ELA ISTEP+ Support Framework Grade 8 2015 2016 8... · ELA ISTEP+ Support Framework Grade 8 2015...

ELA ISTEP+ Support Framework Grade 8 2015 – 2016

QUARTER 3 (January 4-March 18, 2016)

Dates: Topic: Curriculum & Instruction Responsibilities:

Week 8

Feb. 22-26

Target Standard:

+8.RL.2.2: Analyze the development of a theme or central idea over the course of a work of literature, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide a detailed summary that supports the analysis.

Target Skill within standard: Analyze development of theme through plot, characters, and setting Continue to revisit this standard as you integrate the additional ‘RN’ standards from your weekly pacing.

Instructional Suggestions:

This standard requires students to apply multiple skills to a piece of literature they are reading. In order to do so, students must be able to make inferences about events and elements in literature. To make inferences, students must think about the information provided in the text combined with their prior knowledge connected to this information. This standard requires students to use their knowledge of prior standards, such as identifying making inferences and analyzing the characters and events in the text. (RL.2.1 and RL.2.3).

When making inferences about the theme presented in a text, students must analyze multiple literary elements over the course of the text. Students must have a strong understanding of elements such as characters, setting, and plot, as well as how each affects the overall message an author wishes to communicate.

To determine the theme, students must track the events, interactions and actions of characters, and setting to determine if there are any changes or events that lead to a discovery or message.

It is important for students to recognize that the theme they believe represents a text’s ideas should be universal and a statement that can apply to different situations and does not solely represent the actions, events, and characters in that specific text.

As this skill will require tracking the development of multiple elements, a graphic organizer will greatly help students organize the textual evidence for each element. It is important that students track theme development as the theme will rarely be fully present at the beginning of a work or excerpt and will continue to take shape throughout the entire text.

The final skill within this standard requires students to summarize the events in a text, with the goal of utilizing the summary to support the theme, so any events included in a summary should further develop the theme.

Words and phrases that are useful in the instruction of this standard and/or may appear on ISTEP+ in relation to standard:

o plot (exposition, climax, conflict, resolution), characters’ interactions, setting, theme, change over time, effects of events, summary, development

o What has happened in the story up to this point? o Who are the characters and how have their actions or thoughts contributed to a central message? o Have the characters and/or setting changed? o What might the change in characters or setting tell us about the author’s message? o Has there been a conflict or event that has caused a change for any characters? If so, what? o How do these events or conflicts contribute to one theme or central idea?

Constructed- Response Question Stem(s):

CR Question to Use:

How does the change in Howard’s character through the excerpt reflect the development of theme? The following questions stems reflect possible assessment questions related to this skill and standard:

How does the author use the main character to develop the theme of the text?

How does the setting contribute to the overall theme of the excerpt?

Which of the following provides the MOST ACCURATE summary of the text?

Which of the following lines from the text BEST develops the theme of the text?

In thinking about the theme of the excerpt, why does the author MOST LIKELY choose to include ______________?

ISTEP+ Practice Writing Prompt:

Response to Literature Resources and Prompts:

After reading the excerpt from “Up the Coolly”, respond to the following text-based writing prompt. Utilize the text

to construct your response and cite textual evidence.

You have just read the excerpt from “Up the Coolly”. In this excerpt the theme is developed through the elements

of the setting and characters. Write an essay identifying the overall theme of the text, as well as how the setting,

plot, and characters all contribute to the development of this theme. Be sure to describe each component with

detail, as well as explain how it connects to the theme, citing specific examples from the text.

**This week returns to a Response to Literature prompt that is tied to the Rigorous Read. Use information from last

week’s ISTEP+ Practice Writing Prompt to guide area of focus for the Response to Literature prompt.**


Test-Taking Strategy:

Response to Literature: Organization of Introductions and Conclusions

Resources have been provided to help students understand the structure and components of a strong introduction and conclusion.

Use the first few pages to introduce what components make up an introduction and how these components are connected to the conclusion. This will be a good time to reinforce the previous week’s focus of thesis statements and overall essay structure.

Using the sample introductions and conclusions from A Christmas Carol, students can use the visual templates to deconstruct the completed introductions and conclusions into their parts. This will help them see the role of each part and how the meaning would change without the inclusion of each part.

Finally, a text and response to literature prompt are included for students to once again practice using the GATE strategy to deconstruct, then utilize for practice creating a strong introduction and conclusion. The final page provides an outline for students to use for this process.

Teacher could utilize students’ responses from the ISTEP+ Practice Writing Prompt during the week of February 16th to help students strengthen previously constructed introductions and conclusions.

*Resources included in the final pages of this document*

Resources: Rigorous Read- from “Up the Coolly” by Hamlin Garland (This text should be used to provide students’ exposure to texts that are at or above the higher end of your grade-level Lexile band. Additionally, the purpose of this text is to reinforce the skill of the week.). Online practice:

http://www.englishworksheetsland.com/grade8/readingliterature/6/1suspense.pdf

Graphic Organizer included- Analyze development of theme through plot, setting, and characters

Biweekly Assessment

Assessment to gauge student performance on the target skills- how point of view reflects beliefs and development of theme- will be administered on February 26. The biweekly assessment will also determine student performance on the target skill for week 7- how point of view reflects beliefs.

http://www.englishworksheetsland.com/grade8/readingliterature/6/1suspense.pdf


Rigorous Read-Grade 8 Quarter 3, Week 8: February 22-26 After being away for ten years, Howard McLane is returning home to visit his family. An old farmer, McTurg, is driving Howard from the train station to Howard’s family farm in rural Wisconsin.

from “Up the Coolly” by Hamlin Garland

1 It all swept back upon Howard in a flood of names and faces and sights and sounds; something sweet and stirring somehow, though it had little of aesthetic charms at the time. They were passing along lanes now, between superb fields of corn, wherein ploughmen1 were at work. Kingbirds flew from post to post ahead of them; the insects called from the grass. The valley slowly outspread below them. The workmen in the fields were “turning out” for the night. They all had a word of [joking] with McTurg. 2 Over the western wall of the circling amphitheatre the sun was setting. A few scattering clouds were drifting on the west wind, their shadows sliding down the green and purpled slopes. The dazzling sunlight flamed along the luscious velvety grass, and shot amid the rounded, distant purple peaks, and streamed in bars of gold and crimson across the blue midst of the narrower upper Coollies. 3 The heart of the young man swelled with pleasure almost like pain, and the eyes of the silent older man took on a far-off, dreaming look, as he gazed at the scene which had repeated itself a thousand times in his life, but of whose beauty he never spoke. 4 Far down to the left was the break in the wall through which the river ran on its way to join the Mississippi. They climbed slowly among the hills, and the valley they had left grew still more beautiful as the squalor2 of the little town was hid by the dusk of distance. Both men were silent for a long time. Howard knew the peculiarities of his companion too well to make any remarks or ask any questions, and besides it was a genuine pleasure to ride with one who understood that silence was the only speech amid such splendors. 5 Once they passed a little brook singing in a mournfully sweet way its eternal song over its pebbles. It called back to Howard the days when he and Grant, his younger brother, had fished in this little brook for trout3, with trousers rolled above the knee and wrecks of hats upon their heads. 6 “Any trout left?” he asked. 7 “Not many. Little fellers.” Finding the silence broken, William asked the first question since he met Howard. “Le’ ’s see: you’re a show feller now? B’long to a troupe4?” 8 “Yes, yes; I’m an actor.” 9 “Pay much?” 10 “Pretty well.” 11 That seemed to end William’s curiosity about the matter. 12 “Ah, there’s our old house, ain’t it?” Howard broke out, pointing to one of the houses farther up the Coolly. “It’ll be a surprise to them, won’t it?” 13 “Yep; only they don’t live there.” 14 “What! They don’t!” 15 “No.” 16 “Who does?”


17 “Dutchman.” 18 Howard was silent for some moments. “Who lives on the Dunlap place?” 19 “’Nother Dutchman.” 20 “Where’s Grant living, anyhow?” 21 “Farther up the Coolly.” 22 “Well, then, I’d better get out here, hadn’t I?” 23 “Oh, I’ll drive ye up.” 24 “No, I’d rather walk.” 25 The sun had set, and the Coolly was getting dusk when Howard got out of McTurg’s carriage and set off up the winding lane toward his brother’s house. He walked slowly to absorb the coolness and fragrance and color of the hour. The katydids sang a rhythmic song of welcome to him. Fireflies were in the grass. A whippoorwill in the deep of the wood was calling weirdly, and an occasional night-hawk, flying high, gave his grating shriek, or hollow boom, suggestive and resounding. 26 He had been wonderfully successful, and yet had carried into his success as a dramatic author as well as actor a certain puritanism that made him a paradox5 to his fellows. He was one of those actors who are always in luck, and the best of it was he kept and made use of his luck. Jovial as he appeared, he was inflexible as granite against drink and tobacco. He retained through it all a certain freshness of enjoyment that made him one of the best companions in the profession; and now, as he walked on, the hour and the place appealed to him with great power. It seemed to sweep away the life that came between. 27 How close it all was to him, after all! In his restless life, surrounded by the glare of electric lights, painted canvas, hot colors, creak of machinery, mock trees, stones, and brooks, he had not lost, but gained, appreciation for the coolness, quiet, and low tones, the shyness of the wood and field. 28 In the farmhouse ahead of him a light was shining as he peered ahead, and his heart gave another painful movement. His brother was awaiting him there, and his mother, whom he had not seen for ten years and who had lost the power to write. And when Grant wrote, which had been more and more seldom of late, his letters had been cold and curt. 29 He began to feel that in the pleasure and excitement of his life he had grown away from his mother and brother. Each summer he had said, “Well, now, I’ll go home this year, sure.” But a new play to be produced, or a new yachting trip, or a tour of Europe, had put the home-coming off; and now it was with a distinct [awareness] of neglect of duty that he walked up to the fence and looked into the yard, where William had told him his brother lived. 30 It was humble enough—a small white story-and-a-half structure, with a wing set in the midst of a few locust-trees; a small drab-colored barn with a sagging ridge-pole6; a barnyard full of mud, in which a few cows were standing, fighting the flies and waiting to be milked. An old man was pumping water at the well; the pigs were squealing from a pen near by; a child was crying. 31 Instantly the beautiful, peaceful valley was forgotten. A sickening chill struck into Howard’s soul as he looked at it all. In the dim light he could see a figure milking a cow. Leaving his [suitcase] at the gate, he entered and walked up to the old man, who had finished pumping and was about to go to feed the hogs. 32 “Good-evening,” Howard began. “Does Mr. Grant McLane live here?” 33 “Yes, sir, he does. He’s right over there milkin’.” 34 “I’ll go over there an—”


35 “Don’t b’lieve I would. It’s darn muddy over there. It’s been turrible rainy. He’ll be done in a minute, anyway.” 36 “Very well; I’ll wait.” 37 As he waited, he could hear a woman’s fretful voice and the impatient jerk and jar of kitchen things, indicative of ill-temper or worry. The longer he stood absorbing this farm-scene, with all its sordidness, dullness, triviality, and its endless drudgeries7, the lower his heart sank. All the joy of the home-coming was gone, when the figure arose from the cow and approached the gate, and put the pail of milk down on the platform by the pump. 38 “Good-evening,” said Howard, out of the dusk. 39 Grant stared a moment. “Good-evening.” 40 Howard knew the voice, though it was older and deeper and more sullen. “Don’t you know me, Grant? I am Howard.” 41 The man approached him, gazing intently at his face. “You are?” after a pause. “Well, I’m glad to see you, but I can’t shake hands. That damned cow had laid down in the mud.” 42 They stood and looked at each other. Howard’s cuffs, collar, and shirt, [foregin] in their elegance, showed through the dusk, and a glint of light shot out from the jewel of his necktie, as the light from the house caught it at the right angle. As they gazed in silence at each other, Howard [discovered] something of the hard, bitter feeling that came into Grant’s heart, as he stood there, ragged, ankle-deep in muck, his sleeves rolled up, a shapeless old straw hat on his head. 43 The gleam of Howard’s white hands angered him. When he spoke, it was in a hard, gruff tone, full of rebellion. 44 “Well, go in the house and set down. I’ll be in soon’s I strain the milk and wash the dirt off my hands.”

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Footnotes: 1ploughmen- a man who works on a farm, in the fields or with animals 2squalor- the state of something being filthy or dirty 3trout- a speckled fish that lives in freshwater 4troupe- a group of actors, dancers, and performers 5puritanism…paradox- extreme strictness that made him different from his peers 6ridgepole- a horizontal beam at the top of a roof 7sordidness…drudgeries- unpleasantness, insignificance, and many chores


RL.2.2- Development of theme through literary elements Name: ___________________________

Developments in Plot Developments in Setting Developments in Characters

How have these contributed to a developing message or theme?

Chunk #2



Chunk #3




Overall Theme

What is the theme of this excerpt and how has it developed over the course of the text?


Grade 8- Biweekly Assessment #3 (RL.3.2 and RL.2.2)

Directions: Read the following excerpt from The Light in the Forest and answer the questions that follow.

From The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter

1 The boy was about fifteen years old. He tried to stand very straight and still when he heard the news, but inside of him everything had gone black. It wasn't that he couldn't endure pain. In summer he would put a stone hot from the fire on his flesh to see how long he could stand it. In winter he would sit in the icy river until his Indian father smoking on the bank said he could come out. It made him strong against any hardship that would come to him, his father said. But if it had any effect on this thing that had come to him now, the boy couldn't tell what it was. 2 For days word had been reaching the Indian village that the Lenni Lenape and Shawanose1 must give up their white prisoners. Never for a moment did the boy dream that it meant him. Why, he had been one of them since he could remember! Cuyloga was his father. Eleven years past he had been adopted to take the place of a son dead from the yellow vomit2. More than once he had been told how, when he was only four years old, his father had said words that took out his white blood and put Indian blood in its place. His white thoughts and meanness had been wiped away and the brave thoughts of the Indian put in their stead. Ever since, he had been True Son, the blood of Cuyloga and flesh of his flesh. For eleven years he had lived here, a native of this village on the Tuscarawas3, a full member of the family. Then how could he be torn from his home like a sapling from the ground and given to the alien whites who were his enemy! 3 The day his father told him, the boy made up his mind. Never would he give up his Indian life. Never! When no one saw him, he crept away from the village. From an old campfire, he blackened his face. Up above Pockhapockink, which means the stream between two hills, he had once found a hollow tree. Now he hid himself in it. He thought only he knew the existence of that tree and was dismayed when his father tracked him to it. It was humiliating to be taken back with his blackened face and tied up in his father's cabin like some prisoner to be burned at the stake. When his father led him out next morning, he knew everybody watched: his mother and sisters, the townspeople, his uncle and aunt, his cousins and his favorite cousin, Half Arrow, with whom he had ever fished, hunted and played. Seldom had they been separated even for a single day. 4 All morning on the path with his father, crazy thoughts ran like squirrels in the boy's head. Never before had he known his father to be in the wrong. Could it be that he was in the right now? Had he unknowingly left a little white blood in the boy's veins and was it for this that he must be returned? Then they came in sight of the ugly log redoubts4 and pale tents of the white army, and the boy felt sure there was in his body not a drop of blood that knew these things. At the sight and smells of the white man, strong aversion and loathing came over him. He tried with all his young strength to get away. His father had to hold him hard. In the end he dragged him twisting and yelling over the ground to the council house of the whites and threw him on the leaves that had been spread around. 5 "I gave talking paper that I bring him," he told the white guards. "Now he belong to you." 6 It was all over then, the boy knew. He was as good as dead and lay among the other captives with his face down. He was sure that his father had stayed. He could feel his presence and smell the sweet inner bark of the red willow mixed with the dried sumach leaves of his pipe. When dusk fell, a white guard came up. The other soldiers called him Del, perhaps because he could talk Delaware, the strange name the whites gave the Lenni Lenape and their languages. True Son heard Del tell his father that all Indians must be out of the camp by nightfall. From the sounds the boy guessed his father was knocking out his pipe and putting it away. Then he knew he had risen and was standing over him. 7 "Now go like an Indian, True Son," he said in a low, stern voice. "Give me no more shame."


