Baby Tortoise
 Preparation Notes
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o
o
o
o
Preview the electronic version of the poem before sharing it with students.
At least one constructed-response (CR) task requires additional text.
At least one constructed-response (CR) task requires a dictionary.
At least one activity requires additional text.
At least one activity requires the Internet or multimedia.
Preview any additional content you plan to share with students.
 Selected-Response Items
o These items target standards within the RL and L strands of the CCSS:
Item Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
CCSS Target
L.9-10.5a
RL.9-10.2
L.9-10.5b
RL.9-10.9
L.9-10.5a
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.4
RL.9-10.4
L.9-10.4b
11/11/2013
 Constructed-Response Tasks
CR1 (RL.9-10.2)
Student prompt:
Analyze how D.H. Lawrence develops the theme of courage throughout the
poem. Use at least two details from the poem to support your answer.
3
2
1
0
The response effectively analyzes how
D.H. Lawrence develops the theme
and includes at least two supporting
details from the poem.
The response effectively analyzes how
D.H. Lawrence develops the theme
and includes one supporting detail
from the poem.
The response effectively analyzes how
D.H. Lawrence develops the theme
but does not include any supporting
details from the poem.
The response does not analyze how
D.H. Lawrence develops the theme.
CR2 (RL.9-10.2)
Student prompt:
Summarize the poem. Include at least three important details to support your
answer.
3
2
1
0
The response accurately summarizes
the poem and includes at least three
important details.
The response accurately summarizes
the poem and includes two important
details.
The response accurately summarizes
the poem and includes one important
detail.
The response does not accurately
summarize the poem.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
CR3 (RL.9-10.4)
Student prompt:
Read the lines below from the poem.
"You draw your head forward, slowly, from your little wimple / And set
forward, slow-dragging, on your four-pinned toes, / Rowing slowly
forward."
Consult a dictionary and write the definition for the word "wimple."

Definition:
Based on the definition, what figurative meaning does "wimple" have in the
poem? Use at least one detail from the poem to support your answer.
3
2
1
0
The response includes the definition,
an explanation of the figurative
meaning, and at least one supporting
detail from the poem.
The response includes the definition
and an explanation of the figurative
meaning but does not include at least
one supporting detail from the poem,
OR the response includes an
explanation of the figurative meaning
and at least one supporting detail from
the poem but does not include the
definition.
The response includes the definition
OR the response includes an
explanation of the figurative meaning.
The response does not include the
definition or an explanation of the
figurative meaning.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
CR4 (RL.9-10.4)
Student prompt:
Analyze why D.H. Lawrence repeatedly uses the word "bird" when describing
the baby tortoise. Use at least two details from the poem to support your
analysis.
3
2
1
0
The response includes a valid
explanation of the author's word
choice and uses at least two
supporting details from the poem.
The response includes a valid
explanation of the author's word
choice and uses one supporting detail
from the poem.
The response includes a valid
explanation of the author's word
choice but does not include any
supporting details from the poem.
The response does not include a valid
explanation of the author’s word
choice.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
CR5 (RL.9-10.5)
Student prompt:
The baby tortoise moves from being described as tiny and fragile in the
beginning of the poem to being called an "invincible fore-runner" in the final
line. How does the author's arrangement of the poem lead the reader
naturally from the tortoise's fragility to its invincibility? Use at least two
details from the poem to support your answer.
3
2
1
0
The response effectively analyzes the
arrangement of the poem and uses at
least two supporting details.
The response effectively analyzes the
arrangement of the poem and uses
one supporting detail.
The response effectively analyzes the
arrangement of the poem but does
not use any supporting details.
The response does not effectively
analyze the arrangement of the
poem.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
CR6 (RL.9-10.9)
Student prompt:
The speaker brings to mind Homer's poem, The Odyssey, by calling the baby
tortoise "Little Ulysses." In The Odyssey, Ulysses spends 10 years trying to
return home after the Trojan War. Analyze D.H. Lawrence's reference to
Ulysses in "Baby Tortoise." Use at least two details from the poem to support
your answer.
3
2
1
0
The response effectively analyzes D.H.
Lawrence's reference to Ulysses and
includes at least two supporting details
from the poem.
The response effectively analyzes D.H.
Lawrence's reference to Ulysses and
includes one supporting detail from the
poem.
The response effectively analyzes D.H.
Lawrence's reference to Ulysses but
does not include any supporting details
from the poem.
The response does not analyze D.H.
Lawrence's reference to Ulysses.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
CR7 (L.9-10.4c)
Student prompt:
Consult a dictionary to answer the questions below.

Provide the definition for laconic.
o Definition:

What is the etymology of the word laconic? Provide the original root and
origination.
o Root:
o Origination:

Provide the pronunciation of laconic.
o Pronunciation:
4
3
2
1
0
The response includes all four of the
required elements:
- the correct definition
- the root
- the origin
- the correct pronunciation
The response includes three of the
required elements.
The response includes two of the
required elements.
The response includes one of the
required elements.
The response does not include any of
the required elements.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
CR8 (L.9-10.4c)
Student prompt:
Use a dictionary. Write a definition for the word impervious and use
impervious in a sentence.

Definition:

Sentence:
2
The response includes an accurate
definition and an appropriate
sentence.
The response includes either an
accurate definition or an appropriate
sentence.
The response does not include an
accurate definition or an appropriate
sentence.
1
0
CR9 (L.9-10.4d)
Student prompt:
Use a dictionary. Write a definition for the word indomitable and use
indomitable in a sentence.
2
1
0

Definition:

Sentence:
The response includes an accurate
definition and an appropriate
sentence.
The response includes either an
accurate definition or an appropriate
sentence.
The response does not include an
accurate definition or an appropriate
sentence.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
 Activity/Discussion Ideas
Activity/Discussion 1 (RL.9-10.2)
Teacher instructions:
Give students a copy of the poems "Tortoise Shell" and "Tortoise Family" by
D.H. Lawrence. Ask students to read and compare all three poems. As a class,
discuss the main themes of the poems. Ask students if they think the themes
are similar and if they think the themes are connected. Ask students how they
think the themes are developed. Students should use specific details from the
poems to support their analysis.
Activity 2 (RL.9-10.6)
Teacher instructions:
Provide students with stories from other nations about difficult journeys.
Discuss the stories and ask students how elements of those difficult journeys
are parallel to the baby tortoise's journey in the poem.
Activity 3 (RL.9-10.9)
Teacher instructions:
Provide students with an excerpt from Homer's The Odyssey or read a
summary of the epic poem. Ask students to analyze D.H. Lawrence's
reference to Ulysses. Discuss how the poet draws on the epic poem to support
his portrayal of the baby tortoise and how the poem affects the reader's
understanding of the poem.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
 Other Standards
Activity 4 (SL.9-10.1; SL.9-10.4; SL.9-10.5; RI.9-10.1; RI.9-10.7)
Teacher instructions:
Assign pairs or small groups. Give students an informational text about
tortoises or have students research tortoises on the Internet. Ask students to
look for information about tortoises that supports their interpretation of the
poem.
Have students collaborate to create a digital presentation of their findings.
The digital presentation should include audio, visual, and textual elements as
determined by the teacher. The presentation should cite examples from the
poem to support their conclusions.
Activity/Discussion 5 (SL.9-10.1; RL.9-10.1; RI.9-10.1; RI.9-10.7)
Teacher instructions:
Give students an informational text about the anatomy of baby tortoises. As a
class, discuss how understanding the anatomy of a baby tortoise helps the
reader understand the imagery in the poem. Students should use examples
from the informational text to support their analysis of the imagery from the
poem.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
 Claim 2 Tasks
(Note: The Claim 2 tasks here are based on the Smarter Balanced Item and Task
Specifications; however, each task might not directly meet all parts of the individual
specification.)
Target 3
Model 1a: SR, TE, (DOK 2) prompts students to select
additional sentences that should be added to a paragraph and
determine the most logical locations for a sentence to introduce
the topic, maintain a clear focus, logically present ideas, have
clear transitions, or include a conclusion.
Standards: W-2a, W-2b, W-2c, W-2d, W-2e, and/or W-2f
Student prompt:
Read the unfinished paragraph based on the poem. Write an appropriate
introductory sentence.
It takes between 60 and 120 days for the tortoises to hatch. To
break out of their shells, baby tortoises use a specialized egg tooth. The
term for this process is "pipping." After a baby tortoise fully emerges
from its shell, it must make its way to the surface of the nest. Nutrition
from an embryonic sac sustains the baby tortoise for a few days, but
within a week, the tortoise will be responsible for finding its own food.
Baby tortoises that survive this critical period can live to be over 100
years old!
Correct response sample:
For a tortoise, life begins inside an egg.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
Target 3
Model 1b: SR, TE (DOK 2) – provides a disorganized
paragraph from an informational/explanatory essay and
prompts students to rearrange the sentences to logically
present the ideas.
Standards: W-2a, W-2b, W-2c, W-2d, W-2e, and/or W-2f
Student prompt:
Read the sentences about baby tortoises. The sentences are out of order. Put
the sentences in the correct order.
(A) Nutrition from an embryonic sac sustains the baby tortoise for a few
days, but within a week, the tortoise will be responsible for finding its
own food.
(B) It takes between 60 and 120 days for the tortoises to hatch.
(C) After a baby tortoise fully emerges from its shell, it must make its
way to the surface of the nest.
(D) To break out of their shells, baby tortoises use a specialized egg
tooth.
(E) Baby tortoises that survive this critical period can live to be over
100 years old!
(F) Female tortoises dig a bell-shaped burrow in which to lay their eggs.
Order
1
2
3
4
5
6
Sentence Letter
Order
1
2
3
4
5
6
Sentence Letter
F
B
D
C
A
E
B
D
C
Key:
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013
Target 9
Model 3: SR (DOK 1) – presents four sentences and prompts
students to select the one that does not contain any errors.
Standards: W-2d, W-3d, L-3a, L-6
Student prompt:
Read the paragraph. Circle the sentence that does not contain any errors.
Two to for months after eggs are layed, the pipping process
begins. During this period baby tortoises use an egg tooth, to slowly
chip away at there shells. Only a short time after emerging from their
eggs, baby tortoises are expected to fend for themselves. If they
succeed: they can expect to live a life longer than most humans.
Key:
Only a short time after emerging from their eggs, baby tortoises are expected
to fend for themselves.
Reading Literature – Grades 9-10
11/11/2013