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9th-10th-Grade ELA Assignment

This assignment is strongly aligned to the standards.

Overview

Ninth-grade students read “Departure,” an excerpt from Sherwood Anderson’s "Winesburg, Ohio," then answer multiple-choice and writing-based questions about the text. This assignment exposes students to a noteworthy literary text and the questions build students’ understanding of it. Students also analyze the text in a written response. 

About the Text

Title and Author

“Departure” by Sherwood Anderson

What is the Lexile Level of this text?

1050

Based on Lexile, which grades is this text intended for?

6-8 or 9-10

Is the text qualitatively complex enough for the grade?

Yes

Is this text fiction or non-fiction?

Fiction

Is this text authentic or was it written for educational purposes?

Authentic

Does the text provide sufficient detail to build knowledge of a worthwhile topic and/or is it worth reading closely and re-reading?

Yes

Related Standards

We looked at how well the assignment aligned to the following standards:

RL.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

Question 1, for example, asks both how the main character, George, is feeling, and which specific sentence from the text suggests this.

RL.9-10.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

Question 5 asks students to pinpoint the specific language from the text that develops the theme of a “new beginning.”

RL.9-10.3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

Question 4 asks students to choose several descriptors for George, and to support those descriptors with specific passages from the text.

RL.9-10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

The culminating writing prompt asks students to describe how the author’s vivid descriptions of Winesburg evoke an understanding of George’s desire to leave.

RL.9-10.5: Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

Question 6 asks students how the author’s structuring and pacing impacts the story.

RL.9-10.10: By the end of grade 9/10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

W.9-10.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

The writing prompt gives students opportunity to articulate a claim about the text and support it with evidence.

L.9-10.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

Students have opportunity to demonstrate their command of 9th grade-level language conventions in the writing piece; the directions specifically name language conventions as a criterion for strong work.

L.9-10.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Why is this assignment strongly aligned to this standard?

Students have opportunity to demonstrate their command of 9th grade-level language conventions in the writing piece; the directions specifically name language conventions as a criterion for strong work.

Why is this assignment strongly aligned?

Students read a worthwhile text. There’s extensive imagery and symbolism within the text, which requires inference and interpretation on students’ part.

Students must read the text carefully to answer the questions. The questions direct students back to specific passages in the text that build their understanding. Questions become increasingly more complex and help students understand the whole excerpt.

The questions ask students to articulate independent ideas about the text and support those ideas with evidence; Students have an opportunity to share what they learned from the text.

Students practice structuring an argumentative piece of writing. They must make a claim, support it with evidence, and organize their thoughts in a written response.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike license.  

 From Student Achievement Partners: www.achievethecore.org. Internet. ELA/Literacy Assessments, Reading, Fiction. Available from: https://achievethecore.org/page/920/departure-by-sherwood-anderson-mini-assessment. 

Additional ELA Resources

Common Core ELA Standards
Read the standards and find out what they require of students.
Instructional Shifts in Literacy
Understand the key instructional shifts the ELA standards call for.
Student Work Review Tool – ELA
Use this tool to understand if an assignment is worthwhile for students.