AS.W.4
Description:
Develop personal, cultural, textual, and thematic connections within and across genres through written responses to texts and personal experiences.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
3B, 6C, 6C
Exemplars
3B: Analyzing Plot/Character
3B: Analyzing Plot/Character
Description:
Analyzing setting, plot, and character
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
D-8
D-8
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1517 words
Author: Mary Dunn
Synopsis: Crows are smart survivors who also know how to have a good time.
Excerpt:
But a crow's favorite food is pig heart. A crow will do just about anything to get at this treat. Knowing this, one scientist used pig heart to test the crow's thinking skills. He placed pieces of pig heart in a tiny bucket, and put the bucket inside a tall plastic tube. Beside the tube, he put a piece of wire. Then he watched to see what the crow would do. First, it pecked at the tube to see if it could get the food. No luck. Next, the crow put its beak into the tube, but it couldn't reach the snack. Then the crow picked up the wire and pushed it into the tube, but it couldn't pull out the meat. The crow then used its beak to bend the wire into a hook. Finally, the crow used the hook like a tool. Pulling out the bucket by the handle, the crow got its treat.
Question:
Read this excerpt. Which two of the following characteristics best describe the crow that participated in this experiment?
- intelligent
- determined
- fearless
- confused
- friendly
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Explain why you agree or disagree with the behavior of a character.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone
6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone
Description:
Recognizing Mood and Tone
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
HiD-19
HiD-19
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1519 words
Author: Mary Dunn
Synopsis: Crows are smart survivors who also know how to have a good time.
Excerpt:
Crows use their not-so-average brains in a range of ways. For one thing, they are very smart builders. Crows have the ability to choose just the right nest-building tree in woods, fields, or towns. They always build their nests in a strong and sturdy tree, in a branch that is at least 60 feet above the ground. No, they don't carry a measuring tape -- they just know.
Question:
What is the author's tone in this part of the selection?
- informative and humorous
- worried and grim
- critical and questioning
- excited and happy
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Give examples of selections that did the following: made you laugh, taught you something new, changed your opinion about something, made you want to try to do something new.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone
6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone
Description:
Recognizing Mood and Tone
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
D-19
D-19
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1073 words
Author: Christine Venzon
Synopsis: While watching a baseball game, Adrian finds out the sport has its own special language.
Excerpt:
No excerpt is available for this question.
Question:
The tone of a text is the author's attitude toward the topic. Which of the following best describe the tone of this selection?
- humorous and cheerful.
- angry and bitter.
- undecided and frightened.
- sincere and doubtful.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Give examples of selections that did the following: made you laugh, taught you something new, changed your opinion about something, made you want to try to do something new.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions