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I can analyze the impact of word choices on meaning and tone.

Reading Informational RI.9-10.4

15

Assessment #1 Excerpt from Yellow Woman and a Beauty

of the Spirit

Assessments & Reading Passages

RI.9-10.4

Standard RI.9-10.4

I can analyze the impact of word choice on meaning and tone.

Excerpt from Yellow Woman and

a Beauty of the Spirit By Leslie Marmon Silko Lexile Level: 900 | 466 Words

Context: The author writes about her cultural identity and how she was perceived by others within her community. She also discusses her relationship with her great-grandmother, whom she called Grandma A’Mooh. Her great-grandfather was a white settler from Ohio who moved to New Mexico, so she looked different from the other children on the Laguna Pueblo reservation where she grew up.

1 From the time I was a small child, I was aware that I was different. I looked

different from my playmates. My two sisters looked different too. We didn't look

quite like the other Laguna Pueblo children, but we didn't look quite white either...

I called her Grandma A'mooh because that's what I heard her say whenever she

saw me. "A'mooh" means "granddaughter" in the Laguna language. I remember

this word because her love and her acceptance of me as a small child were so

important. I had sensed immediately that something about my appearance was

not acceptable to some people, white and Indian. But I did not see any signs of

that strain or anxiety in the face of my beloved Grandma A'mooh.

2 Younger people, people my parents' age, seemed to look at the world in a

more "modern" way. The "modern" way included racism. My physical appearance

The author recalls the time she spent in her great-grandmother’s yard.

Assessment #1: Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit

2

Name: ______________________________________ Date: _________________

seemed not to matter to the old-time people. They looked at the world very

differently; a person's appearance and possessions did not matter nearly as

much as a person's behavior. For them, a person's value lies in how that person

interacts with other people, how that person behaves toward the animals and the

Earth.

3 I spent a great deal of time with my great-grandmother. Her house was next

to our house, and I used to wake up at dawn, hours before my parents or

younger sisters, and I'd go wait on the porch swing or on the back steps by her

kitchen door. I always loved the early mornings when the air was so cool with a

hint of rain smell in the breeze. In the dry New Mexico air, the least hint of

dampness smells sweet.

4 My great-grandmother's yard was planted with lilac bushes and iris; there

were four o'clocks, cosmos, morning glories and hollyhocks and old-fashioned

rose bushes that I helped her water. If the garden hose got stuck on one of the

big rocks that lined the path in the yard, I ran and pulled it free. That's what I

came to do early every morning: to help Grandma water the plants before the

heat of the day arrived.

5 Grandma A'mooh would tell about the old days, family stories about relatives

who had been killed by Apache raiders who stole the sheep our relatives had

been herding near Swahnee. Sometimes she read Bible stories that we kids liked

because of the illustrations of Jonah in the mouth of a whale and Daniel

surrounded by lions. Grandma A'mooh would send me home when she took her

nap, but when the sun got low and the afternoon began to cool off, I would be

back on the porch swing, waiting for her to come out to water the plants and to

haul in firewood for the evening.

Assessment #1: Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit

3

Name: ______________________________________ Date: __________________

Standard RI.9-10.4


DOK 1

1 Read the passage from Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit.

Reread the following excerpt from the text.

From the time I was a small child, I was aware that I was

different. I looked different from my playmates. My two sisters

looked different too. We didn't look quite like the other Laguna

Pueblo children, but we didn't look quite white either…

Why does the author repeat the word “different” in this excerpt?

a. To celebrate her individuality

b. To explain her culture

c. To introduce her struggle to fit in

d. To prove her dislike of New Mexico

Assessment #1: Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit 4

2

DOK 1


My great-grandmother's yard was planted with lilac bushes and

iris; there were four o'clocks, cosmos, morning glories and

hollyhocks and old-fashioned rose bushes…

What is the effect of the author’s list of specific flower names?

a. It emphasizes the significance of these vivid memories for the

author.

b. It establishes the narrator’s relationship with her great-

grandmother.

c. It helps readers to picture the overwhelming size of the garden.

d. It illustrates that the author feels more at home among flowers

than people.

DOK 2

3 Part 1

Which of the following best describes the author’s tone when describing

the setting of the text?

a. Wistful

b. Optimistic

c. Disconnected

d. Perplexed


DOK 2

4 Part 1

What meaning does the author attach to the term “A-mooh”?

a. The term “A-mooh” symbolizes how the author was immediately

judged by her physical appearance.

b. The term “A-mooh” represents the love and acceptance that the

author’s great-grandmother had for her.

c. The term “A-mooh” symbolizes the natural beauty and peace that

the author found in New Mexico.

d. The term “A-mooh” represents the author’s connection to people

of the older generation.

Part 2

How does the term “A-mooh” impact the meaning of the text? It

develops—

a. the author’s gratitude for the time with her great-grandmother.

b. the author’s criticism of the racism she experienced.

c. the author’s love for creating new words and playing with

language.

d. the author’s appreciation for her culture.


Part 2

List one piece of textual evidence that best supports your claim in Part

1.

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Younger people, people my parents’ age, seemed to look at the

world in a more “modern” way.

What is the implied meaning of the word “modern” as it is used in this

excerpt? How does the author’s use of this word impact the overall

meaning and tone of the passage? Explain your answer in one paragraph

and choose at least two pieces of textual evidence to support your

analysis.

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5

DOK 3


The author describes how she spent considerable time with her great-

grandmother completing daily chores and listening to her great-

grandmother’s stories. As a child, with whom did you spend a lot of

time? How has that person and your time together influenced who you

are today?

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* Bonus


Scoring Rubric RI.9-10.4 Assessment #1:

Excerpt from Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit

Question/Level

Key / Rubric Points

#1

DOK 1

c. To introduce her struggle to fit in

0 1

#2

DOK 1

a. It emphasizes the significance of these vivid memories for the author.

0 1

#3

DOK 2

Part 1

a. Wistful

Part 2

Possible answers may include:

“In the dry New Mexico air, the least hint of dampness smells sweet.”

“I always loved the early mornings when the air was so cool with a hint of rain smell in the breeze.”

SCORING Students must answer Part 1 correctly to receive credit for Part 2. +1 point: Chooses correct answer for Part 1

+1 point: Cites relevant evidence in Part 2

0 1 2

Student Name: ____________________________ Date of Administration: _____________

Teacher Name: ____________________________________________________________________

Assessment #1: Yellow Woman and a Beauty of Spirit 9

#4

DOK 2

Part 1

b. The term “A-mooh” represents the love and acceptance that the author’s great-grandmother had for her.

Part 2

a. the author’s gratitude for the time with her great-grandmother.

SCORING Students must answer Part 1 correctly to receive credit for Part 2. +1 point: Chooses correct answer in Part 1

+1 point: Chooses correct answer in Part 2

0 1 2

#5

DOK 3

Model Student Response In this passage, the implied meaning of the word “modern” is negative and critical. The author implies that the younger people who claim to be more modern are actually less advanced and less open minded. They are more racist. The author contrasts these “modern” people to people of the older generation like her A’mooh who “looked at the world differently” where “a person’s appearance and possessions did not matter.” This develops the author’s attachment to her A’mooh and to her vivid memories in her New Mexico yard. The word “modern” contrasts with A’mooh’s stories about “the old days” and emphasizes the author’s disconnect from the world around her. The author only feels connected to the natural setting of New Mexico and her A’mooh who represents the past--the opposite of modern.

SCORING +1 point: Explains the implied meaning of the given term +1 point: Explains how the term impacts the meaning and tone of the article

+1 point: Cites textual evidence to support analysis (up to 2 points total)

0 1 2 3 4

#BONUS This item is not scored and is an option for early finishers.

TOTAL ___ / 10

Assessment #1: Yellow Woman and a Beauty of Spirit 10

15

Assessment #2 Excerpt from Educated

Assessments & Reading Passages

RI.9-10.4

Standard RI.9-10.4

I can analyze the impact of word choice on meaning and tone.

Excerpt from Educated By Tara Westover

Lexile Level: 1000 | 308 Words

Context: Tara Westover was seventeen years old before she first sat inside a classroom. Her parents were survivalists who prepared for the end of the world. They did not trust the government and refused to take their children to see a doctor. Tara describes her isolation from the rest of the world as well as her connection to the natural world in the mountains of Idaho where she lived.

1 The hill is paved with wild wheat. If the conifers and sagebrush are soloists,

the wheat field is a corps de ballet, each stem following all the rest in bursts of

movement, a million ballerinas bending, one after the other, as great gales dent

their golden heads. The shape of that dent lasts only a moment, and is as close

as anyone gets to seeing wind.

2 Turning toward our house on the hillside, I see movements of a different

kind, tall shadows stiffly pushing through the currents. My brothers are awake,

testing the weather. I imagine my mother at the stove, hovering over bran

pancakes. I picture my father hunched by the back door, lacing his steel-toed

boots and threading his callused hands into welding gloves. On the highway

below, the school bus rolls past without stopping.

The author grew up in rural Idaho.

Name: ______________________________________ Date: _________________

Assessment #2: Educated 2

3 I am only seven, but I understand that it is this fact, more than any other,

that makes my family different: we don’t go to school.

4 Dad worries that the Government will force us to go but it can’t, because it

doesn’t know about us. Four of my parents’ seven children don’t have birth

certificates. We have no medical records because we were born at home and

have never seen a doctor or nurse. We have no school records because we’ve

never set foot in a classroom. When I am nine, I will be issued a Delayed

Certificate of Birth, but at this moment, according to the state of Idaho and the

federal government, I do not exist.

5 Of course I did exist. I had grown up preparing for the Days of

Abomination, watching for the sun to darken, for the moon to drip as if with

blood. I spent my summers bottling peaches and my winters rotating supplies.

When the World of Men failed, my family would continue on, unaffected.

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Corps de ballet: members of a ballet company who dance together as a group Days of Abomination: religious term often used to describe days of grief and destruction that are predicted to happen in the future for those who have turned away from God


Name: ______________________________________ Date: __________________

Standard RI.9-10.4


DOK 1

1 Read the passage from Educated.

Reread the following excerpt from Paragraph 1.

...each stem following all the rest in bursts of movement, a million

ballerinas bending, one after the other, as great gales dent their

golden heads. The shape of that dent lasts only a moment, and is

as close as anyone gets to seeing wind.

What is the meaning of the word gales as it is used in this text? Define

the word in one sentence.

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2

DOK 1


When the World of Men failed, my family would continue on,

unaffected.

What is the effect of the author’s use of the word unaffected?

a. It justifies the hard work that the author and her family regularly

endure.

b. It emphasizes how separate and distant her family is from the rest

of the world.

c. It shows that the author does not care what happens in the outside

world.

d. It explains how the family will overcome obstacles that others

cannot.


DOK 2

3 Part 1

Which of the following best describes the author’s tone in Paragraph 4?

a. Resentful

b. Distressed

c. Peaceful

d. Detached

Part 2

Which piece of textual evidence from the rest of the text best supports

your claim in Part 1?

a. “...each stem following all the rest in bursts of movement…”

b. “I imagine my mother at the stove…”

c. “I am only seven, but I understand that it is this fact, more than any

other, that makes my family different…”

d. “…watching for the sun to darken, for the moon to drip as if with

blood.”


DOK 2

4 Part 1


Turning toward our house on the hillside, I see movements of a

different kind, tall shadows stiffly pushing through the currents.

My brothers are awake, testing the weather. I imagine my

mother at the stove, hovering over bran pancakes. I picture my

father hunched by the back door, lacing his steel-toed boots and

threading his callused hands into welding gloves.

How does the author use specific word choices in this excerpt to convey

meaning?

a. The author illustrates how her family is in tune with the natural

setting where they live.

b. The author describes the peace of nature in contrast to her family

preparing to work.

c. The author does not feel ready to leave the hillside to start a hard

day of work.

d. The author describes how everyone has a task to do early in the

morning in her family.


Reread paragraph 1.

How does the author’s use of figurative language in Paragraph 1 impact

the overall meaning and tone of the passage? Explain your answer in one

paragraph and choose at least two pieces of textual evidence to support

your analysis.

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5

DOK 3


Part 2

Select the two phrases from the choices below that support your answer

in Part 1.

a. “turning toward our house”

b. “testing the weather”

c. “hunched by the back door”

d. “imagine my mother”

e. “shadows stiffly pushing”

Education looks different for people all over the world. Currently, many

students receive a formal education that takes place in a classroom

environment. However, not all types of learning happen in school. What

other important types of education are there? Think about and then

describe how you have learned from the people around you, maybe

through friends, family members, or experiences. Describe at least one

example of a way that you were educated outside of school.

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* Bonus


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Scoring Rubric RI.9-10.4 Assessment #2:

Excerpt from Educated

Question/Level

Key / Rubric Points

#1

DOK 1

Model Student Response

Gales are strong bursts of wind or air.

0 1

#2

DOK 1

b. It emphasizes how separate and distant her family is from the rest of the world.

0 1

#3

DOK 2

Part 1

d. detached

Part 2

c. “I am only seven, but I understand that it is this fact, more than any other, that makes my family different…”

SCORING Students must answer Part 1 correctly to receive credit for Part 2. +1 point: Answers Part 1 correctly

+1 point: Answers Part 2 correctly

0 1 2

Student Name: ____________________________ Date of Administration: _____________

Teacher Name: ____________________________________________________________________


#4

DOK 2

Part 1

b. The author describes the peace of nature in contrast to her family preparing to work.

Part 2 c. “hunched by the back door” e. “shadows stiffly pushing” SCORING Students must answer Part 1 correctly to receive credit for Part 2. +1 point: Chooses correct answer in Part 1

+½ point: Chooses correct answer in Part 2 (up to 1 point total)

0 1 2

#5

DOK 3

Model Student Response The author describes the setting of her home in the first paragraph by highlighting the natural beauty and movements of the wheat. This strongly contrasts the family’s unique lifestyle as they prepare for the end of the world. The author uses the metaphor of dancers in a ballet to describe the gentle and beautiful dancing of the whole wheat field. When the author turns “toward our house on the hillside,” the tone of the passage quickly changes as she describes all of her family independently working: “testing”, “hovering”, “hunched” and “threading”. The rest of the passage has a factual tone as she describes her childhood without school or doctors which contrasts to the more peaceful tone at the beginning of the passage.

SCORING +1 point: Explains the author’s use of specific sentences in the paragraph +1 point: Explains how the sentences impact the meaning and tone +1 point: Cites textual evidence to support analysis (up to 2 points total)

0 1 2 3 4

#BONUS This item is not scored and is an option for early finishers.

TOTAL ___ / 10


Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.


RI.9-10.4

Reflect and relate:

Explain how you demonstrated improvement or mastery of this standard’s key skills in this assessment, and how you might use these skills again. ______________________________________________________________________________________________

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Name: _____________________________________

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