Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading. Two Poems Poetry

Transcription

1 Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading At a Glance Recommended for Reading Levels: Genre: Poetry Topic: Relationship between people and trees Author: Mindy Bingham and Sandy Stryker, traditional Kwakiutl verse Special Note: used on G4 MCAS 1999 Two Poems Poetry Difficulty Index: Considerate Challenging Structure: Purpose: Richness: Relationships: Vocabulary: Style: Lexile Measure: 710L It s Up to People It s up to people to save all the trees That still find a home in our woods. Animals don t wield the power we do, Though they d certainly help if they could. Purpose: To compare the relationships between humans and trees in each poem. Vocabulary: The vocabulary may be unfamiliar, but it is not essential to understanding. We d see warthogs and pigs To save fiddleleaf figs; Baby chicks cheeping To keep willows weeping; Cats with a shine For the loblolly pine; Polars and pandas To save jacarandas; Even queen bees and princesses For photosynthesis. But it s up to people to save all the trees That still find a home in our woods. Animals don t wield the power we do, Though they d certainly help if they could. by Mindy Bingham and Sandy Stryker Relationships: The relationship between humans and trees is defined by the idea that humans are the only ones who can save the trees.

2 To the Cedar Tree Look at me, friend! I come to ask for your dress... I come to beg you for this, Long-life Maker, For I am going to make a basket for lily roots out of you. I pray you, friend, not to feel angry.... Richness and Style: The speaker in the poem addresses the tree as though it is a living being with feelings, callilng it friend and Long-life Maker. Pesonfication of the tree is also seen in the use of dress to descrive the tree s bark. Relationships: In this poem, the speaker is asking the tree for help. Students need to understand the deep respect for nature that is present in this poem. Traditional Kwakiutl Verse Spotlight On: the Kwakiutl The Kwakiutl are a tribe from northwestern British Columbia. Before European settlers came to the area, fishing was their primary source of food. Wood was an essential part of their livelihood because it allowed them to build canoes for work on the ocean. Although animal hides were their main material for clothing, the Kwakiutl also used cedar bark for robes, aprons, capes, and hoods. Extended Activities Consider the poem To the Cedar Tree, and imagine it as a conversation between a basket maker and a tree. Write a dialogue noting when the tree is speaking and when the basket maker is speaking. Draw a picture of what is happening in To the Cedar Tree. Read the book The Giving Tree, and write a paragraph comparing the speaker in the story and the speaker in To the Cedar Tree. Based on the poem It s Up to People, write a letter to your principal explaining why/how it is important to save trees. Europeans first arrived in the late 18th century while mapping the Pacific coast and soon began living and trading in Kwakiutl territory. Although relations between settlers and the Kwakiutl were good natured overall, the settlers brought diseases which wiped out much of the Kwakiutl population. Prior to European contact there were over 8,000 Kwakiutl, but now only about 4,000 remain.

3 Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading Two Poems Poetry The annotated answer key below highlights common reasons 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 Questions 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. According to the poem It s Up to People, what needs saving? A. woods (OOP1) B. animals (OOP2) C. trees D. endangered species (OOB) 2. Who can save the trees in the poem It s Up to People? A. Nobody can save the trees. (OOP2, sounds like the question, so students who didn t read or understand the poem may choose this one) B. warthogs and pigs (OOP1, these animals appear in the text, but because animals don t wield the power we do they cannot save trees) C. humans (found in the title and in both the first and last stanzas) D. Mother Nature (OOB, not in poem, but students who have heard of Mother Nature may make a connection between trees and nature) 3. Which of the following words is the best synonym for the word wield in the first stanza of It s Up to People? A. help (OOP2) B. control C. save (OOP1) D. neglect (OOB) 4. The speaker in It s Up to People believes that the animals A. can save humankind (OOB) B. would save the trees if they could C. want more power (OOP1) D. are destroying trees (OOP2) 5. What is the MAIN theme of the poem It s Up to People? A. Some animals are losing their favorite trees. (OOB, students may have prior knowledge about habitat loss, but it s not the main theme) B. Trees are valuable for people to use. (OOP1, the poem clearly implies that trees are valuable and worth saving, but use of them is not the main theme) C. People have the power to save trees. (can be inferred from the title of the poem, as well as the first line of both the first and last stanzas) D. Animals should have more power. (OOP2, animals don t wield the power we do, but the poet doesn t imply that they ought to) FE1: Identify evidence explicitly stated in the text FE2: Recognize the explicit meaning from varied wording in the text MI5: Interpret meaning by using an understanding of literary concepts FE2: Recognize evidence explicitly stated at multiple locations or with varied wording in the text MI2: Interpret a singular meaning from the sum total of a particular paragraph

4 Grades 4-5 Poetry Two Poems 6. In the poem To the Cedar Tree, who is the Long-life Maker? A. the tree B. the basket weaver (OOP1) C. the speaker (OOB) D. lily roots (OOP2) 7. In the first stanza To the Cedar Tree, the word dress refers to A. a girl s skirt. (OOB, assumes common usage) B. the speaker s clothes. (OOB, assumes less common but plausible usage) C. the bark of a tree. D. where the friend lives. (OOP2, misread of dress as address ) 8. According to the poem, To the Cedar Tree, why might the tree be angry? A. The speaker is begging. (OOP1, true, but not why the tree would be angry) B. The tree has lily roots. (OOP2, students often struggle to make sense of the complex pronouns and prepositions of this abstract poem) C. Animals are living in the tree. (OOB, students may have not noticed that this question refers to the second poem) D. The tree will be made into a basket. 9. According to the poem, To the Cedar Tree, what will be made from the tree? A. a dress (OOP1, the word dress is found in the first stanza of the poem, but is a euphemism for the tree s bark) B. a cedar chest (OOB, students may correctly presume that cedar chests are made from cedar trees, but the text does not support this answer) C. a basket (found in final stanza of poem) D. lily roots (OOP2, these words are found in the last stanza of the poem, but do not answer the question) 10. In To the Cedar Tree, the person in the poem talks to the tree as if it were A. a tribal chief. (OOB, students may find this choice appealing because the speaker addresses the tree in a formal tone, or because they infer that the speaker is of the Kwakiutl tribe) B. a living thing with feelings. (can be inferred from the fact that the speaker calls the tree friend, and believe that it can feel angry ) C. a basket. (OOP2, the tree s bark may become a basket, but it isn t yet...plus, it s unclear what kind of tone one would take while talking to a basket) D. a life-long maker. (OOP1, the speaker refers to the tree as Long-life Maker in the poem) MI1: Determine implicit meaning from words in context MI1: Interpret implicit meaning from words in context MI1: Interpret implicit meaning from words in context FE1: Identify evidence explicitly stated in the text MI1: Interpret implicit meaning from words in context

5 FAST-R + Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading Name It s Up to People and To the Cedar Tree Poetry Date Teacher/Class The following poems are about trees. Read them and then answer the questions that follow. It s Up to People It s up to people to save all the trees That still find a home in our woods. Animals don t wield the power we do, Though they d certainly help if they could. We d see warthogs and pigs To save fiddleleaf figs; Baby chicks cheeping To keep willows weeping; Cats with a shine For the loblolly pine; Polars and pandas To save jacarandas; Even queen bees and princesses For photosynthesis. But it s up to people to save all the trees That still find a home in our woods. Animals don t wield the power we do, Though they d certainly help if they could. by Mindy Bingham and Sandy Stryker To the Cedar Tree Look at me, friend! I come to ask for your dress... I come to beg you for this, Long-life Maker, For I am going to make a basket for lily roots out of you. I pray you, friend, not to feel angry.... Traditional Kwakiutl Verse Spotlight On: the Kwakiutl The Kwakiutl are a tribe from northwestern British Columbia. Before European settlers came to the area, fishing was their primary source of food. Wood was an essential part of their livelihood because it allowed them to build canoes for work on the ocean. Although animal hides were their main material for clothing, the Kwakiutl also used cedar bark for robes, aprons, capes, and hoods. Europeans first arrived in the late 18th century while mapping the Pacific coast and soon began living and trading in Kwakiutl territory. Although relations between settlers and the Kwakiutl were good natured overall, the settlers brought diseases which wiped out much of the Kwakiutl population. Prior to European contact there were over 8,000 Kwakiutl, but now only about 4,000 remain.

6 FAST-R + Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading Name It s Up to People and To the Cedar Tree Poetry Date Teacher/Class Directions: Answer the following questions by filling in the circle with the best answer on your answer sheet. 1. According to the poem It s Up to People, what needs saving? A. woods B. animals C. trees D. endangered species 2. Who can save the trees in the poem It s Up to People? A. nobody B. warthogs and pigs C. humans D. Mother Nature 3. Which of the following words is the best synonym for the word wield in the first stanza of It s Up to People? A. help B. control C. save D. neglect 4. The speaker in It s Up to People believes that the animals A. can save humankind B. would save the trees if they could C. want more power D. are destroying trees 5. What is the MAIN theme of the poem It s Up to People? A. Some animals are losing their favorite trees. B. Trees are valuable for people to use. C. People have the power to save trees. D. Animals should have more power.

7 6. In the poem To the Cedar Tree, who is the Long-life Maker? A. the tree B. the basket weaver C. the speaker D. lily roots 7. In the first stanza To the Cedar Tree, the word dress refers to A. a girl s skirt. B. the speaker s clothes. C. the bark of a tree. D. where the friend lives. 8. According to the poem, To the Cedar Tree, why might the tree be angry? A. The speaker is begging. B. The tree has lily roots. C. Animals are living in the tree. D. The tree will be made into a basket. 9. According to the poem, To the Cedar Tree, what will be made from the tree? A. a dress B. a cedar chest C. a basket D. lily roots 10. In To the Cedar Tree, the person in the poem talks to the tree as if it were A. a tribal chief. B. a living thing with feelings. C. a basket. D. a life-long maker. Open Response Prompt: Using evidence from both poems, tell how the poets have similar feelings about trees.

8 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: