Unit 5: Extended Literature (Poems, Drama, Prose)
Pre-Assessment
Grade 4
RL.4.5 - Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the
structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters,
settings descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.
L.4.5 - Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in
word meanings.
L.4.5a - Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors (e.g., as pretty as a picture) in
context.
L.4.5b - Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.
L.4.5c -Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms)
and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).
Grade 4 – Unit 5 – Pre-Assessment – Teacher
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Read the two texts. Answer the questions that follow.
The New Beginning
Written by Kendra Watson and Alicia Morgan
Characters:
Papa
Mama
Mary
Sam
(Setting: The Monroe family is packing their belongings and getting ready to move. They are
tired and hot. Mama is in the kitchen when Papa enters.)
Papa: (Wiping sweat from his head.) Well, how are things going in the kitchen?
Mama: (Looking up from the box she’s packing.) Things are going fine. I feel like things are
starting to come together. I will really miss this old home.
Papa: I know this has been a difficult time, but things will get better once we move into town.
The farm just isn’t producing like it should.
(Hearing the shouts of Mary and Sam. Mama and Papa stop talking. Mary and Sam come
running into the kitchen.)
Mary: (Dismayed look on her face.) Mama, Sam said we weren’t able to take all our toys with
us. I have a million toys! I want to take them all!
Mama: (Standing up from packing) You will need to leave some toys behind. The home we are
moving into isn’t as big as this one.
Papa: Pack the ones you really want and the others we’ll give to kids who don’t have any toys.
Sam: (Smiling at Mary) I told you so. Now can we get back to packing?
Mary: (Frowning) I guess so. It’s just going to be hard picking out my special toys.
(Sam and Mary leave the kitchen walking slowly.)
Papa: (Looking at Mama) I think we need to do something special for the kids.
Mama: I know; let’s have a picnic!
Papa: We could go down by the pond, have lunch, and do some fishing and swimming.
Mama: (Smiling) I think that fishing and swimming are the icing on the cake. I’ll finish packing
later. Right now I’ll pack us a lunch. You go tell the children.
(Mama stops packing boxes and starts packing a lunch. Papa leaves the kitchen to find Mary
and Sam.)
Papa: Mary, Sam, where are you?
Sam: (Stepping out of his bedroom) Here I am Papa. What do you want?
Papa: We are going to take a break from packing and have a picnic by the pond.
Mary: (Running from her room) Really Papa? Can we go swimming?
Sam: Can we go fishing?
Papa: Yes, you may go swimming and fishing. Let’s go have some fun and enjoy the water.
(Papa puts his arms around Sam and Mary. They walk toward the kitchen.) Your mother is
packing a lunch right now.
(When they get to the kitchen, Mama has lunch packed and a blanket to sit on.)
Grade 4 – Unit 5 – Pre-Assessment – Teacher
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Mama: I’m all ready to go.
Sam: What about fishing poles?
Mary: What about swimming suits?
Papa: I’ll go get the fishing poles while you put on your swimming suits.
(Papa leaves to get fishing poles. Mary and Sam walk down hallway.)
Mary: (Happily sings) We are going on a picnic, we are going on a picnic!
Sam: Could you please stop singing Mary?
Mama: (Looking down the hallway) Mary and Sam, please hurry.
(Mary and Sam rush into their rooms.)
Papa: (On porch with fishing poles) I’m ready to go! Where is everybody?
(Sam and Mary rush out of their rooms. Mama hurries out of kitchen. All rush in direction of
porch.)
Mama, Mary, Sam: We’re coming!
Flint
Written by Christina Rossetti
An emerald is as green as grass,
A ruby red as blood;
A sapphire shines as blue as the sea;
A flint lies in the mud.
A diamond is a brilliant stone,
To catch the world's desire;
An opal holds a fiery spark;
But a flint holds fire.
1. Identify which text is a poem and which is a drama. Use elements of the text to support your
answer. (RL. 4.5) DOK 2
Possible Response: The New Beginning is a drama (play). A drama uses mostly dialogue. It has
the family talking back and forth with stage directions. Flint is a poem. The poem has stanzas
that rhyme (blood/mud, desire/fire), and there is a rhythm when you read the words.
Grade 4 – Unit 5 – Pre-Assessment – Teacher
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Rubric
Score Criteria
2


Identifies which is a poem and which is a play (drama)
Uses elements of the text to support
1

Meets 1 of the above criteria
0

No reasonable response
2. Read this part of The New Beginning. Identify the features that are used to explain the events
and characters’ actions. (RL. 4.5) DOK 1
Papa: (looking to Mama) I think we need to do something special for the kids.
Mama: I know; let’s have a picnic.
Papa: We could go down by the pond, have lunch, and do some fishing.
Mama: (smiling) I think that is a great idea. I’ll pack us a lunch. You go tell the children.
(Mama starts packing a lunch. Papa leaves the kitchen to find Mary and Sam.)
Possible Response
The play uses stage directions and dialogue (talking) between characters to show what is
happening in the play. When directions are not given, the reader can sometimes tell what
actions the characters are doing by reading the words the characters say.
Grade 4 – Unit 5 – Pre-Assessment – Teacher
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Rubric
Score Criteria
2


Stage directions can create events or tell actions.
Dialogue can create events or tell actions.
1

Meets one of the above criteria
0

No reasonable response
3. Which word means the opposite of dismayed as used below? (L. 4.5c) DOK 2
Mary: (Dismayed look on her face.) Mama, Sam said we weren’t able to take all our toys with
us. I have a million toys! I want to take them all!
A. fearful
B. anxious
C. joyous
D. brave
Answer - C (1 point)
4. Identify an idiom and explain the meaning from the text below. (L.4.5b) DOK 2
Papa: We could go down by the pond, have lunch, and do some fishing and swimming.
Mama: (smiling) I think that fishing and swimming are the icing on the cake. I’ll finish packing
later. Right now I’ll pack us a lunch. You go tell the children.
Answer - Icing on the cake is an idiom. Accept any explanation defining it as something better
than originally planned.
Grade 4 – Unit 5 – Pre-Assessment – Teacher
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Rubric
Score Criteria
2


Identifies the idiom
Explains the meaning
1

Meets 1 of the above criteria
0

No reasonable response
5. Explain the meaning of a simile from The Flint as it is used below. (L.4.5a) DOK 2
An emerald is as green as grass,
A ruby red as blood;
A sapphire shines as blue as the sky;
A flint lies in the mud.
Possible Response: “Green as grass.” Accept any explanation defining it as ‘very green’.
“Red as blood.” Accept any explanation defining it as ‘very red’.
“Blue as the sky.” Accept any explanation defining it as ‘very blue’.
Rubric
Score Criteria
2


Identifies a simile
Explains the meaning
1

Meets 1 of the above criteria
0

No reasonable response
Grade 4 – Unit 5 – Pre-Assessment – Teacher
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6. Which word means the same as fiery as it is used below? (L.4.5c) DOK 2
An opal holds a fiery spark;
But a flint holds fire
A. cool
B. gentle
C. glowing
D. dancing
Answer - C (1 point.)
The Wind and the Leaves
Written by George Cooper
"Come, little leaves," said the wind one day, "Come over the meadows with me and play.
Put on your dresses of red and gold, — For summer is gone, and the days grow cold.”
Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call, Down they came fluttering one and all.
Over the brown fields they danced and flew, Singing the soft little songs they knew.
Dancing and whirling, the little leaves went; Winter had called them, and they were content;
Soon fast asleep in their earthy beds, The snow laid a coverlet over their heads.
Change
Written by Patty Wilmes
Animals can sense when change is in the air. You can see examples of this when you see squirrels
scampering across the grass carrying nuts. Geese fly south across the sky in V-formation. Plants
also respond to this seasonal change. Flowers lose their blooms to change colors or their
blossoms fall slowly to the ground. Corn in the fields turns from vivid green to golden brown.
People begin to notice that the sun rises later and sets earlier. They wear jackets for protection
against the change in the air.
7. Explain the difference between the “Change” and the “Wind and the Leaves”. Use elements of
the text to support your response. (RL.4.5) DOK 2
Grade 4 – Unit 5 – Pre-Assessment – Teacher
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Answer - Change is prose, and The Wind and the Leaves is a poem. A poem has rhythm found in
a pattern much like a song. Prose provides a setting with description or details that support the
main idea. Prose seems like talking.
Rubric
Score Criteria
2


Explains the difference between a poem and prose
Uses elements of the text to support response
1

Meets 1 of the above criteria
0

No reasonable response
Grade 4 – Unit 5 – Pre-Assessment – Teacher
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