SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

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Clarence Owens
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1 SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Grade 05 Unit 04 Assessment A Poetry Analysis Reading Standards RL.5.1, RL.5.2, RL.5.4, RL.5.5, RL.5.6 Name Date Directions: Read the poem, In the Ebony Room and use your poetry skills to unpack the meaning of the poem s message and figurative language and answer the questions that follow. In The Ebony* Room *ebony a dark wood or a shade of black In this poem, a rainstorm interrupts school in a classroom in Africa. Wooden shutters are closed to keep the rain out, making it too dark to read or write. 1 In my classroom We study by sunlight. But when the wind whistles, And the clouds hurry in front of the sun, 5 The trees bow. Leaves flutter, And the pages of our books Begin flipping by themselves, And the clouds are full of rain. 10 Then the wooden windows Of my classroom Are pulled shut. In the ebony dark room Grinning students whisper 15 How wonderful it is Not to have to do their Arithmetic, reading, and writing. The whispering fades. On wooden desks students rest their heads. 20 On wooden tables teachers rest their heads. For in the ebony room The rain sings A lullaby to students and teachers. The pit-a-pat of the rain 25 On the wooden windowpanes And the whistling wind Get louder. Pupils wake up and sing: Stop, rain, stop. 30 We cannot play on green grass. We cannot go home to our parents. Stop, rain, stop. Come back another day. But the rain, with a mind of its own, 35 Beats against our wooden windows. And pit-a-pat we hear it say: I have a rain forest to fill And grass to keep green! I will rain till I m through. Children can wait. My music will not. So in the dark room we nod and doze To the rain s lullaby. - Isaac Olaleye ELA Gr05 U03 AA Level A 1

2 Directions: Answer the following questions using the poem In The Ebony Room. 1. Which line in the poem first signals a change in how the students view the rain? (RL.5.2) A. We study by sunlight. B. The whispering fades C. Pupils wake up and sing 2. What is the reason the poet uses repetition in lines 19 and 20? (RL.5.4) repetition to repeat 19 On wooden desks students rest their heads. 20 On wooden tables teachers rest their heads. A. to show that schoolwork is boring B. to suggest the great power of the wind C. to suggest the crowded conditions in the classroom D. to show that the storm affects everyone in the classroom 3. Line 34 states that the rain has a mind of its own. Which of the following lines supports this image? (RL.5.4) A. And the whistling wind B. Stop, rain, stop. C. I will rain till I m through. D. So in the dark room we nod and doze. ELA Gr05 U03 AA Level A 2

3 4. Explain how the students feel about the rain in the beginning of the poem. How do their feelings about the rain change at the end of the poem? Support your answer with important details from the poem. (RL.5.2, RL.5.1) In the beginning of the poem students feel. At the end of the poem the students feel.. ELA Gr05 U03 AA Level A 3

4 5. Describe how the poet uses figurative language to give the reader an image and sense of the rain, and of the students feelings during the storm. a. Underline at least one example of figurative language in the poem. (RL.5.4) (Figurative language includes metaphor, personification, alliteration and onomatopoeia.) b. Describe how this figurative language makes you feel and picture the storm, and understand the children s reactions. Support your answer with details from the poem. (RL.5.4, RL.5.2) An example of figurative language in the poem is. This makes me feel about the storm. The figurative language helps me picture the storm because. The students probably felt. ELA Gr05 U03 AA Level A 4

5 6. If this story of the rainstorm in a classroom was written in prose, the effect on the reader would have been different. Describe two ways that this author used poetic devices to pack BIG FEELINGS into this poem. Use details from the poem. Choose two from the box below. (RL.5.5, RL.5.2) Poetic devices: repetition, rhythm, figurative language: alliteration, personification, metaphor, onomatopoeia Use details from the poem in your answer. One way the author used poetic devices is. A second way the author used poetic devices is. ELA Gr05 U03 AA Level A 5

Reading Performance Assessment Practice Task F4 High School 2009 I Remember, I Remember

Reading Performance Assessment Practice Task F4 High School 2009 I Remember, I Remember Read the following poem carefully once all of the way through. Then, read it again a second time and make notes in the margin as you read. Your notes will be part of your score and should include: Comments