Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading. Fences. Drama. At a Glance. FENCES by August Wilson

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1 Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading Fences Drama At a Glance Approximate Grade Range: Genre: Drama Topic: Rose reflects on her relationship with Troy Maxson, while Cory struggles to establish an independent identity. Author: August Wilson Source: Fences (1986) Special Note: used on G10 MCAS 1999 Difficulty Index: Considerate Challenging Structure: Purpose: Richness: Relationships: Vocabulary: Style: Lexile Measure: 540L The following selection is an excerpt from the play Fences by August Wilson. As you read this excerpt, think about how the playwright develops characters as well as theme. When you have finished reading, answer the questions that follow. CORY: Mama... I got something to tell you. I don t know how to tell you this... but I ve got to tell you... I m not going to Papa s funeral. ROSE: Boy, hush your mouth. That s your daddy you talking about. I don t want hear that kind of talk this morning. I done raised you to come to this? You standing there all healthy and grown talking about you ain t going to your daddy s funeral? CORY: Mama... listen... FENCES by August Wilson ROSE: I don t want to hear it, Cory. You just get that thought out of your head. CORY: I can t drag Papa with me everywhere I go. I ve got to say no to him. One time in my life I ve got to say no. ROSE: Don t nobody have to listen to nothing like that. I know you and your daddy ain t seen eye to eye, but I ain t got to listen to that kind of talk this morning. Whatever was between you and your daddy... the time has come to put it aside. Just take it and set it over there on the shelf and forget about it. Disrespecting your daddy ain t going to make you a man, Cory. You got to find a way to come to that on your own. Not going to your daddy s funeral ain t going to make you a man. CORY: The whole time I was growing up... living in his house... Papa was like a shadow that followed you everywhere. It weighed on you and sunk into your flesh. It would wrap around you and lay there until you couldn t tell which one was you anymore. That shadow digging in your flesh. Trying to crawl in. Trying to live through you. Everywhere I looked, Troy Maxson was staring back at me... hiding under the bed... in the closet. I m just saying I ve got to find a way to get rid of that shadow, Mama. Relationships: The entire passage is about the complex interrelationships among the characters. At various points, Troy Maxson is referred to as Troy, Papa, and metaphorically, e.g., a shadow See especially: Questions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 Style: Mother and son speak in different dialects. See especially: Question 9 Richness, Relationships: The concepts of love, identity, and interpersonal influence are rich and presented in metaphorical and sometimes conflicting ways. See especially: Questions 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10 Vocabulary: Many words, especially in this section, are context dependent and metaphorical. Continued on next page

2 ROSE: You just like him. You got him in you good. CORY: Don t tell me that, Mama. ROSE: You Troy Maxson all over again. CORY: I don t want to be Troy Maxson. I want to be me. ROSE: You can t be nobody but who you are, Cory. That shadow wasn t nothing but you growing into yourself. You either got to grow into it or cut it down to fit you. But that s all you got to make life with. That s all you got to measure yourself against that world out there. Your daddy wanted you to be everything he wasn t... and at the same time he tried to make you into everything he was. I don t know if he was right or wrong... but I do know he meant to do more good than he meant to do harm. He wasn t always right. Sometimes when he touched he bruised. And sometimes when he took me in his arms he cut. When I first met your daddy [...] I was thirty years old and had done seen my share of men. But when he walked up to me and said, I can dance a waltz that ll make you dizzy, I thought, Rose Lee, here is a man that you can open yourself up to and be filled to bursting. Here is a man that can fill all them empty spaces you been tipping around the edges of. One of them empty spaces was being somebody s mother. Structure: At this point, the dialogue between Cory and Rose shifts to a monologue as Rose reflects on the choices she made in her relationship with Troy. The long monologue may be challenging for students because it appears to change topic. See especially: Questions 7, 8, 10 I married your daddy and settled down to cooking his supper and keeping clean sheets on the bed. When your daddy walked through the house, he was so big he filled it up. That was my first mistake. Not to make him leave some room for me. For my part in the matter. But at that time, I wanted that. I wanted a house that I could sing in. And that s what your daddy gave me. I didn t know to keep up his strength I had to give up little pieces of mine. I did that. I took on his life as mine and mixed up the pieces so you couldn t hardly tell which was which anymore. It was my choice. It was my life and I didn t have to live it like that. But that s what life offered me in the way of being a woman and I took it. I grabbed hold of it with both hands. By the time Raynell came into the house, me and your daddy had done lost touch with one another. I didn t want to make my blessing off nobody s misfortune... but I took on to Raynell like she was all them babies I had wanted and never had. (The phone rings) Like I d been blessed to relive a part of my life. And if the Lord see fit to keep up my strength... I m gonna do her just like your daddy did you. I m gonna give her the best of what s in me.