8 He left almost at once and the boy heard his footsteps in the leaves. The rustling sound grew farther and farther away. When he sat up, his father was gone. But never before or since was the place his father was going back to so clear and beautiful in the boy's mind. He could see the great oaks and shiver-bark hickories standing over the village in the autumn dusk, the smoke rising from the double row of cabins with the street between, and the shining, white reflection of the sky in the Tuscarawas beyond. Fallen red, brown and golden leaves lay over roofs and bushes, street and forest floor. Tramping through them could be made out the friendly forms of those he knew, warriors and hunters, squaws5, and the boys, dogs and girls he had played with. Through the open door of his father's cabin shone the warm red fire with his mother and sisters over it, for this was the beginning of the Month of the First Snow, November. Near the fire heavy bark had been strewn on the ground, and on it lay his familiar bed and the old worn half-grown bearskin he pulled over himself at night. Homesickness overwhelmed him, and he sat there and wept. 9 After a while he was conscious of eyes upon him. When he looked up, he saw the white guard they called Del, standing there in the dusk that to the Indian is part of the day and part of the night. The white soldier was about twenty years old, with red hair and a hunting shirt of some coarse brownish cloth. The bosom stuck out like a pouch from his belongings carried in it. His belt was tied in the back and his cape fringed with threads that in the daylight were raveled scarlet and green. But what affronted the boy was that the white guard laughed at him. 10 Instantly True Son turned and lay on his face again. Inside of him hate rose like a poison. 11 "Once my hands are loose, I'll get his knife," he promised himself. "Then quickly I'll kill him."

***

12 Of all the prisoners Del saw brought in, the fifteen-year-old boy from Pennsylvania was the wildest and most

rebellious. He had to be tied up with strips of buffalo hide, and then he struggled like a panther [tied] up on a pole. His

name in Delaware, his father said, was True Son, but never had Dell seen anybody so unwilling to go back to his true

mother and father.

13 Del had gone up to the North Tuscarawas redoubt when he first saw the pair on the path. The boy wore a brand-

new calico hunting shirt, probably made by his mother and sisters for the occasion to show they could dress him as well

as the whites. It covered the boy’s upper parts and half way down his leggings. His hair was black and his face and arms

brown as an Indian’s, but you couldn’t mistake the English cast of his feature. He was plainly white, and yet when he

came in sight of the white camp, he stopped dead, a wild expression flew in his face, and he fought like a bobcat to get

away. Squaws and Indian children who had come with other prisoners watched and stared. Their faces never moved a

muscle, but you could tell they understood and felt for the prisoner.

14 When Del got back to duty at the council house, the boy lay flat on his face. After dark when the fires burned

low, the guard caught him tearing with his teeth at the knots that bound him.

15 “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t try to get away!” he warned sharply in Delaware.

16 The boy turned on him.

17 “I spit on white people!” he told him.

18 “Don’t forget you’re white your own self,” Del retorted.

19 “I’m Indian!” the boy said and looked up at him straight in the eye. The guard didn’t laugh. There were times

when Indian feelings still came up in him strong.


Footnotes:

1 Lenni Lenape and Shawanose – specific Native American tribes living in North America 2 yellow vomit- one of the symptoms and nicknames for the deadly yellow fever infection 3Tuscarawas- an area west of the Appalachian Mountains, populated by the Lenni Lenape tribe 4log redoubts- a fort system created for protection, made of stone, brick, earth 5squaws- a Native American word used to refer to a woman

1. (RL.2.2) Which of the following lines from the excerpt represents the FIRST instance of the theme present in the

text?

a. “Then how could he be torn from his home like a sapling from the ground and given to the alien whites

who were his enemy!”

b. “It was humiliating to be taken back with his blackened face and tied up in his father's cabin like some

prisoner to be burned at the stake.”

c. “But what affronted the boy was that the white guard laughed at him.”

d. “True Son heard Del tell his father that all Indians must be out of the camp by nightfall. From the sounds

the boy guessed his father was knocking out his pipe and putting it away.”

2. (RL.2.2) How does the inclusion of the vivid setting description below from paragraph 8 further develop the

theme of identity present in the text?

He could see the great oaks and shiver-bark hickories standing over the village in the autumn dusk, the

smoke rising from the double row of cabins with the street between, and the shining, white reflection of

the sky in the Tuscarawas beyond. Fallen red, brown and golden leaves lay over roofs and bushes, street

and forest floor. Tramping through them could be made out the friendly forms of those he knew,

warriors and hunters, squaws5, and the boys, dogs and girls he had played with.

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3. (RL.3.2) Why does the author MOST LIKELY include the information about Del’s point of view towards the end of

the excerpt?

a. The author includes Del’s point of view to demonstrate how all white men treat the Indians cruelly, as

Del yells at True Son.

b. The author includes Del’s point of view to illustrate the sympathy Del feels towards True Son, as he is

clearly confused.

c. The author includes Del’s point of view to reveal the connection Del shares with the boy, as he

understands the boy’s feelings.

d. The author includes Del’s point of view to describe the internal struggle all officers felt when trying to

retrieve the white children from the Indians.


4. (RL.3.2) Which of the following details from the excerpt BEST reflects True Son’s beliefs about his heritage and identity?

a. “From the sounds the boy guessed his father was knocking out his pipe and putting it away. Then he

knew he had risen and was standing over him.”

b. “Then they came in sight of the ugly log redoubts and pale tents of the white army, and the boy felt sure

there was in his body not a drop of blood that knew these things.”

c. “In winter he would sit in the icy river until his Indian father smoking on the bank said he could come

out.”

d. “After a while he was conscious of eyes upon him. When he looked up, he saw the white guard they

called Del, standing there in the dusk that to the Indian is part of the day and part of the night.”

5. (RL.2.2) How does the protagonist in the excerpt continue to evolve with the theme of identity present in the

text?

a. The protagonist becomes increasingly less confused about his identity, as he remembers his early

childhood with his white family.

b. As the protagonist is ripped away from his family and acclimates to his new surroundings, he begins to

understand his true identity.

c. The protagonist becomes increasingly more confused about his identity, as he is not a true white man

and has been a prisoner for most of his life.

d. As the protagonist experiences a range of emotions in reaction to the news and being separated from

his family, his loss of identity increases through his actions.

6. (RL.3.2) How do True Son’s beliefs and heritage affect his perspective of the white men, and Del in particular?

Support your answer with details from the text.

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Grade 8- Biweekly Assessment #3 (RL.3.2 and RL.2.2) Answer Key

Question Standard Correct Answer

1 8.RL.2.2 A

2 8.RL.2.2 Possible Answer: The author further develops the theme of identity by including many details while True Son remembers his home. For example, True Son remembers walking through the forest and seeing people he knows. He also provides a very virbrant picture of the colors of leaves and people he encounters. These details demonstrate that they are a part of who True Son believes he is, as he can remember them as if they were right next to him.

3 8.RL.3.2 C

4 8.RL.3.2 B

5 8.RL.2.2 D

6 8.RL.3.2 Possible Answer: True Son’s upbringing as an Indian boy negatively affect his perspective of all white men. Through his multiple attempts to escape and yelling at Del, it is clear he has a strong hatrid for white men. The following example from paragraph 4 provides evidence of this, “At the sight and smells of the white man, strong aversion and loathing came over him.” Additionally, because Del laughs at True Son, it only strengthens True Son’s hatred towards white men.


Test-Taking Strategies: Introductions and Conclusions Quarter 3, Week 8: February 22-26

Sample Concluding Paragraph for Response to Literature Essay- Sample One

Introduction:

Which is more valuable---financial success or kindness? The play A Christmas Carol, adapted by Israel

Horowitz from Charles Dickens’ novel, answers this question. It tells the story of Scrooge, a greedy, grumpy old man.

In the play, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts who change him from being a cold-hearted miser into a kind, generous

person. A Christmas Carol illustrates that financial success cannot buy happiness, but kindness can.

1. Attention-getter:

Which is more valuable---financial success or kindness?

2. Connect to the opener: The play A Christmas Carol, adapted by Israel Horowitz from Charles Dickens’ novel, answers

this question.

3. Plot summary: It tells the story of Scrooge, a greedy, grumpy old man. In the play, Scrooge is visited by three

ghosts who change him from being a cold-hearted miser into a kind, generous person.

4. Thesis: A Christmas Carol illustrates that financial success cannot buy happiness, but kindness can.

Conclusion:

A Christmas Carol has remained popular for over 150 years because it addresses a basic question with which

many people still struggle---the relative value of financial success and kindness. The play answers this question by

showing that financial success offers no guarantee of happiness and love, but kindness brings many rewards. If society

today would take this lesson seriously, all would benefit

1. Connect to the opener:

A Christmas Carol has remained popular for over 150 years because it addresses a basic question

with which many people still struggle---the relative value of financial success and kindness.

2. Restate the thesis in different words: The play answers this question by showing that financial success offers no guarantee of

happiness and love, but kindness brings many rewards.

3. End with something to make the reader think:

If society today would take this lesson seriously, all would benefit


Sample Two

Introduction:

Many people spend their entire lives searching for the key to a meaningful life. In A Christmas Carol, written

by Charles Dickens and adapted by Israel Horowitz, a greedy old miser named Scrooge endures such a search for

meaning and ultimately finds the treasure of life. He needs the help of three spirits, who appear during the night on

Christmas Eve, to help him see how his inconsiderate and greedy actions affect others and leave him alone. As a result

of this experience, he changes from his selfish ways and allows himself to branch out, becoming more friendly,

generous, and content in the process. A Christmas Carol illustrates that people can be happy without money or

success, as pure happiness originates from thoughtfulness and generosity.

1. Attention-getter:

Many people spend their entire lives searching for the key to a meaningful life.

2. Connect to opener:

In A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens and adapted by Israel Horowitz, a greedy old miser named

Scrooge endures such a search for meaning and ultimately finds the treasure of life.

3. Plot summary:

He needs the help of three spirits, who appear during the night on Christmas Eve, to help him see how his

inconsiderate and greedy actions affect others and leave him alone. As a result of this experience, he changes

from his selfish ways and allows himself to branch out, becoming more friendly, generous, and content in the

process.

4. Thesis:

A Christmas Carol illustrates that people can be happy without money or success, as pure happiness

originates from thoughtfulness and generosity.

Conclusion:

The search for what makes a life meaningful will continue to haunt mankind. While

some look for meaning in adventure and some seek it in wealth, A Christmas Carol seems to say that life’s purpose can

be found in treating others with thoughtfulness and respect. Such kindness and generosity will repay the giver many

times over with a life full of value and meaning.

1. Connect to the opener:

The search for what makes a life meaningful will continue to haunt mankind.

2. Restate thesis and main points:

While some look for meaning in adventure and some seek it in wealth, A Christmas Carol seems to say

that life’s purpose can be found in treating others with thoughtfulness and respect.

3. End with something to make the reader think:

Such kindness and generosity will repay the giver many times over with a life full of value and meaning.


Using the examples from A Christmas Carol above, determine how each potential introduction can be broken down

using the Introduction template below.

Using the examples from A Christmas Carol above, determine how each potential conclusion can be broken down

using the Conclusion template below.

When constructing introductions and conclusions for a response to literature, what is most important to remember

about the structure and details to include?

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Read the following article “The Benefits of Homework.” Then, deconstruct the accompanying response to literature

prompt and use the notes and organizers to create an introduction and conclusion for the prompt.

The Benefits of Homework 1 Homework complaints are a fact of life everywhere. It takes up time and cuts into family life. Some students say that homework is too repetitive, too hard, and just too much. The stress over homework can lead everyone involved to wonder if it’s worth doing at all. 2 However, when homework supports a student’s learning and does not take too much time to complete, it can have several benefits. Let’s take a look at some of them. Support for achievement and learning

3 In “Homework Research and Policy,” Harris Cooper of the University of Missouri-Colombia reviewed 20 homework studies conducted since 1967. He found that most of the research was in favor of homework. Cooper found that the average high school student in a class that gave homework did better than two-thirds of the students in a no-homework class. In studies comparing the time spent on homework to achievement, most showed that students who did more homework had better grades and test scores. 4 Achievement increases were highest for high school students. However, homework helps students at all grade levels to develop good study habits and positive attitudes toward school. Too much homework, though, can have the opposite effect. Leading education groups agree that students should do about 10 minutes of homework per grade level. Fourth-graders, for example, should do no more than 40 minutes of homework each day. Junior high and high school students could do an hour or more. 5 Homework can also strengthen skills taught at school. What may appear to be “busy work” can actually be skill practice, especially in subjects such as math and spelling. While doing the same kind of math problem over and over may seem boring, it can make knowing how to solve that type of problem automatic. 6 In addition, homework supports better study skills and attitudes toward learning. Since students usually must do homework alone, they learn how to solve problems. This prepares them for later success in school and work. Studying for a test prepares the student not only to learn the material, but also how best to study. Benefits beyond school

7 The benefits of homework go even beyond the classroom. Doing homework helps students learn important skills, such as self-discipline and time management. 8 Homework benefits families as well. A 2007 MetLife survey of teachers, parents, and students across the United States showed that almost 9 in 10 parents said that they liked helping their children with homework because it gave them time to spend with their children. Conclusion

9 In the MetLife survey, most parents thought that their children’s teachers assigned the right amount of homework. Furthermore, most students felt they had enough time to complete the assignments. When homework supports the student and his or her learning goals, the majority of people agree that it can be a valuable learning tool that prepares students for success.


Response to Literature Writing Prompt

You have read the article “The Benefits of Homework.” The author makes the claim that homework can positively

affect student performance in school. Think about the evidence the author provides and consider if it fully supports

the claim. Using details from the article, write an argument analyzing how effectively the author supports this claim.

Be sure to include

You position on how well the author supports the claim

Details from the article to support your position

an introduction, body, and a conclusion


Response to literature ESSAY Format

What is the question you are answering?__________________________________________________

(Your thesis should be a direct answer to this question. Do not use “because” in your thesis.)

Title: _________________________________

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Sentence 1: Quick Summary: ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 2: THESIS: ___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 3: INTRODUCE your 3 opinions/judgments that prove your thesis IN THE SAME ORDER THAT YOU WILL

BE WRITING THEM IN YOUR ESSAY:

1._________________________________________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________________________________________

3.__________________________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 5: Conclusion

Sentence 1: In conclusion

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 2: SUMMARY of EVIDENCE

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 3: CONNECT to THESIS

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Sentence 4: CONNECT to THESIS

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

DO NOT ADD ANYTHING NEW. If you think of something else you want to say, DO NOT SAY IT HERE.

ELA ISTEP+ Support Framework Grade 8 2015 2016 8... · ELA ISTEP+ Support Framework Grade 8 2015...

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