8.RL.4
Description:
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
4A, 4B, 6C
Exemplars
4A: Interpreting Word Meaning
4A: Interpreting Word Meaning
Description:
Interpreting Word Meaning
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-66
H-66
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1770 words
Author: Mark Twain
Synopsis: Things can get out of hand when luck beats out skill.
Excerpt:
There sat the man, in actual flesh, whom I had heard of so many times since that day, thirty years before, when his name shot suddenly to the peak from a Crimean battlefield, to remain forever celebrated.
It was food and drink to me to look, and look, and look at that idol; scanning, searching, noting the quietness, the reserve, the noble gravity of his features; the simple honesty that expressed itself all over him; the sweet unconsciousness of his greatness -- unconsciousness of the hundreds of admiring eyes fastened upon him, unconsciousness of the deep, loving, sincere worship welling out of the breasts of those people and flowing toward him.
It was food and drink to me to look, and look, and look at that idol; scanning, searching, noting the quietness, the reserve, the noble gravity of his features; the simple honesty that expressed itself all over him; the sweet unconsciousness of his greatness -- unconsciousness of the hundreds of admiring eyes fastened upon him, unconsciousness of the deep, loving, sincere worship welling out of the breasts of those people and flowing toward him.
Question:
In this excerpt, what does the banquet guest mean when he says, "It was food and drink to me to look, and look, and look at that idol"?
- The guest felt inspired just by looking at Scoresby.
- The guest was too busy eating to talk to Scoresby.
- The guest could tell Scoresby was a fool by the way he looked.
- The guest was so scared of Scoresby that he could not eat.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Explain how a character's actions or attitude can change the meaning of a word or phrase.
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
6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone
6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone
Description:
Recognizing Mood and Tone
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-32
H-32
Grade level: 8
Word count: 2030 words
Author: Anna Fisher
Synopsis: Many people escaped from East Germany through tunnels under the Berlin Wall, but some did not make it.
Excerpt:
"I will always have a place for him in my heart," Gram revealed, and then she wept deeply. After a few minutes, she regained her composure and turned to Maggie, saying, "I can now put this sad time in my life behind me and finally rest in peace."
Question:
In this excerpt at the end of the selection, the author creates a mood that could be described as
- calm and appreciative.
- gloomy and hopeless.
- confused and anxious.
- lively and patriotic.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Compare the mood and tone of two stories. Provide details. Explain which of the two stories you prefer, and how mood and tone influenced your decision.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions