R.8.4.a
Description:
Identify and analyze the construction and impact of an author’s use of figurative language.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
4B, 4B, 5A
Exemplars
4B: Interpreting Analogies
4B: Interpreting Analogies
Description:
Interpreting Analogies
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-20
H-20
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1811 words
Author: Diane Lang
Synopsis: It wasn't easy for Jackie Robinson to keep his cool in response to offensive racial comments.
Excerpt:
Robinson broke the color barrier in sports and paved the way for generations of African American athletes. While his efforts did not eradicate racism in the nation, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball. Baseball might be only a game, but in the area of racial equality, baseball was a leader.
Question:
In this excerpt, what is meant by the phrase, "baseball was a leader"?
- It accepted African Americans before many other more important institutions practiced racial equality.
- It was the first sport to attract fans from all races and religions.
- It recruited African American players who were groomed to become leaders on their teams.
- It enabled African American players to get leadership jobs after retiring from baseball.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Draw five columns and label each one with one of your five senses. Find examples of figurative language from selections you have read that relate to each sense.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
5A: Examining Text Structure
5A: Examining Text Structure
Description:
Examining Text Structure
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-24
H-24
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1674 words
Author: Travis J. Best
Synopsis: Jesse Ventura launched himself from the wrestling ring to the governor's mansion.
Excerpt:
Without wrestling he never would have had the notoriety to run for office, or possibly even be in movies. Without holding the prestigious office of mayor he never could have hoped to successfully run for the even more prestigious one as governor.
Question:
Based on this excerpt, which two answers describe the relationship between these two sentences?
- cause and effect
- chronological order
- problem and solution
- main idea and supporting detail
- right and wrong
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Explain an author's use of description in a selection, and how the description shaped the way you viewed and understood the person, object, or event described.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
4B: Interpreting Analogies
4B: Interpreting Analogies
Description:
Interpreting Analogies
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-2
H-2
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1800 words
Author: Jules Verne
Synopsis: Is the mysterious object a floating island, a gigantic whale, or a creature unknown to science?
Excerpt:
In every big city the monster was the latest rage. The people sang about it in the coffee houses. They ridiculed it in the newspapers. They dramatized it in the theaters. And the tabloids found it a fine opportunity for hatching all sorts of hoaxes. In those newspapers short of copy, you saw the revival of every huge imaginary creature from "Moby Dick," that dreadful white whale, to the amazing squid that could entwine a 500-ton ship and drag it into the bottom of the ocean. They even reprinted reports from ancient times.
Question:
Based on this excerpt, how could coverage of the monster by the media be described?
- making it the current fad
- ignoring it as a news item
- presenting just the facts
- calmly studying the situation
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Draw five columns and label each one with one of your five senses. Find examples of figurative language from selections you have read that relate to each sense.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions