UNIT FOUR Reflect and Assess
Nothing Stays the Same
Do you agree with the idea that nothing stays the same? Do you think that the universe, and
everything in it, is forever changing? Look in a mirror. You may look the same as you
did yesterday, hut in fact you're changing all the time. Each day you grow physically
and emotionally. The characters in this unit undergo many changes—the changes of
growing up—and learn many lessons.
Reflecting on Theme
OPTION 1
Act It Out Many of the characters in Unit Four learn from their experiences. With a group
of classmates, choose three or more of those characters and prepare, and afterward
present, a skit in which the characters discuss the expression "Learning the Hard Way"
THINK ABOUT
the lesson each character learns
how the lessons change the characters
why the lessons are important
OPTION 2
Character Change Which of the characters in Unit Four do you think changes the most as a
result of his or her choices? Which of the characters changes little or not at all? Discuss
these questions with a small group of classmates, supporting your views with examples
from the selections and insights from your own experience.
OPTION 3
Writing a Dialogue Choose a character from a selection in Part 2, and imagine that
character in the situation of one of the characters in Part 1. How do you think the
character from Part 2 would respond to the situation? What do you think he or she
might say about learning the hard way? Write a dialogue between the character from
Part 1 and the character from Part 2 to explore your ideas.
Self ASSESSMENT
READER'S NOTEBOOK
Which of the selections in this unit made you think most deeply about how nothing stays the same?
Write a short paragraph in which you explain how the selection has influenced your thinking.
REVIEWING YOUR PERSONAL WORDList
Vocabulary Review the new words you learned in this unit. If necessary, use a dictionary to check
the meaning of each word.
Spelling Review your list of spelling words.
If you're not sure of the correct spelling, use a dictionary or refer to the Spelling Handbook on page
R30.
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Reviewing Literary Concepts
OPTION 1
Identifying Mood Mood is the feeling or atmosphere that a literary work conveys to
readers, for example, horror, fright, happiness, or tension. Pick a story in this unit other
than "The White Umbrella" and describe the mood that it conveys. What details in the
story enable you to determine the mood?
OPTION 2
Examining Characterization Characterization includes the techniques that writers use to
create and develop characters. Make a chart, listing at the top each main character in the
stories you have read. Then rate each technique according to its importance in making
the character come alive for you. Use a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the most
important.
Self ASSESSMENT
READER'S NOTEBOOK
Copy the following literary terms covered in this unit. Next to each term, jot down a brief definition. If
you have trouble explaining a particular concept refer to the Glossary of Literary and Reading
Terms on page R120.
mood
characterization
tone
point of view
dialect
character development
foil
rhythm
farce
plot complications
word choice
Portfolio Building
Choices and Challenges—Writing Several of the writing assignments in this unit
asked you to develop and present your research. From your responses, choose the one
that you think expresses your ideas most effectively. Explain the reasons for your
evaluation in a cover note, attach it to the assignment, and place them together in your
Presentation Portfolio.
Writing Workshops In your comparison-and-contrast essay, you had the chance to
examine and evaluate two different characters. Reread your essay. Then write a note
listing several careers in which the skills you learned in writing this essay might be
useful. Attach the note to your comparison-and-contrast essay.
Additional Activities Review everything you created in your work for this unit,
including any pieces you did on your own. Select one piece of writing or one activity
that you consider your best work. Write a note explaining how it influenced your ideas
about stepping forward. Add the note and the piece of writing to your Presentation
Portfolio.
Self ASSESSMENT
Your Presentation Portfolio probably contains both old and recent pieces of writing. Write a note
comparing a recent piece with an earlier one. Identify one strength that only the recent piece
reflects.
Setting GOALS
As you completed the activities in this unit you probably noticed strengths in certain skills but not in
others.
Look back through your READER'S NOTEBOOK. List one or two skills that you intend to develop in
the next unit.
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UNIT FOUR for Independent Reading
LITERATURE CONNECTIONS
The Call of the Wild
BY JACK LONDON
When the dog Buck is forced into battle for control of his destiny, he responds by following
the call of the wild. The story of Buck explores the role environment plays in shaping
character. A privileged, dignified dog from southern California is shipped to Alaska
during the 1890s Gold Rush. Mistreated, he learns to survive as a member of a dogsled
team, where "the law of club and fang" overrides the rules of civilized society.
These thematically related readings are provided along with The Call of the Wild:
The Wolf and the Dog
BY MARIE DE FRANCE
The Wolf Said to Francis
BY A. G. ROCHELLE
from The Hidden Life of Dogs
BY ELIZABETH MARSHALL THOMAS
The Man Who Was a Horse
BY JULIUS LESTER
Long Duel
BY ROBERT MURPHY
Unsentimental Mother
BY SALLY CARRIGHAR
More Choices
Dicey's Song
BY CYNTHIA VOIGT
Dicey achieves her goals while learning the hard way that nothing stays the same.
Family Farm
BY THOMAS LOCKER
Mike and Sarah are upset when their family faces problems. When they decide to raise
pumpkins and flowers, however, their attitudes change.
The Goats
BY BROCK COLE
A boy and a girl learn how to survive after they are marooned on Goat Island.
Izzy, Willy-Nilly
BY CYNTHIA VOIGT
After Izzy loses her leg in a drunk-driving accident, she learns a difficult lesson about
friendship, life, and coping with being different.
Lady Ellen Grae
BY VERA AND BILL CLEAVER Eleven-year-old Ellen listens to an old man's confession
about his cruel parents and must decide how to help.
Nothing but the Truth
BY AVI
Philip, a high school goof-off, gets caught up in a battle involving patriotism, school policy,
the national media, and a struggle for justice.
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LITERATURE CONNECTIONS
The Giver
BY LOIS LOWRY
The Giver is a science fiction story about 12-year-old Jonas, who must choose between a
"perfect" world devoid of strife or conflict and one filled with the joys and pains of a
life of choices. Jonas begins to realize that his seemingly perfect world has many flaws
and must decide where true integrity and loyalty lie.
These thematically related readings are provided along with The Giver:
Newbery Award Acceptance Speech
BY LOIS LOWRY
The Role of the Griot
BY DIIMO KOUYATE
Jeremiah's Song
BY WALTER DEAN MYERS
The Pedestrian
BY RAY BRADBURY
The Forecast
BY DAN JAFFE
Old Glory
BY BRUCE COVILLE
Drawing by Ronnie C., Grade One
BY RUTH LECHLITNER
from The Landscape of Memory
BY MILTON METTZER
Social Studies Connection
Tales from Shakespeare
BY CHARLES AND MARY LAMB
A retelling of Shakespeare's most popular plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and
Hamlet.
Michelangelo's World
BY PIETRO VENTURA
In this story, Michelangelo recounts his own life and experiences.
A Murder for Her Majesty
BY BETH HILGARTNER
An English girl investigates her father's murder in Elizabethan England.
The Prince and the Pauper
BY MARK TWAIN
When the boy king Edward VI meets a pauper who looks just like him, they decide to
switch places.
King Arthur and the Legends of Camelot
RETOLD BY MOLLY PERHAM
This retelling of the Arthurian legends recounts the adventures of King Arthur, Merlin, and
the Knights of the Round Table.
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Standardized Test Practice
Reading and Writing for Assessment
When you studied the test-taking strategies on pages 334-339, you learned helpful new
techniques. The following pages will give you practice using these strategies and more.
PART 1 How
to Read the Test Selection
Listed below are some basic reading strategies. By applying these strategies, and by taking
notes, you can identify the information you need in answering test questions.
STRATEGIES FOR READING A TEST SELECTION
Before you begin reading, skim the questions that follow the passage. These can help
focus your reading.
Think about the title and message. What does the title suggest about the overall message
or theme of the selection?
Use active reading strategies such as analyzing, predicting, and questioning. If the test
directions allow you to mark on the test itself, make notes in the margin as you read.
Look for main ideas. These are often stated at the beginning or end of paragraphs.
Sometimes they are implied, not stated. After reading each paragraph, ask, "What was
this passage about?"
Note the literary elements and techniques used by the writer. Consider the effects of
word choice, figurative language, and mood.
Evaluate the organization. For a comparison-and-contrast essay, how well does the use of
feature-by-feature or subject-by-subject organization work in the piece?
Look for expert testimony. What supporting evidence or sources of information does the
writer use? Why are these sources appropriate to the subject?
Make judgments about the writer's purpose. Does the writer have a bias or use a
particular tone? How does this affect the message and presentation of information?
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Reading Selection
1 A Land of Staggering Proportions
by Brad Darrach and Steve Petranek
2 Oh, what a fascinating walk you could take near the Martian equator next December, in
the middle of a summer day. The weather would be perfect—high 60s and a bright
orange Creamsicle-colored sky—but shirtsleeves would be out. You'd be wearing a
light space suit to keep your blood from boiling because the "air" on Mars is so thin,
about the same density as Earth's at twenty miles above sea level. The space suit would
help with two other problems—the deadly ultraviolet light from the Sun, and the
unbreathable Martian atmosphere, which is ninety-five percent carbon dioxide, with
traces of nitrogen and argon.
The physical act of walking would seem effortless; you could endlessly hop, skip, or jump
along because gravity is only about a third of what it is on Earth. A hundred-pound
woman would feel as if she weighed thirty-eight pounds, and a world-class athlete
could run a hundred meters in less than five seconds.
The 3 vista would remind you of the Arizona and California deserts—fine sand littered with
rocks and boulders. But the sand would be pink and reddish- brown, turned to rust. Of
course, there wouldn't be any cacti or scrub plants like tumbleweed, any darting lizards
or rabbits. The terrain would be much drier than any desert on Earth, so dry that an ice
cube placed on the ground would quickly disappear, evaporating before it could melt,
going straight from solid to vapor. You could walk just about anywhere you wanted on
Mars, because the entire surface is land; there are no lakes, rivers, or oceans. Almost all
of the water is underground or frozen.
4 There's as much land on Mars as there is on Earth, even though Mars is only half as big as
Earth and weighs only a tenth as much. Because of its weaker gravity, Mars is not as
dense as Earth; it's puffed up. If you dig a thousand feet below the surface of Earth, you
would probably hit solid rock, but a thousand feet
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below the crust of Mars you would find porous material, perhaps even a gravely slurry
of rock and ice.
5 A day's walk on Mars would offer about as much Sun time as on Earth; Mars rotates once
every 24 hours, 37 minutes. But the summer would last twice as long because Mars
takes 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun.
6 A trek to any of Earth's natural wonders would pale by comparison to what can be seen on
Mars. Mount Everest, at just over 29,000 feet, would seem a foothill compared to the
Tharsis bulge, a broad, raised equatorial plain the size of the United States. On Tharsis
sit extraordinary volcanoes, among them Olympus Mons, at almost 90,000 feet the
highest known elevation in the solar system. The mighty Colorado River's cut through
the Grand Canyon would seem a drainage ditch next to Valles Marineris, a gorge that
would stretch from Seattle to Miami....
You could spend a lifetime on the surface of Mars and never run out of new formations to
see.... Just one thing, though. You would want to get back to base before dark. Most
nights, even in summer, the temperature drops to about -125°F.
STRATEGIES IN ACTION
1 Think about the title.
One Student's Thoughts "I wonder what kind of land has staggering proportions."
2 Make judgments about the writers' purpose.
One Student's Thoughts "The subject of the essay is scientific but the tone is conversational. The
reader is asked to imagine a familiar scene (a walk) in an unfamiliar setting (Mars)."
YOUR TURN
Why do you think the writers use this tone?
3 Use context clues to understand vocabulary.
One Student's Thoughts "It seems that vista has something to do with the appearance of the land or
terrain."
4 Read actively— analyze.
One Student's Thoughts If there is as much land on Mars as on Earth, why does Mars weigh only a
tenth as much?"
YOUR TURN
Look for evidence to answer this question.
5 Evaluate the writers' use of comparison and contrast.
One Student's Thoughts "The writers compare one feature in this paragraph, which is the amount of
sun time on both planets."
YOUR TURN
How well does feature-by-feature organization work in the essay?
6 Skim the questions that follow the passage.
One Student's Thoughts "There's a question about natural wonders on both planets. The writers
seem to think more highly of Mars, but I wonder how anything could make the Grand Canyon
look like a drainage ditch!"
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PART 2 How
to Answer Multiple-Choice Questions
Use the strategies in the box and notes in the side column to help you answer the questions
below and on the following pages.
Based on the selection you have just read, choose the best answer for each of the following
questions.
1. Why do you think the essay is titled "A Land of Staggering Proportions"?
A. People stagger when they walk on Mars.
B. Mars has the biggest land mass known to humans.
C. Everything on Mars is in proportion.
D. Mars has many extreme aspects to it.
2. Why do the writers use a conversational tone?
A. They don't care about the subject.
B. They are trying to make the subject seem familiar.
C. They like to take walks.
D. Scientific papers should always be casually written.
3. What main idea do the writers support by mentioning that a world-class athlete could run
100 meters in less than five seconds?
A. It is harder to run on Mars.
B. There is less gravity on Mars.
C. Physical movement is easier on Mars and Venus.
D. There is less gravity on Earth.
4. What do the writers mean when they say that Earth's natural wonders would "pale in
comparison" to what can be seen on Mars?
A. The color of Earth's natural wonders are lighter.
B. Earth's natural wonders are superior.
C. Mars's natural wonders are superior.
D. All of the above.
5. Why do you think the writers include information about how humans would react on
Mars?
A. They think humans will eventually live there.
B. By putting the information in human terms, they hope to help the reader understand
it.
C. The writers want to show that humans could never live there.
D. The writers want to show that humans should appreciate Earth.
STRATEGIES FOR ANSWERING MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
Ask questions that help you eliminate some of the choices.
Pay attention to choices such as "all of the above" or "none of the above." To eliminate
them, all you need to find is one answer that doesn't fit the choice.
Choose the one best answer. More than one choice may be true, but only one will be true
and answer the question completely.
STRATEGIES IN ACTION
Choose the one best answer.
One Student's Thoughts
"This essay doesn't deal with other planets, so I can eliminate choice C."
YOUR TURN
What other choices can you eliminate?
Pay attention to choices such as "all of the above."
One Student's Thoughts
"I don't think the writers are referring to the color of the planets when they use the word pale. So I
can eliminate choice A. That means that choice D—all of the above— can't be right either"
YOUR TURN
Which of the remaining choices makes the most sense?
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PART 3 How
to Respond in Writing
You may be asked to write answers to questions about a reading passage. Short-answer
questions often ask you to answer in a sentence or two. Essay questions require a fully
developed piece of writing.
Short-Answer Questions
STRATEGIES FOR RESPONDING TO SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS
Identify key words in the writing prompt that tell you the ideas to discuss. Make sure you
know what each word means.
State your response directly and to the point.
Support your ideas by using evidence from the selection.
Use correct grammar.
Sample Question
Answer the following question in one or two sentences.
Explain what you think the writer's purpose was in comparing and contrasting Mars and
Earth.
STRATEGIES IN ACTION
Identify key words.
One Student's Thoughts "The key words are explain and purpose. This means that I'll have to decide
why the writer wrote the article and tell why I think that way."
YOUR TURN
What clues to the writer's purpose can you find in the selection?
Essay Questions
STRATEGIES FOR ANSWERING ESSAY QUESTIONS
Look for direction words in the writing prompt that tell you what to write and what to do,
such as essay, analyze, describe, or compare and contrast.
List the points you want to make before beginning to write.
Write a strong introduction that presents your main point.
Develop your ideas by supporting your statements with evidence from the selection.
Present the ideas in a logical order.
Write a conclusion that summarizes your points.
Check your work for correct grammar.
Sample Prompt
The writer of this selection sees Mars as having many outstanding features that make it
different from Earth. Write an essay in which you summarize these features.
Identify direction words.
One Student's Thoughts "The key direction words are essay and summarize. This means that I'll
have to discuss the key features of Mars in a fully developed piece of writing."
YOUR TURN
What important points will you have to include in your essay?
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PART 4 How
to Revise, Edit, and Proofread a Test Selection
Here is a student's first draft in response to the writing prompt at the bottom of page 650.
Read it and answer the multiple- choice questions that follow.
1 Mars is half as big as Earth: weighing a tenth as much.
2 On Mars, there is less gravity and the air is thinner.
3 Mars is exposed to deadly ultraviolet light and summers
4 twice as long. The terrain is desert-like, containing
5 boulders and rocks littered on sand which varies in color
6 from reddish brown to pink. Mars has huge mountains and
7 gorges, but they have no plants, animals, lakes, rivers, or
8 other bodies of water. All the water is frozen underground.
1. What is the BEST way to revise the sentence in line 1 (Mars is half . . . tenth as much.)?
A. Mars is half as big as Earth but weighs a tenth as much.
B. Earth, half as big, weighs a tenth as much as Mars.
C. Mars is half as big and weighing a tenth as much.
D. Half as big as Mars, Earth weighs a tenth as much.
2. What is the BEST way to revise the sentence in lines 3-4 (Mars is exposed . . . twice as
long.)?
A. Mars is exposed to deadly ultraviolet light: summers last twice as long as on Earth.
B. Mars is exposed to deadly ultraviolet light with summers last twice as long as on
Earth.
C. Mars is exposed to deadly ultraviolet light summers last twice as long as on Earth.
D. Mars is exposed to deadly ultraviolet light; summers last twice as long as on Earth.
3. What is the BEST way to revise the sentence in lines 6-8 (Mars has huge ... water.)?
A. Mars has huge mountains and gorges, but no plants, animals, lakes, rivers, or other
bodies of water.
B. Mars has huge mountains and gorges; they have no plants, animals, lakes, rivers, or
other bodies of water.
C. There are huge mountains and gorges; but Mars has no plants, animals, lakes, rivers,
or other bodies of water.
D. Mars has huge mountains and gorges. There is no plants, animals, lakes, rivers, or
other bodies of water.
STRATEGIES FOR REVISING, EDITING, AND PROOFREADING
Read the passage carefully.
Notice the parts that are confusing. What types of errors might cause that confusion?
Look for errors in grammar, usage, spelling, and capitalization. Common errors include
sentence fragments
lack of subject-verb agreement
pronoun-antecedent problems
lack of transition words
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