GPB LIVE-STREAMING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
GRADE 8
MARCH 14, 2012
ADDENDUM TO RESOURCE PACKET:
SMARTBOARD MATERIAL
Poem used to illustrate lesson on figurative language.
EXPECT NOTHING by Alice Walker
(excerpted)
Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.
Example of DOK Level 1 assessment on figurative language.
1. “Tame wild disappointment” is what kind of
figurative language:
a) metaphor
b) simile
c) personification
2. Which kind of figurative language makes a
comparison using “like” or “as”?
a) hyperbole
b) simile
c) metaphor
3. Identify 2 descriptive words in the poem:
________
_________
Additional texts to teach figurative language (prose from extended text).
It is hard to see them clearly through the
strong sun. But even the first glimpse of
leg out of the car tells me it is Dee. Her
feet were always neat looking, as if God
himself had shaped them with a certain
style. From the other side of the car
comes a short, stocky man. Hair is all
over his head a foot long and hanging
from his chin like a kinky mule tail. I hear
Maggie suck in her breath. "Uhnnnh, " is
what it sounds like. Like when you see
the wriggling end of a snake just in front
of your foot on the road. "Uhnnnh."
- Alice Walker, “Everyday Use” (excerpted)
Additional texts to teach figurative language (informational text connected to extended
text).
As undeniable as a summer storm, Dee almost
succeeds in taking the quilts from Maggie. In a
moment of clarity Mama sees that the quilts
can never belong to Dee. Maggie has inherited
what the quilts embody; they are multifaceted
jewels of memory and time. Dee doesn't see
that the people behind the quilts are what is
important. Maggie doesn't need the quilts to
remember Big Dee, her aunt and Grandma
Dee who made the quilts alongside mama,
because these women whose name Dee has
rejected taught Maggie the art of quilt making.
Maggie has the ability to create them herself
and carries her heritage inside. It has become
a part of her. (388) Her heritage is something
she can put to use every day. It is something
she can bring to life and create. The lessons
she learned from the women who came before
her shape and prepare her for the new life she
is ready to begin as a wife.
- Ruth Eshbaugh, literary analysis of “Everyday Use”
Rigorous, CCGPS-appropriate assessments on the figurative language lesson.
We have read a poem by Georgia author Alice
Walker, an excerpt from her short story “Everyday
Use,” and an excerpt from a literary review of that
short story (an informational text). Using words and
phrases from the texts, show how the authors used
figurative language and imagery to affect readers.
Identify, evaluate, and paraphrase one example of
figurative language from each text to show what
you think it meant literally; then explain how the
figurative expression of the idea was more powerful.
Explore the author’s intended effect as you
perceived it.
Sample student response.
In the first text, Alice Walker’s poem, “Expect
Nothing,” the author uses figurative language to warn
her readers about the dangers of expecting too much
and being disappointed. She says, “Tame wild
disappointment with caress unmoved and cold; make of
it a parka for your soul.” What I think she means in literal
words is “don’t let disappointments get to you; use them
to make yourself tougher.” By calling disappointment a
“wild” thing to be “tamed” she helps her reader identify
with disappointment as the scary thing it can be. It
scares us just like a wild lion would because nobody
likes to be disappointed. It is like when you think you are
getting an X Box for Christmas and instead you get a
pair of pants for school. It feels bad. She also doesn’t
just say you should let disappointments make you tough;
she says you should make them like a “parka” for your
soul. A parka is a very warm kind of coat. So she is
saying you don’t want to just be protected but made
warm and safe and cozy. She could have said use it as
“armor” for your soul and that would have been very
different. I think she wanted the reader to identify with
how sad disappointments can be and how safe you can
make yourself from hurt if you have the right attitude
about it.
In the second text, an excerpt from Alice Walker’s
“Everyday Use,” Dee’s husband/boyfriend is described
as having “Hair all over his head a foot long and hanging
from his chin like a kinky mule tail.” With this description
the author lets us know that she is not likely to have a
very positive opinion of this man. She uses words with
bad connotations instead of good ones. For example she
says his hair is “hanging” instead of, for example,
“flowing.” She also says the hair on his chin is a “kinky
mule tail” putting the image of a mangy and stubborn
animal instead of a handsome man. A paraphrase of this
description could be: “He had long flowing hair and a
beard.” Instead we get a dirty and dangerous feeling
about the man, with “kinky,” “mule,” and “hanging.” He
sounds rangy and mangy and a little scary. I think the
author wanted us to dislike him on sight.
Two grade 8 text choices, literary.
Texts representing informational choices that are thematically connected to the literary choices on the
previous page.
Sample science text (not associated with grade level science curriculum)
Everything is made of chemicals and chemicals that can be
sorted into various categories. Some chemicals are acids.
Some chemicals are bases. And some chemicals are in
between acids and bases and are called neutral.
Acids have a sour taste and can create certain reactions in
addition to the color change in the next paragraph. Acids can
react with limestone to produce carbon dioxide, or react with
various bases to form salts and water.
Bases have a bitter taste and sometimes a soapy or slippery
feel. They react with oils and grease, as well as reacting with
acids to form salts and water. Acids produce protons (H+) and
bases produce hydroxide ions (OH-).
Red cabbage juice has an interesting property; it changes
colors depending upon whether it is exposed to an acid or a
base (cabbage juice is known as an acid/base indicator).
Cabbage juice is naturally neutral. When it is neutral, it is a
purplish color. If an acid is poured into it, it will turn reddish. If a
base is added, it turns blue or greenish. Vinegar makes your
juice turn red, so vinegar is an acid. Baking-soda makes it turn
blue or greenish, so baking-soda is a base.
By mixing an acid to a base (for example when you added
vinegar to your baking-soda and juice mixture), you made your
solution become more an acidic. As you add acid, your solution
changes from a base (blue/greenish) to a neutral solution
(purple) and finally to an acidic solution (reddish). The opposite
is true, when you add a base to an acid solution.
Sample ELA graphic organizer illustrating lack of alignment with science text.
Who
Students
What
Experiment about acids and
bases
When
I don’t know when they did the
experiment
Where
The kitchen
Why
To prove that they change color in
cabbage juice
How
By putting acids and bases in
cabbage juice and seeing what
color they change to
COMMON CORE GEORGIA PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
TEXT COMPLEXITY RUBRIC
TEXT:
The Member of the Wedding, Carson McCullers
GENRE: Literary
GRADE: 9
LOW (1-3
MODERATE
HIGH (7-10
COMPLEXITY MEASURE
POINTS)
(4-6 PTS)
POINTS)
Qualitative aspects of text complexity best measured by an attentive human reader, such as levels of meaning or purpose;
structure; language conventionality and clarity; and knowledge demands.
Levels of meaning. K-5: Symbolism, abstract thought,/technical,
8
academic content
Some
6-12: Satire, allegory, pun, symbolism, or complex motif/technical,
symbolism
academic content
Structure. K-5: Chapters, multiple plot lines, glossaries, headings, or
7
footnotes.
flashback
6-12: Legal documents, technical manuals, non-traditional uses of time
or language
K-12: Text length
Language conventionality. K-5: colloquialisms, figurative/ idiomatic
7
language, dialects, technical and academic vocabulary
Idiomatic
6-12: Historical language such as Elizabethan or Old English
dialects
constructions; technical and academic vocabulary
8
Background knowledge. Content with which students might reasonably
Relatable
be expected to be acquainted or that will be comprehensible when
themes
introduced
Quantitative aspects of text complexity, such as word length or frequency, sentence length, and text cohesion, that are
difficult for a human reader to evaluate efficiently, as measured by Lexile.
K-1
n/a
2
2-3
450L - 790L
4-5
770L - 980L
900
6-8
955L - 1155L
55 below
9-10
1080L - 1305L
minimum
11-12
1215L - 1355L
Reader and Task Considerations focus on the inherent complexity of text, reader motivation, knowledge, and experience
and the purpose and complexity of the task at hand. Best made by teachers employing their professional judgment.
5
Does this text challenge readers? Readers comprehend about 75% of
the text, working to make meaning of the remaining 25%
8
Does this text match the interests of the students?
High interest
(When appropriate)
10
Is this text ideal for the task?
Excellent
For example a scientific journal for a research project versus
Literary study
Shakespeare for a dramatic presentation
10
Mismatches for which qualitative and quantitative measures cannot
none
easily account.
For example low Lexile books with adult content
Miscellaneous considerations. You may award up to 10 points for specific merits of a text not covered in the rubric domains.
8
Specific Merits
Recognized
classic
Please write a brief explanation of the specific merits of this text in the
box beneath the points awarded
TOTAL SCORE
73 / 100
80 - 100 POINTS:
50-79 POINTS:
25-49 POINTS:
0 - 24 POINTS:
EXTREMELY APPROPRIATE TEXT CHOICE
ACCEPTABLE TEXT CHOICE
RECONSIDER OR CHANGE GRADE/PURPOSE OF THIS TEXT CHOICE
ELIMINATE OR CHANGE GRADE/PURPOSE OF THIS TEXT CHOICE
EVALUATOR COMMENTS:
Example of a DOK Level 1 reading comprehension quiz
1. What does the soldier order for F.Jasmin at the Blue Moon?
a) A beer.
b) A glass of water.
c) A glass of wine.
d) A Coca-Cola.
2. What street is the Blue Moon situated on?
a) Front Avenue.
b) Front Street.
c) Main Street.
d) Main Avenue.
3. Why was F. Jasmin in the neighborhood of the Blue Moon?
a) Because she always hung out at the Blue Moon.
b) Because she followed the sounds of the monkey and the monkey man.
c) Because John Henry told her to meet him at the Blue Moon.
d) Because she thought Jarvis and Janice would.....
4. What is the setting of the story?
a) Alabama.
b) Arkansas.
c) Tennessee.
d) Georgia.
5. During what month does the story take place?
a) July.
b) August.
c) September.
d) June.
6. How old is Frankie Addams's cousin John Henry?
a) 9 years-old.
b) 7 years-old.
c) 8 years-old.
d) 6 years-old.
7. What is Bernice's profession?
a) She is a gardener.
b) She is a babysitter.
c) She is a cook.
d) She is a housekeeper.
Example of an appropriately rigorous CCGPS assessment on the same reading material.
In The Member of the Wedding, Carson McCullers
provides a good example of how challenges experienced
by a character can help us to understand the theme - or
author’s main message - of a story.
before
after
crisis
In an informational essay explaining the theme of The
Member of the Wedding, use the process illustrated by
the graphic organizer above. First, using evidence from
the text, describe Frankie before the crisis at the climax
of the book (her brother’s refusal to allow her to join him
and his wife after the wedding). What were Frankie’s
feelings, attitudes, and traits before this crisis? Then,
using evidence from the text, explain some of the ways
in which Frankie changed after her experiences
culminating in that “rejection.” In what ways was she
different in her feelings, attitudes, and traits? Now you
are ready to think about theme. In your final paragraph,
explain what you think the author wanted his audience to
learn or understand from this story.
Sample response to prompt.
At the beginning of Carson McCuller’s book, The Member of the
Wedding, the main character Frankie is a very immature little girl of
twelve. We can tell that Frankie is still like a child because she doesn’t
fit in with the teenagers in her town and she tells her housekeeper and
her friend that she doesn’t really understand grownups or why her
brother would want to get married. She wants to change her name
which is kind of childish. She doesn’t make very good decisions and
shows that she is not very mature. She shot her father’s gun and she
stole something from Sears. She is jealous and feels left out because
she is not a little kid anymore but is also not a grown up yet and cannot
be a part of any group. That is why she wants to be a part of her
brother and his wife’s new life.
Lots of things happen to make Frankie feel like she can’t be a kid
any more. As Frankie leaves the house to go to the wedding, the
author shows you that she might be able to change because they start
calling her “Frances” in the book and stop using Frankie. At the
wedding everyone treats her like a baby, asking her what grade she is
in. And then the worst thing happens and that is when her one solution
for her life doesn’t work out: she yells for her brother to take her with
him when the wedding is over and instead they just drive away.
Frankie’s last chance to stay a kid seems to end and now Frances has
to go home and be grown up and deal with everything by herself.
At the end of the book the author tells everything that happened in
many months after that day at the wedding. She gives you lots of
evidence that Frances is now a different, more grown up person. She
has a friend who is not only her own age, but older. And the little boy
who was her friend dies, so Frances doesn’t have that connection to
childhood anymore. She also starts talking like a teenager. She turns
13 years old also, which is very different from 12 because you are a
teenager.
I think the author wanted to tell a story on the theme of what it
feels like to grow up and be caught between being a kid and being a
grown up.
Illustration of expanded vocabulary study (words from text, words thematically related to text
from other domains, and academic vocabulary.)
VOCABULARY STUDY
THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING TEXT:
WARPED
PLAITED
IMMATERIAL
Domain words: IMMATURE, NUPTUAL
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY:
____________
_____________
____________
Text and prompt choices from Unit.
EXTENDED TEXT: The Member of the Wedding,
Carson McCullers
THEMATICALLY CONNECTED SHORT TEXTS
(mixture of literary and informational):
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
“Everything that Rises Must Converge” by Flannery
O’Connor
“Saturday Afternoon” by Erskins Caldwell
“Flounder” by Natasha Trethaway
“Of the Wings of Atlanta” by W.E.B. DuBois
“Of the Dawn of Freedom” by W.E.B. DuBois
“Eulogy for the Martyred Children” by Dr. Martin Luthur
King, Jr.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:
The Member of the Wedding, film 1952
“I Have a Dream,” audio
Fried Green Tomatoes, film (excerpted clips) 1991
Driving Miss Daisy, film, Bruce Beresford (1989)
INFORMATIVE/EXPOSITORY:
Characters in several of the texts we have
considered are facing challenges that take
them through the changes associated with
phases of their lives. Frankie in The Member of
the Wedding is struggling to go from child to
adult, Miss Daisy in Driving Miss Daisy is
facing growing old, and Maggie in “Everyday
Use” is learning to see herself as a person
unique and apart from her sister. You may
identify people going through similar transitions
in other texts we have read. Choose any two
characters and explore, using evidence from
the texts, the ways in which their situations are
similar and different.
ARGUMENT:
Using one of DuBois’s essays and one of
King’s speeches, compare and contrast each
writer’s appeal for equality and justice.
Consider the political and cultural climate of
each one’s time period and decide who
presents the stronger argument. In addition to
citing specific evidence from the speeches,
provide some background knowledge from
your research of their places in history.
NARRATIVE:
In The Member of the Wedding, Frankie
doesn’t have any friends her age and turns to
others for company and advice: Bernice, the
housekeeper, and John Henry, a neighbor who
is half her age. Consider a time in your life
when you lacked experience and knowledge.
Who did you turn to for help? Why did you
choose that person to help you resolve your
conflict? Use dialogue to relate conversations
between yourself and that other person.