3 Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading Fences Drama The annotated answer key below highlights common reasons why students might choose each answer, and the sidebar gives more insight into the question types, to help you understand patterns of student responses. Always make time to follow up with students in conferences or small groups to probe their thinking, teach in response to patterns, and help them apply effective reading and thinking strategies to their everyday reading. Note: You may find it helpful to refer to the Types and Levels of Thinking Assessed on FAST-R sheet from your teacher resource folder as you examine your students responses. The icon in the right-hand column, below, corresponds to that sheet s more detailed explanations of the kinds of thinking each type of question asks of readers. 1. What most likely happened just before the scene excerpted above? A. Raynell was born to Rose and Troy (OOP2: she was born before Cory s father died) B. Rose went to her huband s funeral (OOP2: this probably happens right after the excerpt) C. Cory s father died -(this passage is about attending his funeral) D. Cory went to the hospital and received bad news (OOB: there is no evidence that Cory goes to the hospital) 2. Cory doesn t want to attend his father s funeral because he A. feels overwhelmed by his father presence. B. has no feelings about his father. (OOB) C. lacks the physical strength to sit through the service. (OOP2) D. is overwhelmed with grief for his father s death. (OOB) 3. Rose believes that if Cory doesn t attend his father s funeral, A. it is because he is too independent. (OOP1) B. it will make him a man. (OOP2) C. he will be disregarding his father s wishes. (OOB) D. it is a sign of disrespect. MI3: Determine implicit meaning by understanding the organization of information in the text MI1: Determine implicit meaning from words in context FE2: Recognize the explicit meaning from varied wording and multiple locations in the text 4. Who is Troy Maxson? A. Rose s brother (OOB: No brother is ever mentioned, and Rose describes Troy with a degree of intimacy that wouldn t apply to her brother) B. A family friend (OOB: Rose describes Troy with a degree of intimacy that wouldn t apply to a family friend) C. Cory s father (Students must link Troy Maxson with your daddy the relationship is implied but never stated explicitly) D. Rose s father (OOP2: Troy is Cory s father; Rose says I married your daddy... ) MI1: Determine implicit meaning from words in context 5. Based on evidence in the passage, which of the following is true about Rose? A. She is Raynell s grandmother. (OOB) B. She was 30 when she met Cory s father. C. She wanted to be a professional singer. (OOP1) D. She is a very small person. (OOP2) FE1: Identify evidence explicitly stated in the text

4 Grade 10 Drama Fences 6. When Cory says, I can t drag Papa with me everywhere I go, he means that A. he doesn t want his father to influence who he is. B. it is embarrassing to always have his father following him around. (OOB) C. he doesn t want to go to the funeral. (OOP2) D. it is difficult to take his father places. (OOB) 7. Which statement best expresses the purpose of Rose s final speech? A. To explain how she took care of Cory s father, even when they lost touch with one another (OOP2) B. To explain the choices and sacrifices she made in building a life with Cory s father C. To show Cory that his father gave her a comfortable home (OOP1) D. To explain who Raynell is (OOB) 8. Rose describes Troy Maxson as A. a figure hiding under the bed. (OOP1: Cory expresses) B. omnipresent. (OOP1) C. someone who could fill up the whole house. D. someone who disrespected his family. (OOP2) 9. The author gave Rose and Cory different ways of speaking because A. he wanted to make the conversation more realistic. B. he wanted to create the mood of a funeral. (OOP1) C. he didn t write very well. (OOB) D. he wanted to emphasize Cory s age. (OOP2) 10. When Rose says, Sometimes when he touched he bruised. And sometimes when he took me in his arms he cut, she means that Cory s father A. didn t know his own strength and would physically hurt her by mistake. (OOP1) B. didn t really love her. (OOP2) C. was very strong and carried a knife. (OOB) D. couldn t love without hurting the people he loved. MI1: Determine implicit meaning from phrases in context MI3: Determine implicit meaning by understanding the organization of information in the text FE2: Recognize the explicit meaning from varied wording in the text MI5: Determine meaning by incorporating an understanding of literary concepts MI1: Determine implicit meaning from phrases in context

5 FAST-R + Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading Name Fences Drama Date Teacher/Class The following selection is an excerpt from the play Fences by August Wilson. As you read this excerpt, think about how the playwright develops characters as well as theme. When you have finished reading, answer the questions that follow. FENCES by August Wilson CORY: Mama... I got something to tell you. I don t know how to tell you this... but I ve got to tell you... I m not going to Papa s funeral. ROSE: Boy, hush your mouth. That s your daddy you talking about. I don t want hear that kind of talk this morning. I done raised you to come to this? You standing there all healthy and grown talking about you ain t going to your daddy s funeral? CORY: Mama... listen... ROSE: I don t want to hear it, Cory. You just get that thought out of your head. CORY: I can t drag Papa with me everywhere I go. I ve got to say no to him. One time in my life I ve got to say no. ROSE: Don t nobody have to listen to nothing like that. I know you and your daddy ain t seen eye to eye, but I ain t got to listen to that kind of talk this morning. Whatever was between you and your daddy... the time has come to put it aside. Just take it and set it over there on the shelf and forget about it. Disrespecting your daddy ain t going to make you a man, Cory. You got to find a way to come to that on your own. Not going to your daddy s funeral ain t going to make you a man. CORY: The whole time I was growing up... living in his house... Papa was like a shadow that followed you everywhere. It weighed on you and sunk into your flesh. It would wrap around you and lay there until you couldn t tell which one was you anymore. That shadow digging in your flesh. Trying to crawl in. Trying to live through you. Everywhere I looked, Troy Maxson was staring back at me... hiding under the bed... in the closet. I m just saying I ve got to find a way to get rid of that shadow, Mama. ROSE: You just like him. You got him in you good. Spotlight On: August Wilson August Wilson ( ) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under the name Frederick August Kittel. When he was five, his parents divorced, leaving his mother to raise him and his six siblings in a poor, predominantly black neighborhood. In 1959, she remarried and the family moved to a white working-class area where they faced racial discrimination. After unsuccessful stints at three separate high schools, Kittel largely educated himself at the Carnegie Library by reading black authors like Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes. His father died in 1965, after which he changed his name to Wilson to honor his mother, and began writing seriously. Fences is one of ten plays Wilson wrote to depict the African-American experience in Pittsburgh during the 20th century, each play representing one decade. Fences encapsulates the 1950s. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.

