CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.4
Description:
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
4B, 4B, 5A, 5C, 6A
Exemplars
4B: Interpreting Analogies
4B: Interpreting Analogies
Description:
Interpreting Analogies
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-31
K-31
Grade level: 11
Word count: 2673 words
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Synopsis: Life is altered forever when Pandora opens a mysterious box.
Excerpt:
It was made of a beautiful kind of wood, with dark, rich veins spreading intricately over its surface, which was so highly polished that little Pandora could see her face reflected in it. As the child had no other mirror, it is odd that she did not value the box merely on this account.
Question:
The author compares the wood on the box to
- a gleaming mirror.
- a walking staff.
- a broken mirror.
- an intricate knot.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
One well-known analogy states, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get." Create a new analogy for this statement ("Life is like…) based on a selection that you have read and explain what you mean. Use details from the selection to illustrate and support your writing.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
4B: Interpreting Analogies
4B: Interpreting Analogies
Description:
Interpreting Analogies
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-13
K-13
Grade level: 11
Word count: 2110 words
Author: Katherine Menard
Synopsis: A growing segment of the population is becoming more knowledgeable about food sources and purchasing produce directly from local farmers.
Excerpt:
One of the most significant elements of CSAs is the concept of shared risk. This is most obvious in the way a CSA operation is financed. Shareholders' up-front payments, like all investments, are based on potential, not actuality. Nobody can predict with certainty how much the farm will produce in a given year.
Question:
When a consumer joins a CSA, the process can be compared to
- buying a stock whose profitability is determined by future conditions.
- joining a club that requires members to spend a certain amount on food.
- taking a part-time job that helps people in your community.
- coaching a sports team to get the best results during the season.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Describe how metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or personification is used in a selection and explain how it enhances or distracts from the selection.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
5A: Examining Text Structure
5A: Examining Text Structure
Description:
Examining Text Structure
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-39
K-39
Grade level: 11
Word count: 1650 words
Author: Christopher Morley
Synopsis: If you have ever been asked to write a certain number of words on a topic, you'll certainly understand the frustration expressed by the newspaper reporter who penned this essay.
Excerpt:
(We ask you to observe our self-restraint. We might have said "drenching downpour of silver Long Island rain," or something of that sort, and thus got several words nearer our necessary total of 1100. But we scorn, even when writing against time, to take petty advantages. Let us be brief, crisp, packed with thought. Let it stand as drench, while you admire our proud conscience.)
Question:
Irony occurs when words are used to convey a meaning that is the opposite their usual meaning. What is ironic about this part of the essay?
- Morley says he is writing succinctly, yet he rambles on for a paragraph about doing so.
- Morley describes a drenching downpour, yet there is no proof it has rained.
- Although he meets his own deadlines, Morley encourages others to take more time to write.
- While he has a talent for writing, Morley has decided to seek work that does not require any writing.
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
5C: Examining Genre
5C: Examining Genre
Description:
Examining Genre
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-45
K-45
Grade level: 11
Word count: 2261 words
Author: Kate Scoville
Synopsis: Mules, dolphins, and dogs are well suited to carry out military operations.
Excerpt:
No excerpt is available for this question.
Question:
The genre of this selection is best described as
- nonfiction.
- historical fiction.
- realistic fiction.
- biography.
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
6A: Recognizing Author's Intent
6A: Recognizing Author's Intent
Description:
Recognizing Author's Purpose
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-39
K-39
Grade level: 11
Word count: 1650 words
Author: Christopher Morley
Synopsis: If you have ever been asked to write a certain number of words on a topic, you'll certainly understand the frustration expressed by the newspaper reporter who penned this essay.
Excerpt:
We thought of some books we had seen up on East Fifty-ninth Street, in that admirable row of old bookshops, particularly Mowry Saben's volume of essays, "The Spirit of Life," which we are going back to buy one of these days, so please let it alone. We then got out a small notebook in which we keep memoranda of books we intend to read and pored over it zealously. Just for fun, we will tell you three of the titles we have noted there: "The Voyage of the Hoppergrass," by E.L. Pearson, "People and Problems," by Fabian Franklin, and "Broken Stowage," by David W. Bone.
Question:
Why does Morley list the names of the books he purchased on Fifty-ninth Street in this essay?
- Listing the books adds words to the essay and brings him closer to meeting his word count.
- He wanted to make sure the books received some publicity.
- Listing the books allows him to demonstrate he is a well-read person.
- He was friendly with the authors of the books he mentions.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
How effective were the words and writing style used by the author of a selection? Explain why.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions