Critical Skills Assignment Answer Key

Transcription

1 Critical Skills Assignment Answer Key Critical Reading and Informative Writing (A) Starter feedback for correct and incorrect answers is in blue. Use or adapt the feedback in this answer key as you grade each student assignment. Many answers will vary. The model answers demonstrate what a complete student response should include, but they do not represent the only correct response to most questions. Read the passage. Then answer the questions. This is an excerpt from The Story of My Life, an autobiography by Helen Keller. It was first published in In her autobiography, Helen tells about the first 22 years of her life and how she learned to communicate through the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Chapter 4 The Story of My Life (1) The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. I am filled with wonder when I consider the immeasurable contrasts between the two lives which it connects. It was the third of March, 1887, three months before I was seven years old. (2) On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, dumb, expectant. I guessed vaguely from my mother's signs and from the hurrying to and fro in the house that something unusual was about to happen, so I went to the door and waited on the steps. The afternoon sun penetrated the mass of honeysuckle that covered the porch, and fell on my upturned face. My fingers lingered almost unconsciously on the familiar leaves and blossoms which had just come forth to greet the sweet southern spring. I did not know what the future held of marvel or surprise for me. Anger and bitterness had preyed upon me continually for weeks and a deep languor had succeeded this passionate struggle. (3) Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in, and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and soundingline, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding-line, and had no way of knowing how near the harbor was. "Light! give me light!" was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour. (4) I felt approaching footsteps. I stretched out my hand as I supposed to my mother. Someone took it, and I was caught up and held close in the arms of her who had come to reveal all things to me, and, more than all things else, to love me. (5) The morning after my teacher came she led me into her room and gave me a doll. The little blind children at the Perkins Institution had sent it and Laura Bridgman had dressed it; but I did not know this until afterward. When I had played with it a little while, Miss Sullivan slowly spelled into my hand the word "d-o-l-l." I was at once interested in this finger play and tried to imitate it. When I finally succeeded in making the letters correctly I was flushed with childish pleasure and pride. Running downstairs to my mother I held up my hand 2014 K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 19

2 and made the letters for doll. I did not know that I was spelling a word or even that words existed; I was simply making my fingers go in monkey-like imitation. In the days that followed, I learned to spell in this uncomprehending way a great many words, among them pin, hat, cup and a few verbs like sit, stand and walk. But my teacher had been with me several weeks before I understood that everything has a name. (6) One day, while I was playing with my new doll, Miss Sullivan put my big rag doll into my lap also, spelled "d-o-l-l" and tried to make me understand that "d-o-l-l" applied to both. Earlier in the day we had had a tussle over the words "m-u-g" and "w-a-t-e-r." Miss Sullivan had tried to impress it upon me that "m-u-g" is mug and that "w-a-t-e-r" is water, but I persisted in confounding the two. In despair she had dropped the subject for the time, only to renew it at the first opportunity. I became impatient at her repeated attempts, and seizing the new doll, I dashed it upon the floor. I was keenly delighted when I felt the fragments of the broken doll at my feet. Neither sorrow nor regret followed my passionate outburst. I had not loved the doll. In the still, dark world in which I lived there was no strong sentiment or tenderness. I felt my teacher sweep the fragments to one side of the hearth, and I had a sense of satisfaction that the cause of my discomfort was removed. She brought me my hat, and I knew I was going out into the warm sunshine. This thought, if a wordless sensation may be called a thought, made me hop and skip with pleasure. (7) We walked down the path to the well-house, attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle with which it was covered. Someone was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away. (8) I left the well-house eager to learn. Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought. As we returned to the house every object which I touched seemed to quiver with life. That was because I saw everything with the strange, new sight that had come to me. On entering the door I remembered the doll I had broken. I felt my way to the hearth and picked up the pieces. I tried vainly to put them together. Then my eyes filled with tears; for I realized what I had done, and for the first time I felt repentance and sorrow. (9) I learned a great many new words that day. I do not remember what they all were; but I do know that mother, father, sister, teacher were among them words that were to make the world blossom for me, "like Aaron's rod, with flowers." It would have been difficult to find a happier child than I was as I lay in my crib at the close of that eventful day and lived over the joys it had brought me, and for the first time longed for a new day to come K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 19

3 Choose answers to multiple choice questions. Type responses to questions that ask you to write a response. Be sure to save your work. 1. Read this sentence from Paragraph 3: Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in, and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? What does the author s word choice in these sentences reveal about her attitude toward her blindness and deafness? A. She felt hidden away in a boring place waiting for something exciting to happen. B. She was tired of living in a foggy existence and wanted to find a safe haven. C. She wanted to overcome her fears and break free of her anxiety and constraints. D. She felt trapped in a senseless existence and afraid of the world around her. Teacher feedback: (The correct answer is D.) Score: (1 point) 2. Read this sentence from Paragraph 7: Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. Which sentence best describes the connotation of the phrase misty consciousness in this sentence? A. Things were finally becoming clearer. B. Everything was extremely vague. C. Her spirit was soaring with new freedom. D. She was feeling apprehensive about her new world. Teacher feedback: (The correct answer is A.) Score: (1 point) 3. Answer the questions about the author s purpose of the passage. (a) What is the author s purpose in The Story of My Life? A. to explain how Anne changed Helen s life B. to explain why Helen didn t go to school 2014 K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 3 of 19

4 C. to describe the dense fog that Helen felt she lived in D. to inform readers how Anne signed into Helen s hand Teacher feedback: (The correct answer is A.) (b) Which details support your answer in Part (a)? Choose exactly two answers that are correct. A. The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. (Paragraph 1) B. I was keenly delighted when I felt the fragments of the broken doll at my feet. (Paragraph 6) C. We walked down the path to the well-house, attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle with which it was covered. (Paragraph 7) D. I do not remember what they all were; but I do know that mother, father, sister, teacher were among them words that were to make the world blossom for me, "like Aaron's rod, with flowers." (Paragraph 9) E. The morning after my teacher came she led me into her room and gave me a doll. (Paragraph 5) F. My fingers lingered almost unconsciously on the familiar leaves and blossoms which had just come forth to greet the sweet southern spring. (Paragraph 2) Teacher feedback: (The correct answers are A and D.) Score: (2 points both (a) and (b) must be correct to earn 2 points, if (a) is correct and (b) is incorrect award 1 point, if (a) is incorrect, award 0 points.) 4. What is the central idea of The Story of My Life by Helen Keller? How does Keller convey the central idea? Use details from the text to support your answer. Model Answer The central idea of The Story of My Life is that Helen Keller could not communicate through language until Anne Sullivan arrived. About Anne s coming into her life to teach her, Helen said, I am filled with wonder when I consider the immeasurable contrasts between the two lives which it connects. Helen conveys the central idea by describing her life before Anne came and how Anne s arrival and the discovery of language changed her life. Helen could not see or hear, and she relied on her other senses to understand events going on around her. On the morning Anne arrived, Helen guessed from her mother s signs and from the hurrying to and fro in the house that something unusual was about to happen. No one could to tell Helen what was going on. She did not know what the future held of marvel or surprise for her. Before Anne s coming to teach her, Helen lived as though at sea in a dense fog. She often felt like a ship groping its way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line. But Helen was without compass or sounding-line. When Anne arrived, she immediately began to sign in Helen s hand. At first, Helen didn t understand, but she was at once interested in this finger play and tried to imitate it. She soon learned to spell in this uncomprehending way a great many 2014 K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 4 of 19

5 words. But it wasn t until Anne placed Helen s hand under the running water coming from the water spout and spelled the word w-a-t-e-r that Helen suddenly felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to her. Helen explains that that one word awakened her soul and gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! Award points for specific answers as shown below (for a total of 0 3 points). Points Concept Addressed Feedback for Student Answers 1 The answer identifies the central idea of The Story of My Life by Helen Keller. 1 The answer explains how Helen Keller conveys the central idea of The Story of My Life. 1 The answer uses details from the text to show how Keller conveys the central idea. Your answer should identify the central idea of The Story of My Life by Helen Keller. Your answer should explain how Helen Keller conveyed the central idea of The Story of My Life. Your answer should include details from the text to show how Keller conveys the central idea. Feedback for completely correct answer: Your answer identifies the central idea of The Story of My Life by Helen Keller and explains how the author conveys the central idea. Your answer includes details from the text to support your answer. 5. What roles did the doll given by Anne play in Helen s learning experiences? Describe two roles, and include examples or quotations from the passage to support your answer. Model Answer The doll helped Helen see the connection between letters and objects. The morning after Anne arrived, she gave Helen a doll that the blind children at the Perkins Institution had sent to her. Anne let Helen play with the doll for a while and then slowly spelled the word d-o-l-l into Helen s hand. Helen was at once interested in this finger play and tried to imitate it. Helen was finally able to make the letters correctly. This is how Anne introduced Helen to the idea of connecting a word with an object. Helen was so flushed with childish pleasure and pride that she rushed downstairs to her mother and held up her hand and made the letters for doll for her. What better way to teach a child something than with a toy that they enjoy. Many days later, while Helen played with her new doll, Anne placed Helen s rag doll in Helen s lap and spelled d-o-l-l, trying to make Helen understand that d-o-l-l applied to both dolls, but Helen did not grasp it. The doll opened up Helen s emotions, just like Anne s signing opened up Helen s mind. After Anne s repeated attempts, Helen became frustrated and took the new doll and dashed it upon the floor. Helen was pleased when she felt the broken pieces of the doll at her feet. She did not feel sorrow or regret about her outburst. In the dark world where Helen lived, there was no strong sentiment or tenderness. After the incident at the water spout, when Helen finally made the connection between the word water and the feel of it gushing over her hand, she saw everything with the strange new sight that had come to her. And when she entered the house, she remembered the doll she had broken and felt her way to the hearth and picked up the pieces. When she could not 2014 K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 5 of 19

6 piece the doll back together, she began to cry because she realized what she had done, and for the first time she felt repentance and sorrow. Award points for specific answers as shown below (for a total of 0 2 points). Points Concept Addressed Feedback for Student Answers 1 The answer describes one role that the doll given by Anne played in Helen s learning experiences, and includes examples or quotations to support this answer. 1 The answer describes a second role that the doll given by Anne played in Helen s learning experiences, and includes examples or quotations to support this answer. Your answer should describe the role that the doll given by Anne played in Helen s learning experiences, and should include examples or quotations to support this answer. Your answer should describe a second role that the doll given by Anne played in Helen s learning experiences, and should include examples or quotations to support this answer. Feedback for completely correct answer: Your answer describes two roles that the doll given by Anne played in Helen s learning experiences. Your answer includes events or quotations from the passage to support your answer. 6. How does the description of the scene at the well house in Paragraph 7 contribute to the development of the author s key ideas? Use details from the text to support your answer. Model Answer The scene at the well house is a turning point in Helen s understanding of what Anne was doing with the motion of her fingers. Anne Sullivan placed Helen s hand under the spout so she could feel the cool stream of water gush over her hand, while Anne spelled into the other the word water. As Helen describes it, the mystery of language was finally revealed to her. Without Anne s method of teaching, Helen would have remained closed off in her world. By understanding that w-a-t-e-r meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over Helen s hand, the living word awakened Helen s soul and gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! Helen left the well house eager to learn when she realized that everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought. Award points for specific answers as shown below (for a total of 0 2 points). Points Concept Addressed Feedback for Student Answers 1 The answer explains how the description of the scene at the well house contributes to the development of the author s key ideas. Your answer should explain how the description of the scene at the well house contributes to the development of the author s key ideas K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 6 of 19

7 Points Concept Addressed Feedback for Student Answers 1 The answer provides details from the text to show how the description of the scene at the well house contributes to the development of the author s key ideas. Your answer should include details from the text to show how the description of the scene at the well house contributes to the development of the author s key ideas. Feedback for completely correct answer: Your answer explains how the description of the scene at the well house contributes to the development of the author s key ideas. Your answer includes details from the text to support your answer. 7. How does Helen Keller help the reader understand the role Anne Sullivan played in her life? Use details from the text to support your answer. Model Answer Even before Anne arrived, Helen had guessed vaguely from her mother s signs and from the hurrying to and fro in the house that something unusual was about to happen. When Anne arrived, Helen felt the approaching footsteps, and when she reached out her hand, expecting it to be her mother, Anne took hold. Helen was caught up and held close in the arms of her who had come to reveal all things, but more than all things else to love her. Before Anne came into her life, Helen lived her life like a ship at sea in a dense fog with a tangible white darkness that shut her in. When Anne began signing to her, Helen was interested in this finger play and tried to imitate it, but she didn t know that she was spelling a word or even that words existed. Over several days, Helen learned to spell in an uncomprehending way a great many words. Then one day Anne took Helen to the well house and signed the word water as it gushed over Helen s other hand. Then Helen s whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly, Helen felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten and then the mystery of language was revealed to her. When Helen made the connection between the feel of the water and the word that identified it, the barriers that had held her captive in her mind would in time be swept away. Helen left the well-house eager to learn and she saw everything with the strange new sight that had come to her because of Anne. At the end of that day, for the first time Helen longed for a new day to come K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 7 of 19

8 Award points for specific answers as shown below (for a total of 0 2 points). Points Concept Addressed Feedback for Student Answers 1 The answer explains how Helen Keller helps the reader understand the role Anne Sullivan played in her life. 1 The answer provides details from the text to show how Helen Keller helps the reader understand the role Anne Sullivan played in her life. Your answer should explain how Helen Keller helps the reader understand the role Anne Sullivan played in her life. Your answer should include details from the text to show how Helen Keller helps the reader understand the role Anne Sullivan played in her life. Feedback for completely correct answer: Your answer explains how Helen Keller helps the reader understand the role Anne Sullivan played in her life. Your answer includes details from the text to support your answer K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 8 of 19

9 Read the passage. Then answer the questions. Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker (1) When Anne Sullivan graduated from the Perkins School for the Blind in 1886, she needed a job to support herself. The school s director, Michael Anagnos, had received a letter from the Keller family in Tuscumbia, Alabama, who needed a governess for their six-year-old daughter who was deaf, blind, and mute. Anagnos thought Anne was the perfect candidate. To prepare, Anne studied the manual alphabet created by Samuel Gridley Howe, the first director of the Perkins School for the Blind. This method was first used to teach Laura Bridgman, the first deaf and blind person to learn language. She was a friend of Anne Sullivan s. Anne eventually used this manual alphabet method to teach the young daughter of the family who had written to Michael Anagnos. That girl was Helen Keller. (2) Anne Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866, in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. Her parents had left Ireland during the Great Famine in the 1840s, but life in America was not easy for them. At age five, Anne contracted trachoma, an eye disease caused by bacteria. Anne suffered from painful infections that ultimately led to partial vision loss. When she was nine, Anne s mother died. Her father, overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking care of Anne and her two siblings, abandoned his family. Anne and her brother, Jimmie, were sent to live at the Tewksbury Almshouse, a home for the poor. Her sister Mary was sent to live with relatives. (3) The conditions at Tewksbury were dreadful. The facilities were ramshackle and overcrowded. Three months after they arrived, Anne s brother, Jimmie, died. While she was at Tewksbury, Anne underwent two operations on her eyes. Neither one was successful. She had another unsuccessful operation at a hospital in Lowell, Massachusetts, and was able to stay at the hospital for several months and help the nuns in the wards. After a fourth unsuccessful operation, Anne returned to Tewksbury unwillingly. Her reprieve of six months from the horror of Tewksbury made Anne intent on leaving the almshouse. She had heard about a school for the blind and was determined that it was the key to ending her life of poverty. (4) When a group came to investigate the conditions at Tewksbury in 1880, Anne followed them around. As their tour ended, she approached Frank B. Sanborn, an official for the State Board of Charities of Massachusetts. Anne pleaded with him to send her to school. Shortly thereafter, Anne was sent to the Perkins School for the Blind. (5) Adjusting to Perkins was difficult for Anne at first. The quiet, reserved environment was a stark contrast to the loud and boisterous Tewksbury. Anne didn t always follow the rules, and with her quick temper and bold personality she didn t fit in. Prior to her arrival at Perkins, Anne s education had been minimal. She couldn t read or write her own name. Consequently, she was ridiculed by the other girls who were better educated. But Anne was bright, and some of her teachers took notice and fostered her growth. While at Perkins, Anne had another surgery on her eyes. This one was successful and Anne s vision improved greatly. She was finally able to read print. Anne began to excel academically and when she graduated, she was chosen as the class valedictorian. (6) In March 1887, Anne traveled to Tuscumbia, Alabama, to become Helen s teacher. Only 21, Anne was apprehensive about her assignment at the Kellers. When she arrived, Anne began signing words in Helen s hand, using the method Dr. Howe had used to teach Laura Bridgman. Anne set up a strict schedule 2014 K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 9 of 19

10 of formal lessons where she taught Helen new words. But teaching the free-spirited and unruly Helen was difficult under such a rigid routine. Anne realized that she needed to first teach Helen obedience. She asked the Kellers permission to move Helen from the house to a cottage nearby. In a letter to Sophia Hopkins, a woman who had taken an interest in Anne when she was at Perkins, Anne wrote I saw clearly that it was useless to try to teach her language or anything else until she learned to obey me. (7) Not one to obey rules herself, Anne followed after Helen and signed the words of the activities the girl engaged in. Anne talked to Helen constantly by signing into her hand, and Helen was learning words. Two words that confused Helen were mug and milk. She thought they meant the verb drink. One morning Anne took Helen to the pump house and had Helen hold her mug under the spout of the pump. As water filled the mug and ran over Helen s hand, Anne signed the word w-a-t-e-r. Anne described it in a letter to Sophia Hopkins, The word coming so close upon the sensation of cold water rushing over her hand seemed to startle her. She dropped the mug and stood as one transfixed. A new light came into her face. From that point on, Helen wanted to know the names of everything around her. Within months, Helen had learned 575 words, the multiplication tables as high as five, and the Braille system. (8) Anne relied on the support she received from Anagnos and others at the Perkins School. Feeling isolated and lacking materials in Tuscumbia, Anne decided it would be best if she took Helen to Perkins to further her education. Helen had been featured in Perkins annual report, and the article drew the attention of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Mark Twain. Some of the information Anagnos presented from Anne s letters and reports about Helen had been exaggerated in the report. Anne disliked these misrepresentations and worried that they might create unrealistic expectations that Helen could not meet. Also, being on campus, Anne found it difficult to give up her independence, and the relationship with Anagnos started to become strained. Consequently, Anne and Helen sometimes lived at Perkins and sometimes in Alabama. (9) When Helen s family could no longer afford to pay Anne, several wealthy supporters who had become interested in Helen from Anagnos s reports contributed to the costs. One of them was millionaire Andrew Carnegie. In 1900, Helen entered Radcliffe College. Anne signed all the class lectures and the texts and books that were not Brailled. She spent up to five hours each day reading to Helen. As a result, her eyesight suffered. In 1902, Helen and Anne met John Albert Macy, a young Harvard teacher and literary critic. Macy helped edit Helen s autobiography The Story of My Life. When Helen graduated from Radcliffe in 1904, she became the first deaf and blind person to earn a bachelor s degree. That same year, Anne and Helen bought a farmhouse on seven acres in Wrentham, Massachusetts. The following year Anne married John Macy. (10) Even though she was married, Anne still traveled with Helen on lecture tours to promote Helen s writing. Helen would sign to Anne, and Anne would relay the words to the audience. In 1914, however, Anne s marriage to Macy ended, but the two never divorced. When Anne began having health problems, Polly Thomson became Helen s secretary. (11) After suffering an illness in 1916, Anne stopped work. After a brief rest in Lake Placid, New York, with Polly Thomson, the two women traveled to Puerto Rico, where they stayed for five months. Helen stayed in Tuscumbia, Alabama. This was the first time Anne and Helen had been separated for an extended period of time. Anne and Polly returned to the United States when war was declared on Germany in April Anne and Helen sold the house in Wrentham, and the three women moved to Forest Hills, New York K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 10 of 19

11 (12) In the early 1920s, Anne and Helen told their story to audiences on the vaudeville theater circuit to earn money. When Anne s eyesight grew worse, she taught Polly the manual language so that Polly could read to Helen. (13) Anne Sullivan Macy died on October 20, 1936, at her home in Forest Hills, New York. She was 70 years old K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 11 of 19

12 Choose answers to multiple choice questions. Type responses to questions that ask you to write a response. Be sure to save your work. 8. Read this sentence from Paragraph 5 of Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker : But Anne was bright, and some of her teachers took notice and fostered her growth. Which phrase best describes the connotation of the phrase fostered her growth in this sentence? A. paid attention to her nutrition B. raised her like a child of their own C. encouraged her learning D. worked with her only part-time Teacher feedback: (The correct answer is C.) Score: (1 point) 9. Read the words Anne wrote in a letter to Sophia Hopkins about Helen in Paragraph 7: The word coming so close upon the sensation of cold water rushing over her hand seemed to startle her. She dropped the mug and stood as one transfixed. A new light came into her face. What did Anne mean by the sentence, A new light came into her face? A. the realization of discovery B. the sun shone on her face C. her eyes lit up with excitement D. she smiled with pleasure Teacher feedback: (The correct answer is A.) Score: (1 point) 10. Answer the questions about the author s purpose of the passage. (a) What is the author s purpose in Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker? A. to describe Anne s relationship with John Albert Macy B. to explain that Anne had vision problems C. to inform readers how Anne was trained as Helen s teacher D. to inform readers about Anne Sullivan s life Teacher feedback: (The correct answer is D.) 2014 K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 12 of 19

13 (b) Which details from the passage support the answer in Part (a)? Choose exactly two answers that are correct. A. Before Helen even arrived at Perkins, she had been featured in Perkins annual report. (Paragraph 8) B. When Helen graduated from Radcliffe in 1904, she became the first deaf and blind person to earn a bachelor s degree. (Paragraph 9) C. In March 1887, Anne traveled to Tuscumbia, Alabama, to become Helen s teacher. (Paragraph 6) D. The facilities were ramshackle and overcrowded. (Paragraph 3) E. It drew the attention of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Mark Twain. (Paragraph 8) F. Anne and her brother, Jimmie, were sent to live at the Tewksbury Almshouse, a home for the poor. (Paragraph 2) Teacher feedback: (The correct answers are C and F.) Score: (2 points both (a) and (b) must be correct to earn 2 points, if (a) is correct and (b) is incorrect award 1 point, if (a) is incorrect, award 0 points.) 11. How does the author portray Anne Sullivan? Provide two character traits and use details from the passage to support each trait. Model Answer The author portrays Anne Sullivan as determined, hardworking, and persevering. Anne suffered from an eye disease that left her with some vision loss. She underwent several unsuccessful eye operations. After one operation, she was able to spend several months away from Tewksbury. This experience made her determined to leave Tewksbury after she was sent back there to live. The author includes an anecdote about how dogged Anne was to leave the almshouse. When a group came to investigate Tewksbury, Anne followed them around until the end of the tour when she approached Frank B. Sanborn and pleaded with him to send her to school. Shortly after, Anne was sent to Perkins. When Anne graduated from the Perkins School for the Blind in 1886, she needed a job to support herself. When she heard that the Keller family was looking for a governess for their six-year-old daughter who was deaf, blind, and mute, Anne took the position. Although she was nervous about teaching the little girl, Anne worked hard to prepare by studying the manual alphabet method. When Anne arrived at the Kellers home in Alabama, she immediately began signing words in Helen s hand. At first it was difficult for Anne to teach Helen because Helen was free-spirited and unruly. Anne realized that it was useless to try to teach her language or anything else until she learned to obey her. Anne moved Helen to a small cottage and persevered as she followed after Helen and signed the words of the activities the girl engaged in. The author includes an anecdote that was a turning point in Helen s education. She describes in detail Anne signing the word water as water ran over Helen s hand. This was the breakthrough that Anne needed. Afterward, Helen wanted to know the names of everything around her K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 13 of 19

14 Award points for specific answers as shown below (for a total of 0 2 points). Points Concept Addressed Feedback for Student Answers 1 The answer describes one character trait of Anne Sullivan and includes details from the text to support this answer. 1 The answer describes a second character trait of Anne Sullivan and includes details from the text to support this answer. Your answer should describe a character trait of Anne Sullivan and include details from the text to support your answer. Your answer should describe a second character trait of Anne Sullivan and include details from the text to support your answer. Feedback for completely correct answer: Your answer describes two character traits of Anne Sullivan. Your answer includes details from the text to support your answer. 12. Summarize the information in Anne Sullivan, The Miracle Worker. Use at least three key details from the text to support your answer. Model Answer Anne Sullivan is famous for being the Helen Keller s teacher. Anne lost part of her vision when she was very young. When her mother died and her father abandoned her, Anne was sent to live in a terrible institution for the poor called Tewksbury. Determined to not remain ignorant for her life, Anne begged a school investigator to help her become educated. She later was sent to the Perkins school where she excelled. While there, she was recommended to be the teacher of Helen Keller. Ann worked miracles with Helen through discipline, perseverance, and hard work. She helped Helen discover language and remained her teacher and later her reader, companion, and secretary as Helen achieved fame. When Anne s eyesight grew worse, she taught Polly Thomson the manual language, so Polly could read to Helen. The three women lived together in Forest Hills, New York. Anne died in Award points for specific answers as shown below (for a total of 0 3 points). Points Concept Addressed Feedback for Student Answers 3 The answer uses at least three key details from the text to summarize the information in Anne Sullivan, The Miracle Worker. (1 point for each detail used to provide the summary) Your answer should use at least three key details to summarize the information in Anne Sullivan, The Miracle Worker. Feedback for completely correct answer: Your answer summarizes the information in Anne Sullivan, The Miracle Worker. Your answer includes at least three key details from the text to support your answer K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 14 of 19

15 13. Why does the author begin this article with details about Anne Sullivan after her graduation from the Perkins School? How does the first paragraph of the article contribute to the development of the author s ideas? Use at least two details from the text to support your answer. Model Answer The first paragraph introduces Anne Sullivan at a later point in her life. Instead of starting from the very beginning of Anne Sullivan s life, the author chose to begin the biography with Anne s graduation from the Perkins School for the Blind in This allows the reader to see how Anne, who needed a job to support herself, was first introduced to Helen and how she was qualified to become Helen s teacher. In this paragraph, readers learn how Anne Sullivan first learned of Helen Keller. Michael Anagnos, the school s director, had received a letter from the Keller family in Tuscumbia, Alabama, who needed a governess for their six-year-old daughter who was deaf, blind, and mute. The author explains in this paragraph how Anne acquired the knowledge and skill of the manual alphabet method, created by Samuel Gridley Howe, and that it was first used to teach Laura Bridgman, the first deaf and blind person to learn language. This information informs readers as to how Anne learned of this manual alphabet method and used it to teach Helen, who was deaf, blind, and mute, how to communicate with the world. Award points for specific answers as shown below (for a total of 0 4 points). Points Concept Addressed Feedback for Student Answers 2 The answer explains why the author begins the article with details about Anne Sullivan after her graduation from the Perkins School and gives details from the text to support the answer. (1 point for the answer; 1 point for evidence) 2 The answer explains how the first paragraph of the article contributes to the development of the author s ideas and gives details from the text to support the answer. (1 point for the answer; 1 point for evidence) Your answer should explain why the author begins the article with details about Anne Sullivan after her graduation from the Perkins School and give details from the text to support the answer. Your answer should explain how the first paragraph of the article contributes to the development of the author s ideas and give details from the text to support the answer. Feedback for completely correct answer: Your answer explains why the author begins the article with details about Anne Sullivan after her graduation from the Perkins School. Your answer also explains how the first paragraph of the article contributes to the development of the author s ideas. Your answer includes details from the text to support your answer. 14. How is the depiction of the event at the pump house in The Story of My Life and in Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker alike and how is it different? Use at least one detail from each text for each comparison K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 15 of 19

16 Model Answer In The Story of My Life and Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker, both authors explain how Anne taught Helen the word water at the pump house, by having the water run over Helen s one hand, while Anne signed the word w-a-t-e-r in the other. So, both texts explain the effect that the water running over Helen s hand and Anne s signing the word at the same time had on Helen. Both texts explain that immediately following the incident at the pump house, Helen was eager to learn and wanted to know the names of everything around her. However, their explanations differ in the details. In Helen Keller s The Story of My Life, she explains that the incident at the pump house was precipitated by Anne trying to impress upon her that m-u-g is mug and that w-at-e-r is water, but Helen persisted in confounding the two. In Helen Keller s description of the event, she includes how she was attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle that covered the pump house as they walked up to it. She also explains that someone was drawing water and that Anne placed her hand under the spout, and as the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. Helen said that she stood still and her whole attention was fixed upon the motion of her fingers. Helen describes that she felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten a thrill of returning thought, and that the mystery of language was revealed to her. In Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker, the author does not set the scene as is done in Helen Keller s story. There is no mention of the fragrant honeysuckle. In Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker, the author explains that Helen was confused by the words mug and milk, (not mug and water, as Helen described in her autobiography.) Helen thought they meant the verb drink. That s why Anne brought Helen to the pump house. The author explains that Anne had Helen hold her mug under the spout of the pump, and as water filled the mug and ran over Helen s hand, Anne signed the word water. Anne explained in a letter to Sophia Hopkins, The word coming so close upon the sensation of cold water rushing over her hand seemed to startle her. She dropped the mug and stood as one transfixed. A new light came into her face. Award points for specific answers as shown below (for a total of 0 4 points). Points Concept Addressed Feedback for Student Answers 2 The answer explains how the depictions of the event at the pump house in The Story of My Life and in Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker are similar and gives at least one detail from each text to support the answer. (1 point for the answer; 1 point for evidence) 2 The answer explains how the depictions of the event at the pump house in The Story of My Life and in Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker are different and gives at least one detail from each text to support the answer. (1 point for the answer; 1 point for evidence) Your answer should explain how the depictions of the event at the pump house in The Story of My Life and in Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker are similar and give at least one detail from each text to support the answer. Your answer should explain how the depictions of the event at the pump house in The Story of My Life and in Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker are different and give at least one detail from each text to support the answer. Feedback for completely correct answer: Your answer explains how the depictions of the event at the pump house in The Story of My Life and in Anne Sullivan, the Miracle Worker are similar and how they are different. Your answer includes at least one detail from each text in each comparison K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 16 of 19

17 15. In an essay of at least three paragraphs, explain Helen Keller s early life and how her disabilities affected her relationship with the outside world. Describe how Anne s early life and her background played an integral role in Helen s education. Include in your essay information about the effect Anne had on Helen and the relationship that developed between the two women. Use evidence from both texts to support and develop your essay. Be sure to introduce your topic and provide a strong conclusion. Connect your ideas with transitions. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) Write at least three paragraphs. Organize your essay chronologically, in order of importance, or in logical order. Explain how both women s early lives affected them and their relationship with each other. Describe Anne s role in Helen s life. Include relevant facts, details, quotations, and examples in your essay. Use transitions to create coherence in your writing. Provide a strong conclusion to your essay. Score: Use the rubric to evaluate the student s writing. Award points for each category as shown below (for a total of points). Students who do not respond should be given a 0. Teacher feedback: Provide feedback about the student s writing in each category K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 17 of 19

18 Category Level 3 (5 points) Level 2 (4 points) Level 1 (3 points) Purpose and Content Structure and Organization The writing is an informational essay about the lives of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. Relevant and interesting facts about the early lives of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan are presented. Details about Helen s education and the relationship that developed between the two women is presented. The entire essay is supported with relevant quotations and examples. Evidence from both texts has been used to develop the essay. All sentences in the essay are purposeful and related to the topic. The writing is a focused informational essay and it follows this form consistently. The writing is consistently written in the same point of view. It is consistently focused on the topic. The writing is at least three paragraphs long. It is consistently organized either chronologically, in order of importance, or with logical order. There is a clear beginning, middle, and ending to the essay and it flows smoothly, contains details, and explanations. The essay concludes in a satisfying manner. The writing is an informational essay that mostly tells about the lives of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. Facts about the early lives of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan are presented. Some details about Helen s education and the relationship that developed between the two women are presented. The essay is mostly supported with quotations and examples. Evidence from both texts has been used, but some of it may not be relevant to development of the essay. Most of the sentences in the essay are purposeful and related to the topic. The writing is mostly an informational essay and mostly follows this form The writing is mostly written from a consistent point of view. It is mostly focused on the topic. The writing is at least two paragraphs long. There is a beginning, middle, and ending to the essay.. It is mostly organized either chronologically, in order of importance, or with logical order. Most of the essay flows smoothly and there is some use of details and explanations, There is a conclusion to the essay. The writing may not be an informational essay and may not tell about the lives of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan.. It may not include relevant facts about the early lives of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. It may not include details about Helen s education and the relationship between the two women. The essay may lack supporting details and relevant quotations and examples. Evidence from both texts may not have been used in the development of the essay. All sentences in the essay may not be purposeful or related to the topic. The writing may not take the form of an informational essay or may not follow this form consistently. The writing may not be from the same point of view. It may lack focus. The writing is less than two paragraphs long. It may not be organized or it may lack a clear organizational pattern. The essay may not have a clear beginning, middle, or ending. The essay may not flow smoothly, or it may not include sufficient details or explanations. There may be no clear conclusion K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 18 of 19

19 Category Level 3 (5 points) Level 2 (4 points) Level 1 (3 points) Language and Word Choice Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics The writing has an engaging, informational, and objective tone. The writing uses precise language and vocabulary. The writing consistently uses connecting words between ideas and paragraphs. The writing is in standard English. The writing has no errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics. The writing has no errors in punctuation or spelling. The writing has a somewhat engaging, informational, and objective tone. The writing mostly uses precise language and vocabulary. The writing mostly uses connecting words between ideas and paragraphs. The writing is mostly in standard English. The writing may contain some errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics. The writing may contain some errors in punctuation or spelling. The errors do not interfere with the reader s understanding. The writing seldom uses an engaging, informational, and objective tone. The writing may not use precise language or vocabulary. The writing may not use connecting words between ideas and paragraphs, if there are paragraphs. The writing may not be in standard English. The writing may contain many errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics. The writing may contain many errors in punctuation or spelling. The errors may make it difficult to follow or understand the writing K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 19 of 19