6 CORY: Don t tell me that, Mama. ROSE: You Troy Maxson all over again. CORY: I don t want to be Troy Maxson. I want to be me. ROSE: You can t be nobody but who you are, Cory. That shadow wasn t nothing but you growing into yourself. You either got to grow into it or cut it down to fit you. But that s all you got to make life with. That s all you got to measure yourself against that world out there. Your daddy wanted you to be everything he wasn t... and at the same time he tried to make you into everything he was. I don t know if he was right or wrong... but I do know he meant to do more good than he meant to do harm. He wasn t always right. Sometimes when he touched he bruised. And sometimes when he took me in his arms he cut. When I first met your daddy [...] I was thirty years old and had done seen my share of men. But when he walked up to me and said, I can dance a waltz that ll make you dizzy, I thought, Rose Lee, here is a man that you can open yourself up to and be filled to bursting. Here is a man that can fill all them empty spaces you been tipping around the edges of. One of them empty spaces was being somebody s mother. I married your daddy and settled down to cooking his supper and keeping clean sheets on the bed. When your daddy walked through the house, he was so big he filled it up. That was my first mistake. Not to make him leave some room for me. For my part in the matter. But at that time, I wanted that. I wanted a house that I could sing in. And that s what your daddy gave me. I didn t know to keep up his strength I had to give up little pieces of mine. I did that. I took on his life as mine and mixed up the pieces so you couldn t hardly tell which was which anymore. It was my choice. It was my life and I didn t have to live it like that. But that s what life offered me in the way of being a woman and I took it. I grabbed hold of it with both hands. By the time Raynell came into the house, me and your daddy had done lost touch with one another. I didn t want to make my blessing off nobody s misfortune... but I took on to Raynell like she was all them babies I had wanted and never had. (The phone rings) Like I d been blessed to relive a part of my life. And if the Lord see fit to keep up my strength... I m gonna do her just like your daddy did you. I m gonna give her the best of what s in me.

7 FAST-R + Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading Name Fences Drama Date Teacher/Class On your answer sheet, fill in the circle for the correct answer to questions What most likely happened just before the scene excerpted above? A. Raynell was born to Rose and Troy B. Rose went to her husband s funeral C. Cory s father died D. Cory went to the hospital and received bad news 2. Cory doesn t want to attend his father s funeral because he A. feels overwhelmed by his father s presence. B. doesn t care about his father at all. C. lacks the physical strength to sit through the service. D. is overwhelmed with grief for his father s death. 3. Rose believes that if Cory doesn t attend his father s funeral, A. it is because he is too independent. B. it will make him a man. C. he will be disregarding his father s wishes. D. it is a sign of disrespect. 4. Who is Troy Maxson? A. Rose s brother B. A family friend C. Cory s father D. Rose s father 5. Based on evidence in the passage, which of the following is true about Rose? A. She is Raynell s grandmother. B. She was 30 when she met Cory s father. C. She wanted to be a professional singer. D. She is a very small person.

8 Name Date School Teacher/Class 6. When Cory says, I can t drag Papa with me everywhere I go, he means that A. he doesn t want his father to influence who he is. B. it is embarassing to always have his father following him around. C. he doesn t want to go to the funeral. D. it is difficult to take his father places. 7. Which statement best expresses the purpose of Rose s final speech? A. To explain how she took care of Cory s father, even when they lost touch with one another B. To explain the choices and sacrifices she made in building a life with Cory s father C. To show Cory that his father gave her a comfortable home D. To explain who Raynell is 8. Rose describes Troy Maxson as A. a figure hiding under the bed. B. omnipresent. C. someone who could fill up the whole house. D. someone who disrespected his family. 9. The author gave Rose and Cory different ways of speaking because A. he wanted to make the conversation more realistic. B. he wanted to create the mood of a funeral. C. he didn t write very well. D. he wanted to emphasize Cory s age. 10. When Rose says, Sometimes when he touched he bruised. And sometimes when he took me in his arms he cut, she means that Cory s father A. didn t know his own strength and would physically hurt her by mistake. B. didn t really love her. C. was very strong and carried a knife. D. couldn t love without hurting the people he loved.

9 Teachers: Please duplicate and use this answer sheet only for students for whom you did not receive a pre-printed answer sheet! FAST-R Answer Sheet Name School Date Grade Class Passage Title Completely fill the circle for the correct answer. Teacher Name Write your answer to the open response prompt in the lined space below if your teacher directs you to do so. 1. A B C D 2. A B C D 3. A B C D 4. A B C D 5. A B C D 6. A B C D 7. A B C D 8. A B C D 9. A B C D 10. A B C D OFFICE USE ONLY RESEARCH: Y N OPEN RESPONSE: