EIGHTH GRADE TRAINING GUIDE

1994 Reading Rubric - Eighth Grade - Item 2

Passage Title: "After English Class" and "Paul Hewitt"


FORM F

2. What do the students in these two poems have in common? Explain your answer.

ITEM SCORE SCALE

Answer is unresponsive, unrelated, inappropriate or pure summary.
Answer states what the students in the two poems have in common. The answer must relate to the poems, but it may be literal. (Ex: They don't like what is taught at school.) The explanation, if present, is sparse or confusing.
Answer states what the students in the two poems have in common by addressing the connection between what is taught in school and real life. The explanation references the poems but is brief or has minor errors. 
Answer states what the students in these two poems have in common by addressing the connection between what is taught in school and real lie. The explanation specificly refeences the poems and is clear and developed.


THE POEMS -- AFTER ENGLISH CLASS & PAUL HEWITT

AFTER ENGLISH CLASS
I used to like "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."
I liked the coming darkness
The jingle of harness bells, breaking - and adding to
---the stillnesss,
The gentle drift of snow . . .

But today, the teacher told us what everything stood for
The woods, the horse, the miles to go, the sleep --
They all have "hidden meanings."

It's grown so complicated now that
Next time I drive by,
I don't think I'll bother to stop.

"After English Class" from Hey World, Here I am! by Jean Little. Copyright 1986 by Jean Little. Selection reprinted by permission of Harper Collins.


PAUL HEWITT

Please, sir, I don't mean to be disrespectful.
I did raise my hand.
I mean, who cares if Macbeth becomes a monster,
if Huck Finn rescues Jim,
If Willie Loman never finds happiness?
They're just characters in books.
What have they got to do with me?
I mean, I'm never going hunting for white whales.
I'm never going to fight in the Civil War.
And I certainly don't live in the Dust Bowl.
Tell me instead how to
Make money, pick up girls.
Then maybe I'll listen.
You got any books that deal with real life?

"Paul Hewitt" from Class Dismissed II by Mel Glenn. Text copyright 1986 by Mel Glenn. Reprinted by permission of Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Co. All rights reserved.


Study the following question and student responses and decide for yourself the student's score (0-3) based on the grading rubric provided above. Then briefly print out this page, use the lined spaces below and indicate why you chose this score, including what the student should have and should not have included in their answer. When you have completed this part, choose the answer section to compare your results with the state scorers.

STUDENT RESPONSES

QUESTION

2. What do the students in these two poems have in common? Explain your answer.


STUDENT RESPONSE NUMBER ONE

The two poems are in common because they rhynm. The two poem all have a meaning in life.

RUBRIC SCORING





STUDENT RESPONSE NUMBER TWO

Their titles don't go with their poems and so of the poem does not make scents. Also in the poems their was in story talk like they was showing action

RUBRIC SCORING





STUDENT RESPONSE NUMBER THREE

They both like the simple pleasures in life. They don't understand that learning and reading will help them learn and experience.

RUBRIC SCORING





STUDENT RESPONSE NUMBER FOUR

They feel that whay they are reciting could never help them in life

RUBRIC SCORING





STUDENT RESPONSE NUMBER FIVE

They are both have a negative view of things such as "next time I drive by, I don't think I'll bother to stop", or "Tell me instead how to make money, pick up girls. Then maybe I'll listen." They act as though these stories and poems are great disappointments but they are written for enjoyment.

RUBRIC SCORING





STUDENT RESPONSE NUMBER SIX

Both speakers only see and enjoy the obvious out-in-the-open qualities of life. Speaker #1 admits that after he/she has been shown the deeper meaning to a poem, he/she immediately backs off and won't try to find answers to his/her own questions. Speaker #2 is the same way in that he only wants material goods and isn't interested in the more creative side of life.

RUBRIC SCORING





STUDENT RESPONSE NUMBER SEVEN

The two speakers are saying that what they are being taught in school isn't "dealing with real life". In "After English Class" the speaker says that the poem has "grown so complicated" with his teacher's explanations of "hidden meanings" he's not going to read this poem anymore. In "Paul Hewitt" the speaker says "tell me instead how to make money, pick up girls. Then maybe I'll listen". Neither one of the speakers feels like his readings in class are helping him enjoy daily life. They can't tell the books reflect their life.

RUBRIC SCORING





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