Figurative Language
"Rising toward her like a terrible fish."
Simile
At sixteen, Maya felt like she was living between two versions of herself, unsure which one was real. She spent her afternoons wandering familiar streets that suddenly seemed full of questions she couldn’t answer. When she finally spoke her fears out loud, she realized they sounded less like weaknesses and more like possibilities. In that moment, she understood that growing up wasn’t about finding a single identity, but learning how to shape one.
Explain how Maya's character explores themes of identity.
TEACHER VOTE (Best thesis statement receives the points!)
In paragraph 5, what does jarring mean?
"People are overwhelmed by the sounds of cars, buses, and motorcycles rumbling down their streets, making jarring noises day and night."
A. Producing a calming and soothing feeling
B. Triggering a feeling of curiosity
C. Causing a jolt, or vibration
D. Creating a sharp, high-pitched noise
What: The meaning of jarring in paragraph 5
Why: D is correct because jarring is used to describe the noises of cars and motorcycles.
Select the response that corrects the error in sentence 20.
Eric, who owned the stable, noticed how much I liked being around horses and asked if I __?___ a horse before.B. Rode
C. Has riding
D. Had ridden
What: the response that corrects the error in sentence 20
Why: D is correct because "had ridden" uses the correct verb tense for a past action that may or may not have happened.
Thesis
"Her eyes were diamonds"
Argue whether or not teenagers under the age of 16 should be banned from social media.
TEACHER VOTE! (Best thesis statement receives the points!)
Which sentence form the story best symbolizes Mrs. Mallard's new sense of freedom following her husband's death?
A. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.
B. She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.What: Which sentence best symbolizes Mrs. Mallard's freedom
Why: B is correct because the sentence describes "new spring life" which represents new freedom.
What change needs to be made to sentence 28?
Now, I'm at my happiest for part of almost every day, and I not my parents pay for the riding.
A. Change I'm to Im'
B. Change happiest to happier
C. Delete the comma after day
D. Insert commas after I and parents
What: the change in sentence 28
Why: D is correct because "not my parents" is a dangling modifier, meaning it can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence, and requires a comma on either side.
ECR structure
ACECE
"A westwardly wind surged through the darkened wood as tree branches reached out like gnarled hands clawing at the night sky."
Imagery
Write a letter to U.S. Congress arguing whether or not juvenile killers deserve life behind bars.
TEACHER VOTE (Points go to the best thesis statement)
Read this sentence from paragraph 5.
"If you like watching movies, then you should thank billiard balls."
This sentence has the effect of--
A. Informing the reader by explaining the connection between billiard balls and movies
B. Surprising the reader by making a connection between two unlike things
C. Shifting the reader's focus by introducing a different topic
D . Entertaining the reader by saying something nonsensical.
What: The effect of the sentence in paragraph 5
Why: B is correct because the connection between movies and billiard balls is unusual and shocking to the reader
What change should be made in sentence 8?
I borrow my aunt's horse, and our two horses race each other as Carolyn and I rides over the plains.
A. Change aunt's to aunts'
B. Delete the comma after horse
C. Change rides to ride
D. Change plains to Plains
What: The change in sentence 8
Why: C is correct because the verb "ride" applies to more than one person, the narrator and her cousin, so the correct form is "ride" rather than "rides"
Informational, Argumentative, Correspondence
Foreshadowing
The envelope sat on Liam’s desk all morning, unopened but impossible to ignore. He had a feeling that whatever was inside would change more than just his plans for the summer. As the clock ticked louder in the quiet room, his hands hesitated, as if they already knew what his mind refused to accept. When he finally broke the seal, the truth inside confirmed what his uneasiness had been warning him all along: he was rejected from his dream school.
Explain how the author uses foreshadowing to develop the plot.
TEACHER VOTE! (Best thesis statement receives the points)
Read this quotation from lines 31 through 36.
"'Tis, doubtless, well to be sometimes awake,--
Awake to duty, and awake to truth,--
But when, alas! a nice review we take
Of our best deeds and days, we find, in sooth,
The hours that leave the slightest cause to weep
Are those we passed in childhood or asleep!"
The reader can conclude that the speaker feels that--
A. he's happier in bed than anywhere else
B. people should open their eyes to lies
C. we should cry about all we have done wrong
D. the innocence of youth is the same as sleeping
What: a conclusion that can be drawn based on lines 31 through 36
Why: A is correct because the poet says "the hours that leave the slightest cause to weep are those we passed in childhood or asleep!"
What change, if any, needs to be made in sentence 15?
None of these chores seemed like work to me, just being around the horses made it all pleasant.
A. Change seemed to seeming
B. Change the comma to a semicolon
C. Change pleasant to pleasent
D. No change needs to be made in this sentence.
What: The change in sentence 15
Why: D is correct because all other options introduce a grammatical error, "seemed" is the correct tense as the whole sentence is in the past, a semi-colon is incorrect because the second phrase has no subject, and "pleasent" is mis-spelled.
Create a stem from this prompt:
Write a letter to U.S. Congress arguing whether or not juvenile killers deserve life behind bars.
Juvenile killers do not deserve life behind bars because
OR
Juvenile killers do deserve life behind bars because
"The moon was shining sulkily / Because she thought the sun / Had got no business to be there"
Personfication
That was a long time ago. Now the once loved pattern of the couch upholstery has to fight to show itself from under acres of crocheted doilies and couch covers which have themselves finally come to be more important than the upholstery. And here a table or a chair has been moved to disguise the worn places in the carpet; but the carpet has fought back by showing its weariness, with depressing uniformity, elsewhere on its surface.
Explain how the stage directions develop the theme of deferred dreams.
TEACHER VOTE (Best thesis statement receives the points)
Read lines 37 through 42.
"'Tis beautiful to leave the world awhile
For the soft visions of the gentle night;
And free, at last, from mortal care or guile,
To live as only in the angels' sight,
In sleep's sweet realm so cosily shut in,
Where, at the worst, we only dream of sin!"
How does the mood shift in the last line of the stanza?
A. From dreamy to lighthearted
B. From nostalgic to brooding
C. From mellow to irritated
D. From idyllic to gloomy
What: How the mood shifts in line 42
Why: A is correct because the poet uses phrases such as "soft visions" and "gentle night" which create an dreamy tone, but then shifts to gloomy in 42 when he describes "dreaming of sin."
What change needs to be made in sentence 12?
Theres' nothing like the feeling of being on horseback when the horse breaks into a gentle, rocking, rhythmic canter, and nothing is an exciting as when it accelerates into a full gallop.
A. Change Theres' to There's
B. Add a comma after horseback
C. Change breaks to broken
D. Change accelerates to acellerates
What: Change needs to be made in sentence 12
Why: A is correct because the apostrophe after the S signifies ownership, and the word "there" is being used to say "there is" so the apostrophe need to be between the "e" and the "s."
What is added to an argumentative ECR that is not included in an informational ECR. (Bonus points if you can define it!)
Counterargument: the opposite or alternative to the writer's claim