Caesar Chavez, 330–332 Cars,” 202–207 426, 428, 431–432, 435
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The, Fleischman, Paul, 417 Midsummer Night’s Dream, A (film),
388–391 Frank, Anne, 275 450
Aristotle, 110, 189 “Frederick Douglass,” 94–95 “Mooses,” 399
“Banned Books Week: Celebrating “Freerice.com,” 323 More, Sir Thomas, 133
the Freedom to Read,” 154–155 Free Rice Online Quiz Game, 323 Mulan, 103
Barry, Dave, 366 Friedmann, Pavel, 289 Munro, Hector Hugh (Saki), 381
Bible, The, 84 Gandhi, Mahatma, 224 Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Big Hero 6 (film), 8–9 Gerard, Philip, 84 Douglass, an American Slave, The,
Bradbury, Ray, 17, 148, 151, 154, Giver, The, 148, 151, 154, 160, 163, 95–97
160, 163, 165 165 Newman, John Henry, 106
Bradley, Marion Zimmer, 224 Goodrich, Frances, 258 Niemöller, Martin, 237
Brave New World, 148 Gratz, Alan, 267 Night, 233–234
Brothers, 360–361 Gurley, Dr. Phineas D., 89 “9 Public Speaking Tips to Get Over
Buergenthal, Thomas, 294 Guwe, Gary, 437 Stage Fright,” 441–443
Bunting, Eve, 241 Hackett, Albert, 258 1980, 299
Butterfly, The, 289 Hall, Don, 8–9 Nobel Acceptance Speech Delivered
Campbell, Joseph, 7, 17 Hamers, Laurel, 202 by Elie Wiesel, The, 305–306
Carlyle, Thomas, 5 “Harrison Bergeron,” 119, 134–139, Nobel Lecture by Wangari Maathai,
Cassian, Nina, 74 155–156, 165 319–321
Cavafy, C. P., 1, 13 Hayden, Robert, 94 Nobleman, Marc Tyler, 343
Chavez, Cesar, 330 Hemingway, Ernest, 67 Number the Stars, 283–284
Chorlton, Brooke, 173 Hero With a Thousand Faces, The, 7 Obler, Benjamin,124-127
Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 388 Homer, 27, 28 “O Captain! My Captain!,” 91–92
Creative Nonfiction, 84 Hughes, Ted, 398 Odyssey, The, 27, 28–34
Davies, Alex, 195 Humes, Edward, 179 On a Sunny Evening, 290
de Botton, Alain, 224 Huxley, Aldous, 148 Onion, The, 373
“Definition of a Gentleman, A,” 107 Idea of a University, The, 107 Opdyke, Irene Gut, 285
The Devil’s Arithmetic, 291–293 In a “Perfectly Dreadful World,” “Open Window, The,” 381–383
Diary of Anne Frank, The (play), 124-127 Orwell, George, 148

258–261 In My Hands: Memories of a Paris Review, The, 67
Diary of a Young Girl, The, 276 Holocaust Rescuer, 285–288 Patton, George S., 5
Do Something! A Handbook for “Is Traffic Jam Delectable?,” 403 Pausch, Randy, 310
Young Activists, 312 “Ithaka,” 1, 13–14 “Power of Pets, The,” 410–411
Douglass, Frederick, 95 “It’s Time to Tap the Brakes on Self- Prelutsky, Jack, 402
“Drummer Boy of Shiloh, The,” Driving Cars,” 184–185 Prisoner B-3087, 268–270
17–21, 26 “I’ve Got a Few Pet Peeves About “Private Eyes,” 173
Einstein, Albert, 310 Sea Creatures,” 366–368 “Promise of a Post-Driver Life, The,”
Eliot, George, 224 Jefferson, Thomas, 224 179–181
Fahrenheit 451, 148, 151, 154, 160, King, Martin Luther, Jr., 5 “Public Service Announcements,”
163, 165 Larsen, Hope, 50 326
“Family” from The Death of Adam: L’Engle, Madeleine, 41 Reagon, Bernice Johnson, 5
Essays on Modern Thought, 83 Life After the Holocaust, 294–298 “Representative Urges Action on the
Fault in Our Stars, The, 26 Life is Beautiful (film), 254 Media,” 177
Fear Busters: 10 Tips to Overcome Lowry, Lois, 148, 151, 154, 160, 163, Robinson, Marilynn, 83
Stage Fright!, 437–439 165, 283 Saki (H.H. Munro), 381
Fiege, Gale, 78 Lublin, Nancy, 311 Scieszka, Jon, 360
“First They Came for the Maathai, Wangari, 319 Seedfolks, 417–422
Communists,” 237
SAMPLE
“Made You Laugh,” 343–348
“Man, A,” 75
Shakespeare, William, 426, 428, 431,
450

INDEX OF
AUTHORS
AND TITLES
Sharma, Isha, 410

“Soldier home after losing his leg in
Afghanistan,” 78–79
Stone, Oliver, 84
Sutzkever, Abraham, 299
Times Editorial Board, 184
Twain, Mark, 388
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 148
“Underfunded Schools Forced to
Cut Past Tense from Language
Programs,” 374–375
Utopia, 133
Verne, Jules, 148
“Very Human Problem Blocking
the Path to Self-Driving Cars,”
195–197
Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr., 119, 134
“Wangari Maathai,” 317–318
War of the Worlds, The, 148
Watsons Go to Birmingham, The, 26
Webster, Emma Sarran, 441
Wells, H. G., 148
“Where I Find My Heroes,” 84–85
“White House Funeral Sermon for
Abraham Lincoln,” 89–90
Whitman, Walt, 91
“Who’s on First?,” 405
Wiesel, Elie, 232, 305–306
Williams, Chris, 8–9
Wonder, 26
Wrinkle in Time, A, 42–47
Wrinkle in Time, A: The Graphic

Novel, 51–60
Yolen, Jane, 291
SAMPLE
Index of Authors and Titles 537
Credits
Unit 1 Unit 2 From The Diary of Anne Frank by

“Ithaka” from Collected Poems© 1929 “Harrison Bergeron” from Welcome to Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.
by C.P. Cavafy. Translated © 1975 by the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut, Copyright © 1956, renewed by Albert
Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. © 1968 by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Used Hackett, David Huntoon & Frances
Reprinted by permission of Princeton by permission of Dell Publishing, an Neuwirth in 1986. Used by permission
University Press. imprint of Random House, a division of Flora Roberts, Inc.
“The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” from of Random House LLC. All rights Excerpt from Prisoner B-3087,
Bradbury Stories: 100 of the Most reserved. Any third party use of this copyright © 2013 by Alan Gratz, Ruth
Celebrated Tales by Ray Bradbury. material, outside of this publication, Gruener, and Jack Gruener, published
is prohibited. Interested parties must by Scholastic, Inc.
Copyright © 1960 by the Curtis
apply directly to Random House LLC
Publishing Company, renewed 1980 by “January 13, 1943” from The Diary of
for permission.
Ray Bradbury. Reprinted by permission a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by
of Don Congdon Associates, Inc. “Banned Books Week: Celebrating Anne Frank, edited by Otto H. Frank
the Freedom to Read” from American and Mirjam Pressler, translated by
From The Odyssey by Homer, translated
Library Association. Copyright © 2012. Susan Massotty, translation copyright
by A. S. Kline. Reprinted by permission
of A. S. Kline. “Private Eyes” by Brooke Chorlton. © 1995 by Doubleday, a division
Used by permission. of Random House LLC. Used by
From “The Happy Medium” from A
“The Science Behind Distracted permission of Doubleday, an imprint
Wrinkle in Time © 1962 by Madeleine
Driving,” KUTV Channel 2, June 28, of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group,
L’Engle and Crosswicks, Ltd. Reprinted
2013. Reprinted by permission of a division of Random House LLC.
by permission of Farrar, Straus, and
KUTV Channel 2. All rights reserved. Any third party
Giroux, LLC and Crosswicks, Ltd. All
use of this material, outside of this
Rights Reserved. “The Promise of a Post-Driver Life,”
publication, is prohibited. Interested
From A WRINKLE IN TIME: THE by Edward Humes, Consumer Reports,
parties must apply directly to Random
GRAPHIC NOVEL© 1962 by Madeleine September 7, 2016.
House LLC for permission.
L’Engle. Adapted and illustrated© “It’s Time to Tap the Breaks on Self-
From The Nobel Acceptance
2012 by Hope Larson. Reprinted by Driving Cars,” by The Times Editorial
Speech delivered by Elie Wiesel in
permission of Farrar, Straus, and Board, The Los Angeles Times, July 11,
Oslo on December 10, 1986, www.
Giroux, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 2016.
nobelprize.org. Copyright © The
“A Man” by Nina Cassian, Roy “The Very Human Problem Blocking Nobel Foundation, 1986. Reprinted by
MacGregor-Hastie, translator. the Path to Self-Driving Cars,” by Alex permission of Nobel Media AB.
Reprinted by permission of Peter Owen Davies, Wired, January 1, 2017, https://
Excerpted from Do Something! by

Ltd., London. www.wired.com/2017/01/human-
Vanessa Martir, Nancy Lublin, and
“Soldier Home After Losing His Leg in problem-blocking-path-self-driving-
Julia Steers. Copyright © 2010 by Do
Afghanistan,” by Gale Fiege, HeraldNet, cars/
Something! Inc. Used by permission
July 9, 2012. Reprinted by permission of “Five Challenges for Self-Driving Cars,” of Workman Publishing Co., Inc., New
The Daily Herald, Everett, WA. by Laurel Hamers, Society for Science & York. All Rights Reserved.
“Where I Find My Heroes” by Oliver The Public, December 24, 2016, https://
“Wangari Maathai,” BBC News Profiles,
Stone as appeared in McCall’s Magazine, www.sciencenews.org/article/five-
BBC News, 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk.
November 1992. Reprinted by challenges-self-driving-cars.
Reprinted by permission. Courtesy
permission of Steven R. Pines, CPA. Unit 3 freerice.com © 2007–2014 World Food
“Frederick Douglass.” Copyright © Excerpt from Night by Elie Wiesel, Programme. All Rights Reserved.
1966 by Robert Hayden, from Collected translated by Marion Wiesel.
Excerpt from Wangari Maathai’s
Poems of Robert Hayden by Robert Translation copyright © 2006
Nobel Lecture. Copyright © The
Hayden, edited by Frederick Glaysher. by Marion Wiesel. Reprinted by
Nobel Foundation (2004), http://
Used by permission of Liveright permission of Hill and Wang, a division
www.nobelprize.org. Reprinted by
Publishing Corporation. of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.
permission of Nobel Media AB.
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Courtesy Games for Change, http:// Excerpt from Seedfolks by Paul Internet Archive Book Images [No
www.gamesforchange.org. KU Work Fleischman. Text copyright © 2004 by restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons;
Group for Community Health and Paul Fleischman. Used by permission of 90 By Curier & Ives [Public domain],
Development. (2010). Chapter 3, HarperCollins Publishers. via Wikimedia Commons; 91 Stocktrek
Section 10: Conducting Concerns From “Fear Busters – 10 Tips to Images, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo;
Surveys. Lawrence, KS: University of Overcome Stage Fright!” by Gary 92 Pobytov/iStock; 94 Oscar White/
Kansas. Retrieved January 2, 2011, from Guwe, August 9, 2007, http:// Contributor/Pach Brothers/CORBIS/
the Community Tool Box: http://ctb. garyguwe.wordpress.com. Reprinted by Getty Images; 95 Sarin Images /
ku.edu/ en/tablecontents/section_1045. permission of the author. GRANGER — All rights reserved.; 100
htm. Reprinted by permission. Scott, William Edouard (1884-1964)
Adapted from “9 Public Speaking Tips
Address by Cesar Chavez, President / Private Collection / The Stapleton
to Get Over Stage Fright” by Emma
United Farm Workers of America, AFL- Collection / Bridgeman Images; 106
Sarran Webster, copyright © August 22,
CIO, at Pacific Lutheran University, William Charles Ross [Public domain],
2017, TeenVogue.com.
March 1989, Tacoma, Washington. via Wikimedia Commons; 107 lynea/
Image Credits Shutterstock; 119 WIN-Initiative/
Excerpt from The Devil’s Arithmetic, 1 U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.; Neleman; 125 LIONSGATE Album
copyright © 1998 Jane Yolen, published 13 Granger Historical Picture Archive/ / Alamy Stock Photo; 127 The Print
by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Alamy Stock Photo; 14 Claude Lorrain Collector / Alamy Stock Photo; 134
Young Reader’s Group. (Claude Gellee) (1600-82) / Louvre, Andersen/Contributor/Getty Images;
Unit 4 Paris, France / Bridgeman Images; 142 liuzishan/iStock; 142 Bertrand
From “Made You Laugh” by Marc Tyler 17 Everett Collection Inc/Alamy Benoit/Shutterstock; 154 Diego
Nobleman. Published in READ, April Stock Photo 20 Groome, William Schtutman / Alamy Stock Photo;
1, 2005. Copyright © 2005 by Weekly Henry Charles (1881-1914) / Private 179 Ken Lubas/Los Angeles Times
Reader Corporation. Reprinted by Collection / Bridgeman Images; 28 via Getty Images; 180 chombosan/
permission of Scholastic Inc. Marie-Lan Nguyen, via Wikimedia Shutterstock; 184 NetPhotos / Alamy
From “Brothers” by Jon Scieszka from Commons; 38 As the Cyclops lay Stock Photo; 185 Illustration by Anita
Guys Write for Guys Read. Copyright © sleeping, Ulysses and his men blinded DuFalla for PublicSource, www.
2005. Reprinted by permission of the him (colour litho), English School, publicsource.org; 195 Copyright ©
author. (20th century) / Private Collection 2017 Alex Davies; 196 chombosan/
/ © Look and Learn / Bridgeman Shutterstock; 203 Illustration © James
“Take a Walk on the Wild Side” by
Images; 38 Polyphemus, from ‘The Provost 204 Illustration © James
Dave Barry, The Miami Herald, July
Children’s Hour: Stories from the Provost 204 Illustration © James
11, 2004. Copyright © 2004 by Dave
Classics’, published by the Waverley Provost 205 Illustration © James
Barry, Herald columnist. Reprinted by

Book Company (colour litho), Brock, Provost 206 Illustration © James
permission of Dave Barry.
Charles Edmund (1870-1938) / Private Provost 219 Young Women at the
“Underfunded Schools Forced To Cut Collection / Bridgeman Images; 38 Memorial to the Murdered Jews of
Past Tense From Language Programs,” Art and Picture Collection, Th e New Europe, Berlin, Germany (photo)
November 30, 2007. Reprinted by York Public Library. “Th e Cyclops / Peter Langer/Design Pics/UIG /
permission of The Onion. Copyright © Polyphemus tosses rocks at the fl eeing Bridgeman Images; 232 Agence Opale
2014, by Onion, Inc., www.theonion. Odysseus and his crew.” New York / Alamy Stock Photo; 234 Mantvydas
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“Mooses” from Collected Poems for Accessed October 27, 2016. http:// picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo;
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Works / Alamy Stock Photo; 89 By Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images;
Credits 539
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Kari Rene Hall/Los Angeles Times/ Science Source/Getty Images; 432 Bell,
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© 2021 College Board. All rights reserved.

Lance Balla Christina Bartholet Carisa Barnes Leia Bell

Alysa Broussard Robert J. Caughey Susie Challancin Amanda Connell

Paul De Maret Michael Gragert Nancy Gray Charles F. Hall

Charise Hallberg T.J. Hanify Cheryl Harris Karen Kampschmidt

Kerstin Karlsoon LeAnn Klepzig Michelle Lewis Susie Lowry

John Marshall Kristie Messer Missy Miles Glenn Morgan

District Burnet, Texas San Diego, California

Amanda Olinger Kristin Oliver Molly Olmstead Julie Pennabaker

Bryan Sandala Amanda Shackelford Angela Shuttles Kimberlyn Slagle

Holly Talley Maria Torres-Crosby Susan Van Doren JoEllen Victoreen

Aimee Welshans Rebecca Wenrich

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SpringBoard English Language Arts

Introduction to SpringBoard English Language Arts ���������������������������������������������������� xii

ACTIVITY Unit 1: The Challenge of Heroism

1.4 Planning for Independent Reading ����������������������������������������������������������������������� 11

Novel: excerpt from A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle

1.12 Physical and Emotional Challenges ���������������������������������������������������������������������� 74

1.14 Historical Heroes: Examples ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 89

1.15 Transitions and Quotations ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 102

1.17 Explanatory Writing Focus: Organization �������������������������������������������������������� 109

© 2021 College Board. All rights reserved.

ACTIVITY Unit 2: The Challenge of Utopia

vi SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8

2.11 Understanding Elements of Argumentation ���������������������������������������������������� 172

2.14 Forming and Supporting a Debatable Claim ���������������������������������������������������� 190

2.16 Gathering and Citing Evidence ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 201

2.17 Organizing and Revising Your Argument ���������������������������������������������������������� 211

ACTIVITY Unit 3: The Challenge to Make a Difference

3.4 Making Thematic Connections ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 232

© 2021 College Board. All rights reserved.

viii SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8

3.11 A Tale of Survival and Hope ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 267

3.12 Creating a Memorable Opening ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 275

3.15 Never Forget, Never Again �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 305

Informational Text: “Wangari Maathai,” from BBC News

3.18 Examining Media Campaigns �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 326

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x SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8

About SpringBoard ELA

CONSUMABLE STUDENT EDITION CONSUMABLE STUDENT EDITION

TEACHER EDITION TEACHER EDITION

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CONSUMABLE STUDENT EDITION

3.13 Unpacking Embedded Assessment 2

• Based on the Understanding by Design model, SpringBoard ASSIGNMENT

teaches the skills and knowledge that matter most to meet AP

© 2021 College Board. All rights reserved.

targets. READING LINK issue of will

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2 The Practice of Reading Closely

• SpringBoard puts a special focus on close reading, giving you

strategies and structure for developing this key skill.

Close Reading of action,

different people. How the Civil War, he worked in Washington, caring

by Walt Whitman • analogy (uses a more familiar concept to help explain an

OF UTOPIA O Captain! my Captain! our fearfulAtrip is done;is an informal or

SpringBoard English Language Arts

Introduction to SpringBoard English Language Arts �� xii

1.4 Planning for Independent Reading �� 11

1.12 Physical and Emotional Challenges �� 74

1.14 Historical Heroes: Examples �� 89

1.15 Transitions and Quotations �� 102

1.17 Explanatory Writing Focus: Organization �� 109

2.11 Understanding Elements of Argumentation �� 172

2.14 Forming and Supporting a Debatable Claim �� 190

2.16 Gathering and Citing Evidence �� 201

2.17 Organizing and Revising Your Argument �� 211

3.4 Making Thematic Connections �� 232

3.11 A Tale of Survival and Hope �� 267

3.12 Creating a Memorable Opening �� 275

3.15 Never Forget, Never Again �� 305

3.18 Examining Media Campaigns �� 326

Close Observation and Analysis E

concise 1.7 The Initiation �� 27

1.13 Definition Strategies �� 82

1.14 Historical Heroes: Examples �� 89

1.15 Transitions and Quotations �� 102

1.17 Explanatory Writing Focus: Organization �� 109

D. “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they’re supposed

(d) Explain how the quote connects to the concept of heroism.

5. The Experience with This love often drives the hero