Grade 6-8 LAT Teacher Handout (from PARCC website) Today you will read an excerpt from the novel Anne of Green Gables and a poem by Emily Dickinson. When you are finished reading and answering the multiple-choice questions, you will write an essay that analyzes how the theme of honesty is portrayed in the novel and poem. Passage #1 Read the excerpt from Anne of Green Gables. Then answer the questions. 1 When dinner was ready she went to the stairs and called Anne. A tear-stained face appeared, looking tragically over the banisters. 2 Come down to your dinner, Anne. 3 I don t want any dinner, Marilla, said Anne, sobbingly. I couldn t eat anything. My heart is broken. You ll feel remorse of conscience someday, I expect, for breaking it, Marilla, but I forgive you. Remember when the time comes that I forgive you. But please don t ask me to eat anything, especially boiled pork and greens. Boiled pork and greens are so unromantic when one is in affliction. 4 Exasperated, Marilla returned to the kitchen and poured out her tale of woe to Matthew, who, between his sense of justice and his unlawful sympathy with Anne, was a miserable man. 5 Well now, she shouldn t have taken the brooch, Marilla, or told stories about it, he admitted, mournfully surveying his plateful of unromantic pork and greens as if he, like Anne, thought it a food unsuited to crises of feeling, but she s such a little thing such an interesting little thing. Don t you think it s pretty rough not to let her go to the picnic when she s so set on it? 6 Matthew Cuthbert, I m amazed at you. I think I ve let her off entirely too easy. And she doesn t appear to realize how wicked she s been at all that s what worries me most. If she d really felt sorry it wouldn t be so bad. And you don t seem to realize it, neither; you re making excuses for her all the time to yourself I can see that. 7 Well now, she s such a little thing, feebly reiterated Matthew. And there should be allowances made, Marilla. You know she s never had any bringing up. 8 Well, she s having it now retorted Marilla. 9 The retort silenced Matthew if it did not convince him. That dinner was a very dismal meal. The only cheerful thing about it was Jerry Buote, the hired boy, and Marilla resented his cheerfulness as a personal insult. 10 When her dishes were washed and her bread sponge set and her hens fed Marilla remembered that she had noticed a small rent in her best black lace shawl when she had taken it off on Monday afternoon on returning from the Ladies Aid. 1
11 She would go and mend it. The shawl was in a box in her trunk. As Marilla lifted it out, the sunlight, falling through the vines that clustered thickly about the window, struck upon something caught in the shawl something that glittered and sparkled in facets of violet light. Marilla snatched at it with a gasp. It was the amethyst brooch, hanging to a thread of the lace by its catch! 12 Dear life and heart, said Marilla blankly, what does this mean? Here s my brooch safe and sound that I thought was at the bottom of Barry s pond. Whatever did that girl mean by saying she took it and lost it? I declare I believe Green Gables is bewitched. I remember now that when I took off my shawl Monday afternoon I laid it on the bureau for a minute. I suppose the brooch got caught in it somehow. Well! 13 Marilla betook herself to the east gable, brooch in hand. Anne had cried herself out and was sitting dejectedly by the window. 14 Anne Shirley, said Marilla solemnly, I ve just found my brooch hanging to my black lace shawl. Now I want to know what that rigmarole you told me this morning meant. 15 Why, you said you d keep me here until I confessed, returned Anne wearily, and so I decided to confess because I was bound to get to the picnic. I thought out a confession last night after I went to bed and made it as interesting as I could. And I said it over and over so that I wouldn t forget it. But you wouldn t let me go to the picnic after all, so all my trouble was wasted. 16 Marilla had to laugh in spite of herself. But her conscience pricked her. 17 Anne, you do beat all! But I was wrong I see that now. I shouldn t have doubted your word when I d never known you to tell a story. Of course, it wasn t right for you to confess to a thing you hadn t done it was very wrong to do so. But I drove you to it. So if you ll forgive me, Anne, I ll forgive you and we ll start square again. And now get yourself ready for the picnic. 18 Anne flew up like a rocket. 19 Oh, Marilla, isn t it too late? 20 No, it s only two o clock. They won t be more than well gathered yet and it ll be an hour before they have tea. Wash your face and comb your hair and put on your gingham. I ll fill a basket for you. There s plenty of stuff baked in the house. And I ll get Jerry to hitch up the sorrel and drive you down to the picnic ground. 21 Oh, Marilla, exclaimed Anne, flying to the washstand. Five minutes ago I was so miserable I was wishing I d never been born and now I wouldn t change places with an angel! 2
1. Part A Question: What is the meaning of the word exasperated as it is used in paragraph 4? A. frustrated B. exhausted C. violated D. confused Part B Question: Which phrase helps the reader understand the meaning of exasperated? A. returned to the kitchen B. tale of woe C. sense of justice D. unlawful sympathy 2. Part A Question: What is the purpose of this sentence that describes how Matthew Cuthbert looks at his food: plateful of unromantic pork and greens as if he, like Anne, thought it a food unsuited to crises of feeling? A. It illustrates the poor quality of food served in the Cuthbert house. B. It supports the idea that romance is foolhardy and irrelevant to Matthew. C. It demonstrates that food is symbolic of the inner feelings of the characters. D. It shows that Matthew is more inclined to side with Anne in the dispute. Part B Question: Which sentence or phrase from paragraph 9 serves a similar purpose? A. The retort silenced Matthew if it did not convince him. B. That dinner was a very dismal meal. C. The only cheerful thing about it was Jerry Buote D. Marilla resented his cheerfulness as a personal insult. 3
3. Part A Question: Which set of words best completes the following statement? At first, Marilla was, but at the end, she is. a. rude b. hospitable c. rational (last) d. demanding (first) e. cruel f. self-conscious g. annoyed h. affectionate Part B Question: Which events from the text best support the answer in Part A? A. Marilla accuses Anne of theft, but later apologizes for the mistake. B. Marilla forces Anne to have dinner, but at the end, she relents. C. Marilla demands a confession, but punishes Anne for the confession at the end. D. Marilla cares deeply about the brooch but does not appear to care when she finds it. 4
Passage #2 Read the poem Tell All the Truth but Tell It Slant by Emily Dickinson. Tell All the Truth, but Tell It Slant By Emily Dickinson Tell all the Truth but tell it slant Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth's superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased 5 With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind 5
4. Part A Question: What does the word circuit mean in line 2? A. electrical connection B. wandering path C. tight circle D. celebrity tour Part B Question: Which word from the poem best helps the reader understand the meaning of circuit? A. Success B. surprise C. Lightning D. gradually 5. Part A Question: Which of the following sentences best states the central idea of the poem? a. The truth can be difficult to understand. b. The truth can be too intense for our minds. c. The truth can be dangerous and used as a weapon. d. The truth can be very rare and must be preserved. Part B Question: Select three phrases from the poem that support the answer to Part A. a. "but tell it slant b. "Success in Circuit lies" c. "Too bright for our infirm Delight" d. "The Truth s superb surprise e. "As Lightning to the Children" f. "eased/with explanation kind" g. "Truth must dazzle gradually" h. "Or every man be blind " 6
6. Part A Question: What is the relationship of the second stanza to the first stanza? A. The first stanza explains the second stanza. B. The second stanza compares two ideas in the first stanza. C. The first stanza describes adults and the second describes children. D. The second stanza provides an analogy for an idea in the first stanza. Part B Question: Which line from the second stanza provides the best support for the answer in Part A? A. As Lightning to the Children eased. B. with explanation kind C. The Truth must dazzle gradually D. Or every man be blind 7
Prose Constructed Response (Sample Mark-up) You have read a story and a poem that both contain a theme about honesty. Use what you have learned from these texts to write an essay that analyzes how this theme of honesty is portrayed similarly and differently in the two texts. You may choose to look at what is stated in the text, what events convey the theme, or what details make up the theme. You may also choose other aspects that can be compared and contrasted and that help to form the theme in each text. Develop your essay by providing textual evidence from both texts. Be sure to follow the conventions of standard English. Overall theme about honesty Story Sometimes people are not ready for the truth. Poem Sometimes the truth can do harm, so tell the truth gently. What happens in the text to reveal the theme Anne is forced to confess to something she did not do, and is punished anyway. Nothing much happens in the poem, but it does say that if the truth is given to children in a raw way, every man be blind. What narrator or character says that reveals the theme Anne: you said you d keep me here until I confessed so I decided to confess because I was bound to get to the picnic. I thought out a confession last night after I went to bed and made it as interesting as I could... Marilla:...I shouldn t have doubted your word when I d never known you to tell a story. Of course, it wasn t right for you to confess to a thing you hadn t done it was very wrong to do so. The persona says: Tell all the Truth but tell it slant / Success in Circuit lies and The Truth must dazzle gradually / Or every man be blind. Details given that reveal the theme Anne would have remained punished and would have learned a bad lesson if Marilla had not found the brooch. Marilla insisted that Anne confess. This shows she was just not ready to hear the truth from Anne and demanded a story. success in circuit means not being completely straightforward, but telling it in a roundabout way. The poet compares children s fear of lightning to distaste for the full truth. 8
Point out that some information must be inferred from what is in the story, and that Cornell notes, or some notetaking scheme, can help them keep track. (An example markup is below.) Also point out that some information is not there (for example, the story that Anne tells about losing the brooch) but you can get the rest of the answer from other parts of the text. Sometimes what is not said is as important as what is said. Have students highlight the passage to find information to place in the chart. Note that they should only transfer the MOST RELEVANT highlighted info to the chart. 9
Passage #1 Read the excerpt from Anne of Green Gables. 1. When dinner was ready she went to the stairs and called Anne. A tear-stained face appeared, looking tragically over the banisters. 2. Come down to your dinner, Anne. 3. I don t want any dinner, Marilla, said Anne, sobbingly. I couldn t eat anything. My heart is broken. You ll feel remorse of conscience someday, I expect, for breaking it, Marilla, but I forgive you. Remember when the time comes that I forgive you. But please don t ask me to eat anything, especially boiled pork and greens. Boiled pork and greens are so unromantic when one is in affliction. 4. Exasperated, Marilla returned to the kitchen and poured out her tale of woe to Matthew, who, between his sense of justice and his unlawful sympathy with Anne, was a miserable man. 5. Well now, she shouldn t have taken the brooch, Marilla, or told stories about it, he admitted, mournfully surveying his plateful of unromantic pork and greens as if he, like Anne, thought it a food unsuited to crises of feeling, but she s such a little thing such an interesting little thing. Don t you think it s pretty rough not to let her go to the picnic when she s so set on it? 6. Matthew Cuthbert, I m amazed at you. I think I ve let her off entirely too easy. And she doesn t appear to realize how wicked she s been at all that s what worries me most. If she d really felt sorry it wouldn t be so bad. And you don t seem to realize it, neither; you re making excuses for her all the time to yourself I can see that. 7. Well now, she s such a little thing, feebly reiterated Matthew. And there should be allowances made, Marilla. You know she s never had any bringing up. 8. Well, she s having it now retorted Marilla. 9. The retort silenced Matthew if it did not convince him. That dinner was a very dismal meal. The only cheerful thing about it was Jerry Buote, the hired boy, and Marilla resented his cheerfulness as a personal insult. 10. When her dishes were washed and her bread sponge set and her hens fed Marilla remembered that she had noticed a small rent in her best black lace shawl when she had taken it off on Monday afternoon on returning from the Ladies Aid. 11. She would go and mend it. The shawl was in a box in her trunk. As Marilla lifted it out, the sunlight, falling through the vines that clustered thickly about the window, struck upon something caught in the shawl something that They know it s wrong to lie. Matthew and Marilla agree. Marilla cannot see that Anne was telling the truth she hadn t taken the brooch. She does not see remorse for taking it because Anne was lying in her story to make Marilla happy. 10
glittered and sparkled in facets of violet light. Marilla snatched at it with a gasp. It was the amethyst brooch, hanging to a thread of the lace by its catch! 12. Dear life and heart, said Marilla blankly, what does this mean? Here s my brooch safe and sound that I thought was at the bottom of Barry s pond. Whatever did that girl mean by saying she took it and lost it? I declare I believe Green Gables is bewitched. I remember now that when I took off my shawl Monday afternoon I laid it on the bureau for a minute. I suppose the brooch got caught in it somehow. Well! 13. Marilla betook herself to the east gable, brooch in hand. Anne had cried herself out and was sitting dejectedly by the window. 14. Anne Shirley, said Marilla solemnly, I ve just found my brooch hanging to my black lace shawl. Now I want to know what that rigmarole you told me this morning meant. 15. Why, you said you d keep me here until I confessed, returned Anne wearily, and so I decided to confess because I was bound to get to the picnic. I thought out a confession last night after I went to bed and made it as interesting as I could. And I said it over and over so that I wouldn t forget it. But you wouldn t let me go to the picnic after all, so all my trouble was wasted. 16. Marilla had to laugh in spite of herself. But her conscience pricked her. 17. Anne, you do beat all! But I was wrong I see that now. I shouldn t have doubted your word when I d never known you to tell a story. Of course, it wasn t right for you to confess to a thing you hadn t done it was very wrong to do so. But I drove you to it. So if you ll forgive me, Anne, I ll forgive you and we ll start square again. And now get yourself ready for the picnic. 18. Anne flew up like a rocket. 19. Oh, Marilla, isn t it too late? 20. No, it s only two o clock. They won t be more than well gathered yet and it ll be an hour before they have tea. Wash your face and comb your hair and put on your gingham. I ll fill a basket for you. There s plenty of stuff baked in the house. And I ll get Jerry to hitch up the sorrel and drive you down to the picnic ground. 21. Oh, Marilla, exclaimed Anne, flying to the washstand. Five minutes ago I was so miserable I was wishing I d never been born and now I wouldn t change places with an angel! If Marilla had not found the brooch, Anne would not have learned this lesson! Nor would Marilla. Marilla cannot reconcile the truth with the story she heard from Anne, which she thought was the truth. Anne explains that she had to lie for Marilla to believe her. She tells a fancy story as interesting as I could so that Marilla would believe her. (This is similar to Tell it slant. ) Marilla sees how her demand for the truth got her and Anne into trouble. She isn t interested in drawing out the lesson but it seems that she will listen to Anne from now on instead of demanding stories. And Anne is not expected to confess to things she didn t do. 11
Passage #2 Read the poem Tell All the Truth but Tell It Slant by Emily Dickinson. Tell all the Truth but tell it slant Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth's superb surprise This describes how telling the truth in a roundabout way is better than just saying things outright. As Lightning to the Children eased 5 With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind The reason given is that too much truth is overwhelming or intense. 12
Prose Constructed Response 7. You have read a story and a poem that both contain a theme about honesty. Use what you have learned from these texts to write an essay that analyzes how this theme of honesty is portrayed similarly and differently in the two texts. Develop your essay by providing textual evidence from both texts. Be sure to follow the conventions of standard English. 13