Mr. Sudol
10/9/14-10/20/14 (Days 23-29)
LESSON PLAN (JR): ENGLISH REGENTS TASK III REVIEW
OBJECTIVE: To review and practice for the literary analysis and synthesis portion of the NYS English Regents exam.
COMMON CORE STANDARDS ADDRESSED: RL.11-12.1-6, 9-10; W.11-12.1(All), 2(All), 4, 5, 7, 9(A), 10; SL.1112.1(A, C, D, E), 2, 4, 6; L.11-12.2, 3, 4(A, B), 6
PRAYER
DISCUSSION/ACTIVITY
10/8: The NYS English Regents Task III will test your ability, specifically, to “comprehend, appreciate, and write about
different genres of literature.”
Task 3: The Controlling Idea
Task Format:
 2 literary documents, consisting of:
o 1 narrative passage (written in paragraph form and taking the form of a journal entry, a biographical or
autobiographical excerpt, a part of a short story, etc.), and
o 1 lyrical passage (a poem, parable, short fable, etc.)
 5 multiple-choice questions
 1 two-paragraph essay; each individual paragraph is graded from 0-2 and then averaged for a total score out of 2,
rounded up.
Tips and Guidelines: Reading Techniques
 Annotate. Aside from those tips listed above for Task 2, you should write any questions, comments, and ideas you
have about the passages in the margins and above/below the lines of the passages themselves. It is much easier to
generate ideas about the passages as you are reading them that you can then turn into arguments in your essay than to try
and create and utilize these arguments after all is said and done.
Essay Guidelines:
 Note: The directions for Task Three will ask you to look at both of the reading passages and identify common ideas and
themes expressed in both. The directions will tell you what to look for (i.e.: explain how both passages talk about the
idea of X”); it is your job to say how both passages express similar ideas about that subject.
 Paragraph 1: Controlling Idea Discussion: 1). State the topic of the reading passages (i.e.: the controlling idea, as
defined by your task guidelines), and 2). State two or three ways (i.e.: bring up two or three facts/details) that show the
controlling idea to be similarly present in each passage. For instance, if both passages talk about the importance of
grandmothers, you might mention two or three ways in which grandmothers are role models to later generations in their
families as stated by both reading passages (assuming you can find evidence of this in the reading passages).
 Paragraph 2: Literary Element Discussion: Explain how the author from one of the passages has used at least one
literary element or technique to help demonstrate the controlling idea in that passage. For instance, in if both passages
talk about the importance of grandmothers, you might say that the author’s characterization of the grandmothers as
strong role models demonstrates their importance, how the narrator’s point of view shows the audience how her
grandmother was important to her specifically, how the author’s use of simile shows the grandmother to be as important
an authority figure as an Indian chief, etc.
Rubrics for the Task III Essay
When writing your Task III essay, you will be graded against the following guidelines:
 Meaning: Does your writing show that you understand what both documents were about and, more importantly, what
the overall controlling idea of each document was?
 Development: Do you use a wide range of ideas and details from both documents in your writing (or do you keep
repeating the same ideas and details in your essay)?
 Organization: Is your writing focused (or do you jump from subject to subject within your essay)?
 Language Use: Do you use a sophisticated style in your writing (high-level vocabulary, literary terms, etc.)? Note: in
most cases, you want to talk more about the overall ideas of both passages, not literary elements (mood, reversal, the
antihero, etc.) that happen to appear in each.
 Conventions: Is your writing grammatically correct?
Task Three Essay Structure
The directions for Task Three will ask you to look at both of the reading passages and identify a common
idea or theme as it is expressed in both passages. The directions will tell you what to look for (i.e.: explain
how both passages talk about the idea of X”); it is your job to say how both passages express similar ideas
about that subject.
Paragraph 1: The Controlling Idea and Evidence
 Sentence 1: Restate the controlling idea, putting this idea in some sort of context. This requires you to
answer the question “How/why is the subject of each passage important to each author in the same
way?” For instance, if both passages demonstrate the “influence of grandmothers,” explain how and
why grandmothers are influential in general. Example: “No matter what the culture or who the
individual, grandmothers exert a strong influence as role-models [for example] on the individuals in
their families.”
 Sentence 2: State that the controlling idea relates to the two reading passages; be sure to mention the two
reading passages by title.
 Sentences 3 and 4: Explain how the first passage expresses the controlling idea in sentence 3, then
provide direct textual evidence from that passage that proves your explanation in sentence 4. For
instance, you might mention that the grandmothers portrayed in passage 1 are influential as role models
to the narrator of that passage in sentence 3, then in sentence 4 use a line from that passage (i.e.: “My
grandmothers were strong”) to demonstrate why they are role models to the narrator.
 Sentences 5 and 6: Repeat the steps outlined in sentences 3 and 4 for passage 2.
 Sentence 7: Summarize what you have already written in paragraph 1: i.e.: “For all of these reasons, the
grandmothers in both passages understood to be influential, but in very different ways.”
Paragraph 2: The Literary Element
 Sentence 1: Say what literary element/device/technique/concept you will be discussing, say which
passage you will relate your discussion to, and say that the author of that passage uses this technique to
demonstrate the controlling idea in that passage. Example: “In passage 1, the writer uses repetition to
demonstrate why her grandmothers were influential to her.”
 Sentence 2: Provide direct textual evidence of the literary technique you have chosen to discuss from that
passage. Example: “In this case, the narrator repeats the line “My grandmothers were strong” a total of
three times in a poem only twelve lines long.”
 Sentence 3: Explain how the literary you have chosen to discuss illustrates the controlling idea in this
passage. Example: “By repeating the line ‘My grandmothers were strong’ so often, the narrator of
passage 1 hopes to make perfectly clear to her audience how her grandmothers influenced her: by being
the strong role models that she wishes she could be.”
 Sentence 4: Summarize what you have already written in paragraph 2. Example: “As a result, there can
be no doubt as to how the grandmothers portrayed in passage 1 influenced that passage’s narrator.”
Other Tips:
 Do not discuss more than one literary technique and its appearance in more than one of the two reading
passages for the second essay; if you do, your essay will appear unfocused and you will be wasting time
needed to complete your Task 4 essay.
10/9 – 10/10
The teacher will ask students to work in groups to complete the Task 3 worksheet related to the short stories they have
read on their own on the first of these days. On the second of these days, the teacher will review students’ selfgenerated controlling ideas and assist in tailoring them to the stories they have picked.
10/14
Regents Task 3 in-class multiple choice review.
10/15-10/16
English Regents Task 3 in-class practice activity.
10/14 - 10/15
English Regents Task 3 in-class test.
HOMEWORK
 10/9: Complete the first three items on your Regents Task 3 worksheets (the two stories’ names and the controlling
idea for those two stories and be prepared to discuss these in groups in class tomorrow.
 10/10: Complete the diagnostic essays listed at the bottom of the task 3 worksheet you completed in class today.
 10/14-10-17: Continue to review your notes in light of the Task III exams you are taking. For students who did
not complete their Task III diagnostic exam essays will complete them for homework and submit them at the
beginning of their next available class date.
 10/20: Complete SAT Vocab worksheet # 5.
THEMATIC LITERARY COMPARISON WORKSHEET
Name:____________________________
10/9/2014
Directions: In the spaces below, you will discuss the short stories you recently read (“The Necklace,” “An
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” “The Telltale Heart,” “The Monkey’s Paw,” and “The Lottery”).
Complete the items on the worksheet below. Please turn in this worksheet by the end of class on the 15th;
remember, you must explain and give examples of those themes and literary elements you noted as
common to the stories you compared in the course of your group presentation.
Story # 1 Title:_____________________________ Story # 2 Title:________________________________
What is the controlling idea for my two stories (i.e.: what is one major idea, theme, lesson, or moral
common to the two stories I have chosen to discuss)? Please phrase your controlling idea as a complete
phrase (i.e.: “The value of love in relationships”) and not as a single word (i.e.: “love”):
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Story # 1
Details/Facts/Evidence showing the Controlling Idea:___________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Literary Elements/Concepts Present_________________________________________________________
Story # 2
Details/Facts/Evidence showing the Controlling Idea:___________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Literary Elements/Concepts Present__________________________________________________________
Essay: On the back of this worksheet, complete a two-paragraph Task III-style essay. Please follow the
format below in completing this essay:
 Paragraph 1: Establish a controlling idea for the two stories. Develop your controlling idea using specific
examples and details from each passage.
 Paragraph 2: Choose a specific literary element (e.g., theme, characterization, structure, point of view, etc.)
or literary technique (e.g., symbolism, irony, figurative language, etc.) used by one of the authors. Using
specific details from that passage, in a well-developed paragraph, show how the author uses that element or
technique to develop the passage. You may use your literary elements sheet to assist you in completing this
paragraph.
NEW YORK STATE PRACTICE REGENTS EXAM TASK III READING PASSAGES
Regents Task III Guidelines
The following was taken directly from the January 2007 New York State English Regents Exam. Using the informational
documents provided to you in class, answer the multiple choice questions related to these documents and follow the directions
below to write a Regents Task III essay.
Directions: Read the passages on the following pages (a poem and an excerpt from a memoir). Write the number of the answer to
each multiple-choice question on your answer sheet. Then write the essay in your essay booklet as described in Your Task. You
may use the margins to take notes as you read and scrap paper to plan your response.
Your Task: After you have read the passages and answered the multiple-choice questions, write a unified essay about the
influence of grandmothers as revealed in the passages. In your essay, use ideas from both passages to establish a controlling idea
about the influence of grandmothers. Using evidence from each passage, develop your controlling idea and show how the author
uses specific literary elements or techniques to convey that idea.
Guidelines; Be sure to:
• Use ideas from both passages to establish a controlling idea about the influence of grandmothers.
• Use specific and relevant evidence from each passage to develop your controlling idea.
• Show how each author uses specific literary elements (for example: theme, characterization, structure, point of view) or
techniques (for example: symbolism, irony, figurative language) to convey the controlling idea.
• Organize your ideas in a logical and coherent manner.
• Use language that communicates ideas effectively.
• Follow the conventions of standard written English.
Passage I: “Lineage”
My grandmothers were strong.
They followed plows and bent to toil.
They moved through fields sowing seed.
They touched earth and grain grew.
They were full of sturdiness and singing.
My grandmothers were strong.
My grandmothers are full of memories
Smelling of soap and onions and wet clay
With veins rolling roughly over quick hands
They have many clean words to say.
My grandmothers were strong.
Why am I not as they?
—Margaret Walker
from For My People, 1942
Yale University Press
Passage II
5
10
…With my grandmother there was a brief ritual phrase in her dialect mouthed by us children when we went to the old
Queen Anne style house in Utica where my mother and all her brothers and sisters grew up. My
grandmother was always in the kitchen, dressed in black, standing at a large black coal range stirring soup or something. My
brothers and I, awkward in the presence of her foreignness, would be pushed in her direction by our mother during those holiday
visits, and told “Go say hello to Gramma.”
We’d go to the strange old woman who didn’t look like any of the grandmothers of our friends or like any of those on the
covers of the Saturday Evening Post around Thanksgiving time. Gramma didn’t stuff a turkey or make candied sweet potatoes and
pumpkin pies. She made chicken soup filled with tiny pale meatballs and a bitter green she grew in her backyard along with broad
beans and basil, things that were definitely un-American in those days. Her smell was like that of the cedar closet in our attic. She
spoke strange words with a raspy sound.
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30
35
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45
50
55
5
When we stepped into her kitchen to greet her she smiled broadly and tweaked our cheeks. We said in a rush the phrase
our mother taught us. We didn’t know what it meant. I think we never asked. And if we were to know it meant “how are you?”
what difference would it have made? What further knowledge would we have had of the old woman in the shapeless black
garment, with her wisps of gray hair falling out of the thick knob crammed with large old-fashioned tortoise-shell hairpins? None.
We were strangers.
When on a visit upstate I had occasion to drive through Cazenovia, a village on the shores of Lake Cazenovia, it appeared
to me as if in a dream. I saw again the lakeshore meadow that has always remained indelibly imprinted on my mind from
childhood, but that I had thought must, by now, have vanished from the real world. That meadow, now called Gypsy Bay Park,
was the site of family picnics to which we and Aunt Mary’s family proceeded from Syracuse, while the other contingent (which
was by far the greater number—my mother’s three brothers, two other sisters and all their families plus our grandmother) came
from Utica. Cazenovia was the approximate half-way point, and there in the meadow on the lake the cars would all pull up and
baskets of food would be unloaded for the great summer reunion.…
It was Gramma who had decreed this annual outing. When two of her daughters married and moved from Utica, she had
made known her wish: that the family should meet each summer when travel was easier and eat together al fresco1. It was her
pleasure to have all her children, and their children, convene in the meadow, and spend the day eating, singing, playing cards,
gossiping, throwing ball, making jokes and toasts. It was a celebration of her progeny 2 of which she, long widowed, was the visible
head, the venerable ancestor, the symbol of the strong-willed adventurer who had come from the old world to make a new life and
to prosper.
She was monumental. I can see her still, an imposing figure, still dressed in black although it was summer, seated on a
folding camp chair (just for her) under the shade of a large, leafy elm tree. She sat there as silently as a Sioux chief and was served
food, given babies to kiss, and paid homage to all day. The others spread around her, sitting on blankets on the grass, or on the
running boards of their Oldsmobiles and Buicks. What made my grandmother so intriguing was the mystery of her. For, despite its
gaiety, the family picnic was also a time of puzzlement for me. Who was this stranger in black with whom I could not speak? What
was her story? What did she know?
What I knew of my grandmother, I heard from my mother: she believed in good food on the table and good linen on the
bed. Everything else was frippery and she had the greatest scorn for those who dieted or got their nourishment through pills and
potions. She knew you are what you eat and she loved America for the great range of foods that it provided to people like her, used
to so little, used to making do. She could not tolerate stinginess; she lived with her eldest son and his family of eleven and did all
the gardening and cooking, providing a generous table.…
We were about fifty kin gathered in that meadow, living proof of the family progress. Gramma’s sons and daughters vied
to offer her their services, goods, and offspring—all that food, those cars, the well-dressed young men who would go to college.
And Butch, an older cousin, would take me by the hand to the water’s edge and I’d be allowed to wade in Cazenovia’s waters,
which were always tingling cold and made me squeal with delicious shock.
And yet with all that, for all the good times and good food and the happy chattering people who fussed over me and my
brothers, I still felt a sense of strangeness, a sense of my parents’ tolerating with an edge of disdain this old world festa only for the
sake of the old lady. When I asked my mother why Gramma looked so strange and never spoke to us, I was told, she came from
the old country … she doesn’t speak our language. She might as well have been from Mars.
I never remember hearing our own mother speak to her mother, although she must have, however briefly. I only recall my
astonishment at mother’s grief when Gramma died and we went to Utica for the funeral. How could mother really feel so bad
about someone she had never really talked to? Was it just because she was expected to cry? Or was she crying for the silence that
had lain like a chasm between them?…
—Helen Barolini
excerpted from “How I Learned to Speak Italian”
Southwest Review, Winter 1997
1
2
“al fresco”: In the open air
“progeny”: Offspring
New York State English Regents Task III Exam – Multiple Choice
10/14/2014
Read the literary documents and answer the following multiple-choice questions (to be turned in at the end of
the period). Then, follow the guidelines on the printed sheet and write an essay based on those guidelines;
you may start your essay today and you may complete your essay at home tomorrow, but you must turn your
completed essay in at the beginning of class on the 23rd.
Multiple-Choice Questions
Directions Select the best suggested answer to each question and write its number in the space provided
below. The questions may help you think about the ideas and information you might want to use in your
essay. You may return to these questions anytime you wish. Questions 1 – 5 relate to passage I (the poem).
Questions 6 – 8 relate to passage II (the memoir). Questions 9 and 10 relate to both passages.
1. The narrator implies that the strength of grandmothers results from their:
(1) cheery songs
(2) long lives
(3) large bodies
(4) hard work
2. “They touched earth and grain grew” (line 4) suggests the grandmothers’ role of:
(1) protector
(2) provider
(3) teacher
(4) entertainer
3. In order to emphasize her feelings about her grandmothers, the narrator uses:
(1) repetition
(2) onomatopoeia
(3) simile
(4) symbolism
4. The narrator’s feeling toward her grandmothers is best described as:
(1) resentment
(2) embarrassment
(3) admiration
(4) concern
5. In comparison to the grandmothers, the narrator is seen as:
(1) more nurturing
(2) more religious
(3) less intelligent
(4) less capable
6. According to the narrator, the “annual outing” celebrated the importance of:
(1) solitude
(2) responsibility
(3) family
(4) travel
7. The comparison between the Native American chief and the grandmother (line 33) characterizes her as:
(1) courageous
(2) respected
(3) intelligent
(4) kind
8. The narrator’s description of her mother’s reaction to the death of “Gramma” is an example of:
(1) irony
(2) personification
(3) alliteration
(4) humor
9. Both passages reveal the theme of:
(1) grandparents’ trust
(2) generational difference
(3) social conflict
(4) family rivalry
10. The grandmothers of Passage I differ from the grandmother in Passage II in the ability to:
(1) discipline
(2) heal
(3) survive
(4) communicate