CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.5
Description:
Craft and Structure
Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter).
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
5C
Exemplars
5C: Examining Genre
5C: Examining Genre
Description:
Examining Genre
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
J-44
J-44
Grade level: 10
Word count: 2387 words
Author: Diane Lang
Synopsis: Not all ballerinas had conventional beginnings or moved smoothly into the world of ballet with its centuries of ingrained traditions.
Excerpt:
One of her uncles placed her in an orphanage, hoping she'd be adopted and transferred to a safer location. But life in the orphanage was daunting for the three-year-old girl, who recalled being labeled "the devil's child" and being ill-treated by the orphanage's caretakers because she had vitiligo -- a skin condition that causes blotches of lightened skin. Incredibly, children in the orphanage were assigned numbers classifying them from most favored to least favored; DePrince was ranked 27th out of 27 children.
Question:
If this excerpt on DePrince became part of an autobiography, how would it be different?
- It would delve more into DePrince's feelings and struggles as an orphan.
- It would focus more on her uncle's motivations for placing her in an orphanage.
- It would criticize the administration and social practices of the orphanage.
- It would reflect the writer's opinions and biases about adoption.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Choose an expository piece, such as a speech or an essay. Describe how the author uses language to relay information, or make (or respond) to an argument.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions