ELA.9.V.1.3
Description:
Context and Connotation
Apply knowledge of context clues, figurative language, word relationships, reference materials, and/or background knowledge to determine the connotative and denotative meaning of words and phrases, appropriate to grade level.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
4A, 4A, 4B, 5A
Exemplars
4A: Interpreting Word Meaning
4A: Interpreting Word Meaning
Description:
Interpreting Word Meaning
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
I-25
I-25
Grade level: 9
Word count: 2014 words
Author: Ellen Weitzenhofer
Synopsis: A caring person who enjoys helping people solve their problems might be interested in becoming a social worker.
Excerpt:
I was naturally drawn to working at a summer camp for the disabled, to befriending a classmate who was often the object of ridicule, and to identifying elderly customers who needed additional assistance when I worked part-time jobs.
Do you notice when your parents are not feeling their best, when your friends are not getting along, or when your teachers seem to have something on their minds? If so, you have empathy, the ability to identify with and understand another's situation, feelings, and motives.
Do you notice when your parents are not feeling their best, when your friends are not getting along, or when your teachers seem to have something on their minds? If so, you have empathy, the ability to identify with and understand another's situation, feelings, and motives.
Question:
Which sentence helps to explain the meaning of the word "empathy"?
- I was naturally drawn to befriending a classmate who was often the object of ridicule.
- I worked for the Department of Health, where I set up programs for providing care.
- During my teenage years I babysat for a family with a boy, named Derrick.
- I would arrange transportation for residents to local shopping areas.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Explain how the context of a selection helped you to understand a word or phrase you did not know.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
4B: Interpreting Analogies
4B: Interpreting Analogies
Description:
Interpreting Analogies
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
I-33
I-33
Grade level: 9
Word count: 1574 words
Author: Anton Chekhov
Synopsis: A man's reputation is questioned after a rumor about him begins to spread through the community. But how does the rumor spread? Who is at fault?
Excerpt:
Marfa walked up to one of the benches and carefully lifted a greasy newspaper. Beneath that paper, in a huge dish, lay a big fat sturgeon, amid capers, olives, and carrots. Akhin glanced at the sturgeon and heaved a sigh of relief. His face became radiant, his eyes rolled. He bent down, and, smacking his lips, gave vent to a sound like a creaking wheel. He stood a while, then snapped his fingers for pleasure, and smacked his lips once more.
Question:
Choose the sentence in this excerpt that includes an example of simile.
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
4A: Interpreting Word Meaning
4A: Interpreting Word Meaning
Description:
Interpreting Word Meaning
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
I-9
I-9
Grade level: 9
Word count: 1814 words
Author: Tamara Smith
Synopsis: Want to change the world? Then do what Wangari did: plant a tree.
Excerpt:
Wangari devoted much of her time to the progression of democracy, human rights (particularly women's rights), and environmental issues. She served on many boards, contributing her expertise and perceptive genius about the intersection of poverty reduction and environmentalism. She spoke at the United Nations a number of times, addressing women's issues within the specific context of environmentalism at special sessions of the U.N.'s General Assembly.
Question:
In this excerpt, the word "intersection" refers to
- the connection between two seemingly unrelated issues.
- the social gathering place where two or more village roads meet.
- the group of scientific elements that two or more sets have in common.
- the points at which two or more rivers cross one another.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Explain how the context of a selection helped you to understand a word or phrase you did not know.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
5A: Examining Text Structure
5A: Examining Text Structure
Description:
Examining Text Structure
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
I-11
I-11
Grade level: 9
Word count: 1755 words
Author: Joan Novelli
Synopsis: Got a wave, a spiral, or a snowflake? There's a mathematical equation for that!
Excerpt:
Our planet Earth is not a perfect sphere but rather an "oblate spheroid." This is because the Earth's rotation causes it to stretch out around the equator, flattening slightly at the poles like a short, fat tomato. A similar effect of rotation happens when a baker spins a ball of pizza dough into the air so it widens around the edges, eventually flattening into a disc.
Question:
Choose the sentence in this excerpt that contains the figure of speech called a simile.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Choose an informational text that presents information in a cause-and-effect or problem-and-solution manner. Describe why the organization of information did (or did not) help you understand the main idea of the selection.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions