Assessment Overview. Culminating Writing Task Cold-Read Task Extension Task

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1 Assessment Overview Each unit assessment has three parts, which together measure the following claims: Students read and comprehend a range of complex texts independently. Students write effectively when using and/or analyzing sources. Culminating Writing Task Cold-Read Task Extension Task Students write a multiparagraph essay in response to the question: How does The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka draw on and transform the myth The Transformation of Arachne into a Spider from Ovid s Metamorphoses and, by doing so, meet the criteria for magical realism? Task directions Exemplar student response Writing rubric Students read an excerpt from Lecture on the Metamorphosis and Ode to Sadness. Then students answer a combination of questions. Assessment and answer sheet Answer Key Students read an excerpt from The Horse and the Olive from James Baldwin s Old Greek Stories then write their own modernized version using magical realism. Exemplar student response Task rubric

2 Culminating Writing Task Exemplar Student Response Inspiration can take many forms. It awakens the mind and soul, compelling an artist forward in the work. It is not merely an imitation as some would think, but rather an adaptation and progression of the original inspiring piece. Franz Kafka was clearly inspired by Ovid s The Transformation of Arachne into a Spider in his novella, The Metamorphosis. But his expression of transformation is more than a simple imitation of Ovid s source text; he clearly adapts and moves forward from the original myth. Kafka draws on Ovid s punitive use of a metamorphosis, but he transforms the myth into magical realism by depicting the life and destiny of the being who is transformed while Ovid only depicts the act of the transformation. In Ovid s The Transformation of Arachne into a Spider, Arachne is changed into a spider by Pallas as punishment for challenging that her weaving skills were far superior to those of the goddess. Arachne boasts, Let her contend with me. There is nothing which, if conquered, I should refuse to endure. After completing the weaving challenge, Pallas declares, Live on indeed, wicked one, but still hang; and let the same decree of punishment be pronounced against thy race. The goddess then showers Arachne with a magic herb and she is transformed into a spider. In The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa awakens, transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. Although no explicit cause is given for Gregor s metamorphosis, his feelings about his work and his boss are made clear. If I didn t have my parents to think about I d have given in my notice a long time ago, I d have gone up to the boss and told him just what I think, tell him everything I would, let him know just what I feel. He d fall right off his desk! Like Arachne, Gregor attempts to challenge a superior and is transformed in body and mind as a result. He resents the fact that to support his family he must endure his boss talking down at him from up there, especially when you have to go right up close because the boss is hard of hearing. Although the main characters in both works are transformed as punishment for challenging their boss or ruler, Ovid s depiction ends after Arachne becomes the spider. Arachne's hair, touched by the noxious drug, fell off, and together with it her nose and ears and, Her slender fingers cleave to her sides as legs. All that is known of her future is that she works at her web as she did before, continuing to weave in her transformed state. There is only a description of the act of metamorphosis with no explanation of the life she leads as a spider or if her change impacts character in a ful way. Kafka, on the other hand, illustrates in great detail the reality of Gregor s life as a vermin. The reader learns of Gregor s struggles with and discovery of his new body as he pushes himself over to the door, feeling his way clumsily with his antennae - of which he was now beginning to learn the value - in order to see what had been happening there. Kafka not only describes Gregor s matter-of-fact reaction to his metamorphosis, but he also describes how this change impacts Gregor s family. The diligent care of Gregor s sister Grete turns to apathy and finally to hate this altered life affects her. We can t all work as hard as we have to and then come home to be tortured like this, we can t endure it. I can t endure it any more she finally confesses to her parents. Kafka's The Metamorphosis meets the criteria of magical realism because he draws on and transforms Ovid s The Transformation of Arachne into a Spider. He is inspired by Ovid s use of a putative transformation, but Kafka moves his work beyond that act to realistically depict the life and struggles of living with this magical metamorphosis. It is this pragmatic, rational depiction of the irrational that makes it a classic example of magical realism.

3 Culminating Writing Task Rubric Reading and Understandin g Text Shows full comprehension of ideas both explicit and inferential indicated by reading Accurate analysis and reasoning is demonstrated through ample textual evidence Shows comprehension of ideas indicated by reading Mostly accurate analysis and reasoning is demonstrated through adequate textual evidence Shows limited comprehension of ideas indicated by reading Minimally accurate analysis and reasoning is demonstrated through minimal textual evidence Shows no comprehension of ideas indicated by reading Inaccurate or no analysis and reasoning is demonstrated with little or no textual evidence Writing about Text Language Conventions Addresses the prompt and introduces a topic or precise claim(s), distinguishing claim(s) from counterclaims Development is even and organized to make important connections and distinctions with 1 relevant support Language creates cohesion and clarifies relationships among ideas Formal and objective style and tone consistently demonstrate awareness of purpose and audience Full command of conventions indicated by Few minor errors do not interfere with Addresses the prompt and states a topic or claim(s) Development is organized with some support and cohesion Language creates cohesion and links ideas Style and tone demonstrate awareness of purpose and audience Some command of conventions indicated by May have errors that occasionally interfere with Addresses the prompt and has an introduction Development and support are minimal Language links ideas Style and tone demonstrate limited awareness of purpose or audience Limited command of conventions indicated by Errors often interfere with Does not address the prompt Lacks organization, is undeveloped, and does not provide support Language and style demonstrate no awareness of purpose or audience No command of conventions indicated by Frequent and varied errors interfere with 1 Support includes evidence, facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, other information and examples.

4 Cold-Read Task Answer Key 1. D Part A C Part B Standards: RI , RI , RI C Part A B Part B Standards: RI , RI , RI A Part A B Part B Standards: RI , RI , RI , RI B Part A A Part B Standards: RL , RL , RL , RL D Part A A Part B Standards: RL , RL , RL , RL

5 6. Score this response with the writing rubric for the culminating writing task. Standards: RL , RL , RL , RI , RI , RI , W a, W b, W c, W d, W e, W a, W b, L a, L b, L a, L b, L c In his Lecture on The Metamorphosis, Nabokov claims that a certain amount of human pathos is required to for a reader to grasp the reality of literary worlds with fantastical elements. To appreciate the art, a reader must not only see the allure in the presentation but must also feel a connection to the humanity of the piece. Beauty plus pity that is the closest we can get to a definition of art, he asserts. I believe Nabokov s claim speaks to heart of human expression, even when that expression is depicted in a fantastic way. In Pablo Neruda s Nothing but Death, he forces the reader to confront the humanity in the most inhumane of topics--death. Neruda s imaginative personification of death haunts the reader, reminding that death lurks everywhere. It is human nature that all that live must die. Neruda describes, Sometimes I see alone / coffins under sail, / embarking with the pale dead, with women that have dead hair, / with bakers who are as white as angels, / and pensive young girls married to notary publics. He sees the death that creeps about everyday life, coffins taking those for which death is waiting. The unreal images of sailing coffins are more easily appreciated because the women, the baker, and the young girls inspire a human pathos in the reader. Neruda further describes the unexpected nature of death with oppositional images, Death arrives among all that sound / like a shoe with no foot in it, like a suit with no man in it, / comes and knocks, using a ring with no stone in it, with no / finger in it, / comes and shouts with no mouth, with no tongue, with / no throat. Unreal as theses images seem, they express the soundless warning of death. As humans we know of its inevitability, but usually takes us by surprise. Pablo Neruda s Nothing but Death illustrates Nabokov s claims in his Lecture on The Metamorphosis. There is a necessity of relating to humans emotional to ensure that fantastical writing successfully communicates its message.

6 Extension Task Student Exemplar Response One morning the village of Ionno woke up to find a marvelous, towering building of pure glass erected outside their rows of small huts. The building was solid, but the nature of its construction allowed the morning light to shine through its walls so that the crops on the other side still had warmth to evaporate the morning dew. Now we will have to walk around this building to get to our water supply, whined the middle-aged man who wanted to lead the group. I know. All those extra steps will make me tired, complained the woman who always complained. But the rest of the villagers went about their daily chores without noting much about the large building that now dominated the landscape of their village. That night as the Ionno people gathered by the fire, the middle-aged man declared that he was tired of living in the poor village and wished that great wealth would come to them. All day long, we work and work. No one gets to rest, and we are all so weary. If we had great wealth instead of this worthless building, then we would be happy. Yes. My back hurts from hauling water and tending the crops, complained the woman who always complained. Others muttered in agreement, but most villagers were just tired and ready for bed. Each retired to their own family hut, but it was not long before they were startled awake by a great rumbling of the earth. They rushed out of their huts to see the glass building filled with something from floor to ceiling! In the dying embers of the fire, the middle-aged man could just make out what that something was. Gold! he yelled at the top of his lungs. We are so rich now that we will never have to work so hard again. The next morning when dawn peered out over the hills out of the darkness of night, no one in the village awoke as they normally did. They stayed snug in their beds, remembering the words of the middle-aged man the night before. They did not get water; they did not tend to the crops or the village animals. They relaxed the whole day and nothing got done. As this continued for several days, the Ionno people began to notice a change in their village. The gold which filled the glass building now blocked the sun from the crops behind it, and they were beginning to die. The animals were beginning to get sick from lack of care. Ionno began to smell from the refuse that was no longer taken outside the village. The villagers themselves were agitated because there was no water or food prepared to eat and drink. One night they gathered by a fire made by the young woman who never complained. The villagers began to bemoan the state of their beloved Ionno and wondered what to do.

7 place. Maybe we should move to a new village, said the middle-age man who wanted to the wealth in the first I know. I am tired of this place, complained the woman who always complained. Others muttered in agreement, but most villagers were just silent thinking about what they should do. Just then the young woman who never complained said, I wish we never asked for wealth, but instead asked for the wisdom to choose the best use for this glorious gift of a glass building. Some muttered in agreement, then each villager retired to their own family hut, but it was not long before they were again startled awake by a great rumbling of the earth. They rushed out of their huts to see the glass building transformed again. Where is the gold? asked the middle-aged man, but no one was listening. The villagers were exploring the new rooms inside the wonderful building, each with a purpose of its own. There was a place to store their crops, a place to meet and discuss key Ionno issues, a place for the children to learn and play, and a place for the older residents to relax in sheltered comfort. The Ionno people soon adapted their lives to the wise use of the great glass building. They never questioned its sudden appearance and soon could not remember a time that it was not the center of the village and the center of their lives.

8 Extension Task Rubric Written Expression Language Conventions Clearly establishes a conflict with one or more points of view and introduces a narrator and/or characters Effectively organizes and develops a coherent event sequence or experience with narrative 2 elements and a resolution Uses language, including telling and sensory details to convey a vivid picture and achieve an effect Full command of the conventions indicated by Few minor errors do not interfere with Establishes a conflict and point of view and introduces a narrator and/or characters Organizes and develops a mostly coherent event sequence or experience with some narrative elements and a resolution Uses language, including telling and sensory details Some command of the conventions indicated by May have errors that occasionally interfere with Establishes a conflict or point of view, narrator, and/or characters Organizes and minimally develops an event sequence or experience with few narrative elements Uses some language, including telling and sensory details Limited command of the conventions indicated by Errors often interfere with Introduces a conflict, point of view, narrator, or characters Lacks an organized and developed event sequence or experience Language is below grade level No command of the conventions indicated by Frequent and varied errors interfere with 2 Narrative elements include dialogue, pacing, description, and multiple plot lines to develop experiences, events, and/or characters and a variety of techniques to sequence events so they build on one another and create a coherent whole.