RL.4.3
Description:
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
1A, 1B, 3B, 3B, 3C, 8A, 8B, 8B, 9B
Exemplars
3B: Analyzing Plot/Character
3B: Analyzing Plot/Character
Description:
Analyzing setting, plot, and character
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
D-8
D-8
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1517 words
Author: Mary Dunn
Synopsis: Crows are smart survivors who also know how to have a good time.
Excerpt:
But a crow's favorite food is pig heart. A crow will do just about anything to get at this treat. Knowing this, one scientist used pig heart to test the crow's thinking skills. He placed pieces of pig heart in a tiny bucket, and put the bucket inside a tall plastic tube. Beside the tube, he put a piece of wire. Then he watched to see what the crow would do. First, it pecked at the tube to see if it could get the food. No luck. Next, the crow put its beak into the tube, but it couldn't reach the snack. Then the crow picked up the wire and pushed it into the tube, but it couldn't pull out the meat. The crow then used its beak to bend the wire into a hook. Finally, the crow used the hook like a tool. Pulling out the bucket by the handle, the crow got its treat.
Question:
Read this excerpt. Which two of the following characteristics best describe the crow that participated in this experiment?
- intelligent
- determined
- fearless
- confused
- friendly
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Explain why you agree or disagree with the behavior of a character.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
8B: Reasoning
8B: Reasoning
Description:
Reasoning
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
HiD-20
HiD-20
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1576 words
Author: Diane Lang
Synopsis: Mattie Stepanek lived a lifetime in just 14 years.
Excerpt:
Jeni wrote how Mattie knew, and accepted, the fact that he would have a very short life. But he also knew his memory would live on through his writings and his works. "I want people to remember me some day," he wrote, "and say, 'Oh yes! Mattie! He was a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played.'"
Question:
A philosopher is someone who offers thoughts on very deep and important matters. Mattie wanted to be remembered as a "philosopher who played." Based on what you have read, what is the most likely meaning of this phrase?
- a person who has serious views of the world but still remembers to enjoy life
- a person who does no work and thinks only about how to make other people laugh
- a person who plans his or her life around money
- a person who measures success by how popular he or she is
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
What makes people or characters do the things they do? Use details from a selection you have read, as well as your reasoning skills, to support your answer.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
9B: Classifying
9B: Classifying
Description:
Classify
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
D-20
D-20
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1491 words
Author: Kerry Mescallado
Synopsis: Many people like to go to amusements parks, but not many know how much work goes into them.
Excerpt:
Some of the earliest amusement parks in the world date back to Europe in the 1600s. At that time, the parks were called "pleasure gardens." They included water fountains and flower gardens. They also had games and music. But not everyone could go. Only the kings, the queens, and the people who were rich had the money to go there.
Question:
The pleasure gardens of the 1600s included
- fountains, games, flower gardens.
- music, roller coasters, zoos.
- music, ice slides, bowling.
- ice slides, fountains, pony rides.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
What makes a character a hero or a villain? List the names of characters who are heroes or villains and explain why they belong to that group. The characters can be from fiction or non-fiction texts.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
1A: Recalling Explicit Details
1A: Recalling Explicit Details
Description:
Identifying explicit details including character, time, setting and speaker
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
D-14
D-14
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1549 words
Author: Anonymous
Synopsis: A king finds that having his greatest wish come true is one of the worst things to ever happen to him.
Excerpt:
Once upon a time there lived a very rich king whose name was Midas. He loved two things more than anything else in the whole world; his daughter, first, and his gold, second.
Question:
According to the selection, what two things does Midas love more than anything else?
- his daughter and his gold
- his gold and his garden
- his daughter and his kingdom
- his daughter and his wife
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Write a speech for a character in a selection you read in which the character describes his or her life, home, and the things he or she likes to do.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
1B: Analyzing Implicit Details
1B: Analyzing Implicit Details
Description:
Drawing Conclusions, Making Inferences from information in text
SeeReader
~ standard partially met
Selection:
HiD-29
HiD-29
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1523 words
Author: Misha Berman
Synopsis: A little messiness might not be a problem. A disaster area is another story.
Excerpt:
"The window is open!" Rebecca whispered, her eyes now big as full moons. Then she picked up one of the apples scattered on the floor. "Look, someone has bitten into this! Don't try to tell me Tiny was eating an apple."
Question:
Why does Rebecca think there is an intruder?
- The window is open, and someone had bitten into an apple.
- She always thinks the opposite of what Dee thinks.
- She heard footsteps running down the hall.
- The cat is acting very guilty.
Writing
~ standard partially met
Writing prompt:
Did the title of this selection provide you with clues about the selection's main idea? Why or why not?
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
3B: Analyzing Plot/Character
3B: Analyzing Plot/Character
Description:
Analyzing setting, plot, and character
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
D-25
D-25
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1511 words
Author: John R. Corvell
Synopsis: Now come on. There's no such thing as a bird the size of an elephant. Is there?
Excerpt:
"All I can say," said one of the others, "is that it's too bad you didn't bring the evidence with you. We could all have had fresh egg for supper."
The men laughed and told Pierre to pick up the oars and carry them over to one of the boats. On the trip back to the ship, Pierre's tall tale was the topic of much joking.
The men laughed and told Pierre to pick up the oars and carry them over to one of the boats. On the trip back to the ship, Pierre's tall tale was the topic of much joking.
Question:
Which statement best describes the sailors' reaction to Pierre's story?
- They made fun of the story.
- They believed the story.
- They ignored the story.
- They felt afraid from the story.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Explain why you agree or disagree with the behavior of a character.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
3C: Analyzing Cause/Effect
3C: Analyzing Cause/Effect
Description:
Analyzing Cause and Effect
SeeReader
~ standard partially met
Selection:
D-46
D-46
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1320 words
Author: Anonymous
Synopsis: Ancient people made up stories to explain how and why animals came to be. This tale tells how spiders first appeared.
Excerpt:
And that is how the spider came to be. Arachne and her children have worked ever since that day. The great weaving goddess made it so that spiders can weave their silk into the best material in the land. But she also made it so that spiders are unable to speak.
That is why spiders are very quiet. They use their gift without being too proud. They make their beautiful, silky material only in dark places. You have to look hard to find them. But you can see them, in the places where people do not go.
That is why spiders are very quiet. They use their gift without being too proud. They make their beautiful, silky material only in dark places. You have to look hard to find them. But you can see them, in the places where people do not go.
Question:
According to the selection, when the goddess made spiders, she did not want them to speak. Why?
- It was Arachne's proud words that made the goddess angry in the first place.
- The goddess knew that spiders weave only in places that are silent.
- Arachne's father wanted his daughter to weave more and talk less.
- The goddess thought that being able to talk would make the spiders too tired to work.
Writing
~ standard partially met
Writing prompt:
Write three "why" questions about things that happened in a selection and then answer those questions.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
8A: Judging Validity
8A: Judging Validity
Description:
Judge Validity
SeeReader
~ standard partially met
Selection:
D-23
D-23
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1390 words
Author: Henry Johnstone
Synopsis: His fate rests in her hands. Will she dare to do the right thing?
Excerpt:
Now Keneu had lived so far away from humans that he did not know how they caught wild animals. And he did not know how to sense danger. He did not see the net that had been spread over the rabbit. When he swooped down to take the rabbit in his claws, he suddenly found himself tangled in thin, strong cords.
Question:
Why is Keneu so easily tricked?
- He does not know that people set traps for animals.
- He is very hungry, so he does not think carefully.
- He was taught to always trust humans.
- He has been away from home for too long.
Writing
~ standard partially met
Writing prompt:
Describe at least five ways you can tell if a selection is true or not true. Use examples from selections you have read to support your statements.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
8B: Reasoning
8B: Reasoning
Description:
Reasoning
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
D-23
D-23
Grade level: 4
Word count: 1390 words
Author: Henry Johnstone
Synopsis: His fate rests in her hands. Will she dare to do the right thing?
Excerpt:
When they hunt, they use something that strikes from a long way off. Suddenly I saw a white puff, like a tiny cloud. There was a strange, sharp noise.
Question:
The strange, sharp noise Keneu's mother heard was made by
- a gun.
- a rocket.
- a drum.
- thunder.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
What makes people or characters do the things they do? Use details from a selection you have read, as well as your reasoning skills, to support your answer.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions