Overview

Lesson Procedure

55-65 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction15 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure5-10 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "The pages of a comic book have come loose and fallen on the floor, and the page numbers are torn off. How would you put the story back in order? Name two clues you would look for."

   Take answers: time words ("the next morning"), a character who is introduced before we see him again, a question on one page that is answered on another, the first and last pages. Tell students that every part of a well-built text has a place and a job, and today they will find both in a true story written by a sea captain who rebuilt an old boat and sailed it around the world alone.

2. Direct Instruction15 minutes

   Teach seven terms and leave them on the board with Diagram 2:

   • Structure: the way a text is put together, its parts and the order they come in.
   • Section: a group of paragraphs that belong together because they cover one stage of events or one topic. A chapter can have several sections.
   • Chronological order: time order, telling events in the order they happened.
   • Transition: a word, sentence or paragraph that connects one part to the next, such as "Thus," "The next day" or "One midwinter day."
   • Turning point: the place where events change direction, so the text starts a new stage.
   • Flash-forward: a jump ahead in time to tell something that happens later, before going back to the story.
   • Develop an idea: to add to an idea by explaining it, showing it with examples or giving evidence for it.

   Introduce the writer. Joshua Slocum (born 1844) was a Nova Scotia-born American sea captain. In 1895, at 51, he set out from Boston in the Spray, a 37-foot sloop (a sailboat with one mast), and came home in 1898 after more than 46,000 miles, the first person known to sail alone around the world. His book about the voyage came out in 1900. Show Passage 1, which comes from the book's table of contents: under each chapter number, Slocum wrote a line of short phrases that list the chapter's parts in order. Words to know in Passage 1: blue-nose (a nickname for a person from Nova Scotia, in Canada), Yankee (here, a person from the United States, especially New England), proclivities (leanings, habits), bark and canoe (two kinds of boats), conundrums (puzzling problems), calking (an older spelling of caulking: packing the seams between planks so water cannot get in), projected (planned), dory (a small rowboat), sargasso (floating seaweed) and jibstay (a rope that holds up the mast).

   1CHAPTER I

   2A blue-nose ancestry with Yankee proclivities--Youthful fondness for the sea--Master of the ship Northern Light--Loss of the Aquidneck--Return home from Brazil in the canoe Liberdade--The gift of a "ship"--The rebuilding of the Spray--Conundrums in regard to finance and calking--The launching of the Spray.

   3CHAPTER II

   4Failure as a fisherman--A voyage around the world projected--From Boston to Gloucester--Fitting out for the ocean voyage--Half of a dory for a ship's boat--The run from Gloucester to Nova Scotia--A shaking up in home waters--Among old friends.

   5CHAPTER III

   6Good-by to the American coast--Off Sable Island in a fog--In the open sea--The man in the moon takes an interest in the voyage--The first fit of loneliness--The Spray encounters La Vaguisa--A bottle of wine from the Spaniard--A bout of words with the captain of the Java--The steamship Olympia spoken--Arrival at the Azores.

   [...]

   7CHAPTER XXI

   8Clearing for home--In the calm belt--A sea covered with sargasso--The jibstay parts in a gale--Welcomed by a tornado off Fire Island--A change of plan--Arrival at Newport--End of a cruise of over forty-six thousand miles--The Spray again at Fairhaven.

   Read Passage 2 aloud. It comes near the start of chapter I, after Slocum describes his family and his first years at sea. Words to know: freighter and trader (captain of a ship that carries goods to sell), the Spice Islands (islands in what is now Indonesia), coil up one's ropes on land (retire from the sea), when times for freighters got bad (when cargo ships found less work), professions (kinds of work), stout (strong), gales (very strong winds), narrate (tell), cast up from old ocean (washed ashore; he means he had come to live on land), cogitating (thinking hard), apply for a command (ask to be the captain of a ship), whaling-captain (the captain of a ship that hunted whales), wants (here, needs), fit the craft for sea (get the boat ready to sail), society (here, a workers' club you had to pay to join), coal-barges (flat boats towed along to carry coal), ignominiously (shamefully) and Sailors' Snug Harbor (a home in New York for old, retired sailors).

   1My voyages were all foreign. I sailed as freighter and trader principally to China, Australia, and Japan, and among the Spice Islands. Mine was not the sort of life to make one long to coil up one's ropes on land, the customs and ways of which I had finally almost forgotten. And so when times for freighters got bad, as at last they did, and I tried to quit the sea, what was there for an old sailor to do? I was born in the breezes, and I had studied the sea as perhaps few men have studied it, neglecting all else. Next in attractiveness, after seafaring, came ship-building. I longed to be master in both professions, and in a small way, in time, I accomplished my desire. From the decks of stout ships in the worst gales I had made calculations as to the size and sort of ship safest for all weather and all seas. Thus the voyage which I am now to narrate was a natural outcome not only of my love of adventure, but of my lifelong experience.

   2One midwinter day of 1892, in Boston, where I had been cast up from old ocean, so to speak, a year or two before, I was cogitating whether I should apply for a command, and again eat my bread and butter on the sea, or go to work at the shipyard, when I met an old acquaintance, a whaling-captain, who said: "Come to Fairhaven and I'll give you a ship. But," he added, "she wants some repairs." The captain's terms, when fully explained, were more than satisfactory to me. They included all the assistance I would require to fit the craft for sea. I was only too glad to accept, for I had already found that I could not obtain work in the shipyard without first paying fifty dollars to a society, and as for a ship to command--there were not enough ships to go round. Nearly all our tall vessels had been cut down for coal-barges, and were being ignominiously towed by the nose from port to port, while many worthy captains addressed themselves to Sailors' Snug Harbor.

   • Chapter: how chapter I fits the whole book

     Passage 1 gives the lines for chapters I, II, III and XXI. How is the book organized, and where does chapter I fit?

     Result: The chapters follow the voyage in chronological order: chapter II has "A voyage around the world projected" and "From Boston to Gloucester," chapter III says "Good-by to the American coast," and chapter XXI begins "Clearing for home." Chapter I is the only one of these that comes entirely before the voyage. It ends with "The launching of the Spray," so its job in the structure is to set up the voyage: it shows who Slocum is and where his boat came from, so readers trust him when the voyage begins.

   • Sentence: closing a section

     Passage 2, paragraph 1, ends: "Thus the voyage which I am now to narrate was a natural outcome not only of my love of adventure, but of my lifelong experience." How does this sentence fit, and what does it contribute?

     Result: It is a transition at the end of a section. "Thus" means "so, because of all this," which tells readers that the sentence sums up everything before it: a life of foreign voyages and years of study of the sea and of ships. "The voyage which I am now to narrate" points forward to the rest of the book. It contributes by stating the idea the background section has been building: the voyage was not a stunt, but the result of a whole life at sea.

   • Sentence: a question that sets up what comes next

     In the same paragraph, Slocum asks, "And so when times for freighters got bad, as at last they did, and I tried to quit the sea, what was there for an old sailor to do?" What job does this question do?

     Result: It sets up a problem: Slocum is out of work and does not know what to do next. The rest of paragraph 1 starts to answer it (he turns to ship-building, the next thing he knows best), and paragraph 2 gives the real answer, the offer of a ship. A question like this pulls the reader forward, so it helps the chapter move from background to the story of the Spray.

   • Paragraph: a turning point

     Passage 2, paragraph 2, begins "One midwinter day of 1892." How does this paragraph fit into chapter I, and what does it add to the ideas?

     Result: It is the turning point of the chapter. The time phrase "One midwinter day of 1892" moves from years of general background to one day, and a new section begins, "The gift of a 'ship'" in Slocum's chapter line. The captain's words "I'll give you a ship. But... she wants some repairs" set up the next section, the rebuilding. The last two sentences explain why Slocum said yes: he could not get shipyard work "without first paying fifty dollars to a society," and "there were not enough ships to go round." They add the reason an experienced captain would accept an old, broken boat.

   Map the chapter. Show Diagram 1. The top row is the whole book in time order; the rows below zoom in on chapter I, with section names based on Slocum's own chapter line. Rows 1 and 2 are filled in from the worked examples. Give students the sentence frame: "The ___ (sentence, paragraph, section, chapter) that begins ___ comes after ___ and before ___. Its job is to ___, and it develops the idea that ___."

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Read Passage 3 aloud. Words to know: antiquated (very old), sloop (a sailboat with one mast), built in the year 1 (a joke: impossibly old), thrifty (careful with money), the gossip exchange (a joke: the place where the town traded news, like a stock exchange trades stocks), felled (cut down), keel (the backbone that runs along the bottom of a boat), frame and ribs (the curved timbers that give a boat its shape), steam-box (a box where wood is softened with steam so it can bend), saplings (young trees), supple (bendable), tangible (real, something you can touch), stem (the post at the very front of a boat), survey (inspect), "A 1" (first-rate), breast-hooks (strong braces inside the front of a boat), "cut in bow-head" (go whaling: cut up a bowhead whale), butt (the thick lower end of a tree trunk), blemish (a mark or flaw), hard upon March (almost March), hove in sight (came into view), adz (a tool for shaping wood) and "gammed" (chatted; a whalers' word). Pairs fill in row 3 of Diagram 1 after the discussion.

   1The next day I landed at Fairhaven, opposite New Bedford, and found that my friend had something of a joke on me. For seven years the joke had been on him. The "ship" proved to be a very antiquated sloop called the Spray, which the neighbors declared had been built in the year 1. She was affectionately propped up in a field, some distance from salt water, and was covered with canvas. The people of Fairhaven, I hardly need say, are thrifty and observant. For seven years they had asked, "I wonder what Captain Eben Pierce is going to do with the old Spray?" The day I appeared there was a buzz at the gossip exchange: at last some one had come and was actually at work on the old Spray. "Breaking her up, I s'pose?" "No; going to rebuild her." Great was the amazement. "Will it pay?" was the question which for a year or more I answered by declaring that I would make it pay.

   2My ax felled a stout oak-tree near by for a keel, and Farmer Howard, for a small sum of money, hauled in this and enough timbers for the frame of the new vessel. I rigged a steam-box and a pot for a boiler. The timbers for ribs, being straight saplings, were dressed and steamed till supple, and then bent over a log, where they were secured till set. Something tangible appeared every day to show for my labor, and the neighbors made the work sociable. It was a great day in the Spray shipyard when her new stem was set up and fastened to the new keel. Whaling-captains came from far to survey it. With one voice they pronounced it "A 1," and in their opinion "fit to smash ice." The oldest captain shook my hand warmly when the breast-hooks were put in, declaring that he could see no reason why the Spray should not "cut in bow-head" yet off the coast of Greenland. The much-esteemed stem-piece was from the butt of the smartest kind of a pasture oak. It afterward split a coral patch in two at the Keeling Islands, and did not receive a blemish. Better timber for a ship than pasture white oak never grew. The breast-hooks, as well as all the ribs, were of this wood, and were steamed and bent into shape as required. It was hard upon March when I began work in earnest; the weather was cold; still, there were plenty of inspectors to back me with advice. When a whaling-captain hove in sight I just rested on my adz awhile and "gammed" with him.

   1. How paragraph 1 connects back. Ask: which words from Passage 2 does "my friend had something of a joke on me" answer? Teacher note: the captain's "But... she wants some repairs." The joke is revealed in the next sentences: the "ship" is a "very antiquated sloop" that has sat "propped up in a field" for seven years. The quotation marks around "ship," in the text and in the chapter line (Passage 1), show Slocum's humor about the gift.
   2. The neighbors' questions. Ask: what does the conversation at "the gossip exchange" add to the chapter? Teacher note: it shows how strange the plan looked to the people of Fairhaven ("Breaking her up, I s'pose?" "No; going to rebuild her."). The last question, "Will it pay?", shows their doubt. Tell students to watch for whether this question comes back later in chapter I.
   3. Where a new section starts. Ask: which sentence begins the section Slocum calls "The rebuilding of the Spray"? Teacher note: paragraph 2, "My ax felled a stout oak-tree near by for a keel." After that, the steps come in chronological order: the keel, the frame, the steamed ribs, the stem, the breast-hooks. Each step develops the idea that Slocum can build a ship with his own hands, and "Something tangible appeared every day to show for my labor."
   4. A flash-forward. Ask: which sentence in paragraph 2 jumps ahead in time? Teacher note: "It afterward split a coral patch in two at the Keeling Islands, and did not receive a blemish." The Keeling Islands are in the Indian Ocean, far along the voyage. The flash-forward proves that the whaling-captains' praise ("fit to smash ice") was right, and it tells readers, early, that the Spray will survive the voyage.
4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Students read Passage 4 on their own. It ends chapter I. Words to know: hull (the body of a boat), partitioned off (divided into rooms), grave fears were entertained (people were seriously afraid), advisability (whether it was wise), calking-iron (a tool like a blunt chisel used to drive cotton into the seams), seams (the narrow gaps between planks), "It'll crawl!" (the cotton will creep out of the seams), Bruno (Slocum's dog), a noted authority (a well-known expert), totter (be unsteady), sperm-whale (a large whale), oakum (rope fiber soaked in tar), copper paint (paint that keeps sea creatures off the bottom), white lead (a white paint made with lead, now known to be poisonous), bulwarks (the low walls around the deck), rudder (the flat piece at the back that steers the boat), shipped (put in place), over all (from end to end), hold (the space below the deck), tonnage (a measure of the space inside a ship, not its weight), appurtenances (small fittings and equipment), sails were bent (the sails were tied on), trial-trip (a test sail) and overtime (the extra months).

   1The hull of my vessel being now put together as strongly as wood and iron could make her, and the various rooms partitioned off, I set about "calking ship." Grave fears were entertained by some that at this point I should fail. I myself gave some thought to the advisability of a "professional calker." The very first blow I struck on the cotton with the calking-iron, which I thought was right, many others thought wrong. "It'll crawl!" cried a man from Marion, passing with a basket of clams on his back. "It'll crawl!" cried another from West Island, when he saw me driving cotton into the seams. Bruno simply wagged his tail. Even Mr. Ben J----, a noted authority on whaling-ships, whose mind, however, was said to totter, asked rather confidently if I did not think "it would crawl." "How fast will it crawl?" cried my old captain friend, who had been towed by many a lively sperm-whale. "Tell us how fast," cried he, "that we may get into port in time."

   [...]

   2However, I drove a thread of oakum on top of the cotton, as from the first I had intended to do. And Bruno again wagged his tail. The cotton never "crawled." When the calking was finished, two coats of copper paint were slapped on the bottom, two of white lead on the topsides and bulwarks. The rudder was then shipped and painted, and on the following day the Spray was launched. As she rode at her ancient, rust-eaten anchor, she sat on the water like a swan.

   3The Spray's dimensions were, when finished, thirty-six feet nine inches long, over all, fourteen feet two inches wide, and four feet two inches deep in the hold, her tonnage being nine tons net and twelve and seventy-one hundredths tons gross.

   4Then the mast, a smart New Hampshire spruce, was fitted, and likewise all the small appurtenances necessary for a short cruise. Sails were bent, and away she flew with my friend Captain Pierce and me, across Buzzard's Bay on a trial-trip--all right. The only thing that now worried my friends along the beach was, "Will she pay?" The cost of my new vessel was $553.62 for materials, and thirteen months of my own labor. I was several months more than that at Fairhaven, for I got work now and then on an occasional whale-ship fitting farther down the harbor, and that kept me the overtime.

   On the handout, students answer three questions about Passage 4: (1) What job does the sentence "Grave fears were entertained by some that at this point I should fail" do in paragraph 1? (2) Why does Slocum repeat "It'll crawl!" and then give two more people saying almost the same thing? (3) Which word begins paragraph 2, and how does paragraph 2 answer paragraph 1? Then they fill in row 4 of Diagram 1.

   Teacher answer notes: (1) It sets up a problem and a little suspense: the reader now wonders whether the work will fail at the calking, the step that keeps water out. (2) The repetition builds the doubt, one voice after another, until even Slocum's old captain friend jokes about it; the more people doubt him, the bigger his success will look. (3) "However." It signals a turn: Slocum does what he "from the first" had intended, and the short sentence "The cotton never 'crawled.'" settles the question, so the two paragraphs work as a problem and its solution. Row 4: the calking section adds the idea that Slocum trusted his own knowledge more than the crowd's.

5. Closure5-10 minutes

   Exit ticket: (1) Fill in row 5 of Diagram 1: what does the launching section add to chapter I? (2) Complete the frame: "One part of a text can fit into its structure by ___, and it can develop the ideas by ___."

   Teacher note on the text: Slocum wrote in the 1890s, and some words and views are of his time. He writes "few men" and "one man" as if all sailors were men. In Passage 6, his story about a washerwoman in Samoa who wanted his half-dory, as a better "Yankee notion" than any "brought by missionaries to the islands," is a joke from a traveler of the period; discuss it as his point of view, not as a fact about Samoans. White lead paint, used on the Spray in Passage 4, is now banned in homes because lead is poisonous. After the book, Slocum kept sailing; in November 1909 he set out alone in the Spray again and was never seen after that voyage began.

   For the quiz: students read Passage 5, printed below. It is the start of chapter II, whose summary line is in Passage 1. Words to know: craft (boat), cunning (skill), weigh anchor (pull up the anchor to leave), in earnest (for real), resolved on (decided on), fair (here, blowing the right way), filled away (let the wind fill the sails and moved off), moored (tied up), a short board... on the port tack (a short zigzag with the wind coming from the left side), coming about (turning), stood seaward (headed out to sea), boom (the pole along the bottom of the sail), with lively heels (quickly, leaning over), peak (the top corner of the sail), engaging in (starting), pertaining to (about), borne in upon me (made clear to me), league (about three miles), stranded (stuck on the rocks), ledge (a shelf of rock under the water), full-handed (with a full crew), bark (here, a poetic word for a boat), freshened (grew stronger), Deer Island light (a lighthouse in Boston Harbor) and knots (a sea measure of speed: seven knots is about 8 miles per hour).

   1I spent a season in my new craft fishing on the coast, only to find that I had not the cunning properly to bait a hook. But at last the time arrived to weigh anchor and get to sea in earnest. I had resolved on a voyage around the world, and as the wind on the morning of April 24,1895, was fair, at noon I weighed anchor, set sail, and filled away from Boston, where the Spray had been moored snugly all winter. The twelve-o'clock whistles were blowing just as the sloop shot ahead under full sail. A short board was made up the harbor on the port tack, then coming about she stood seaward, with her boom well off to port, and swung past the ferries with lively heels. A photographer on the outer pier at East Boston got a picture of her as she swept by, her flag at the peak throwing its folds clear. A thrilling pulse beat high in me. My step was light on deck in the crisp air. I felt that there could be no turning back, and that I was engaging in an adventure the meaning of which I thoroughly understood. I had taken little advice from any one, for I had a right to my own opinions in matters pertaining to the sea. That the best of sailors might do worse than even I alone was borne in upon me not a league from Boston docks, where a great steamship, fully manned, officered, and piloted, lay stranded and broken. This was the Venetian. She was broken completely in two over a ledge. So in the first hour of my lone voyage I had proof that the Spray could at least do better than this full-handed steamship, for I was already farther on my voyage than she. "Take warning, Spray, and have a care," I uttered aloud to my bark, passing fairylike silently down the bay.

   2The wind freshened, and the Spray rounded Deer Island light at the rate of seven knots.

   For homework: students read Passage 6, printed below. Slocum has stopped at Gloucester, a fishing town north of Boston, to get supplies. Words to know: made shift (managed), castaway (thrown away), athwartships (across the boat, from side to side), hoist (lift), throat-halyards and strop (a rope for raising a sail and a loop of rope), manifestly (clearly), perceived (noticed), answer for (work as), the former office (the first job he named), razeed (cut down), Samoa (islands in the South Pacific that he visited much later in the voyage), missionaries (people sent to spread a religion), chronometer (a very exact clock that sailors used to work out where they were), newfangled (newly invented), clean and rate it (clean it and check how fast or slow it runs), where the Dutchman left his anchor (an old saying: left behind at home), contriving (clever arranging), refitted (supplied and repaired again), gathering headway (starting to move), fairway (the channel boats use), puttied (filled with putty, a paste for cracks) and "With the main-sheet" (a sailor's joke: he will "pay out" his sail rope and leave).

   1For a boat to take along, I made shift to cut a castaway dory in two athwartships, boarding up the end where it was cut. This half-dory I could hoist in and out by the nose easily enough, by hooking the throat-halyards into a strop fitted for the purpose. A whole dory would be heavy and awkward to handle alone. Manifestly there was not room on deck for more than the half of a boat, which, after all, was better than no boat at all, and was large enough for one man. I perceived, moreover, that the newly arranged craft would answer for a washing-machine when placed athwartships, and also for a bath-tub. Indeed, for the former office my razeed dory gained such a reputation on the voyage that my washerwoman at Samoa would not take no for an answer. She could see with one eye that it was a new invention which beat any Yankee notion ever brought by missionaries to the islands, and she had to have it.

   2The want of a chronometer for the voyage was all that now worried me. In our newfangled notions of navigation it is supposed that a mariner cannot find his way without one; and I had myself drifted into this way of thinking. My old chronometer, a good one, had been long in disuse. It would cost fifteen dollars to clean and rate it. Fifteen dollars! For sufficient reasons I left that timepiece at home, where the Dutchman left his anchor. I had the great lantern, and a lady in Boston sent me the price of a large two-burner cabin lamp, which lighted the cabin at night, and by some small contriving served for a stove through the day.

   3Being thus refitted I was once more ready for sea, and on May 7 again made sail. With little room in which to turn, the Spray, in gathering headway, scratched the paint off an old, fine-weather craft in the fairway, being puttied and painted for a summer voyage. "Who'll pay for that?" growled the painters. "I will," said I. "With the main-sheet," echoed the captain of the Bluebird, close by, which was his way of saying that I was off. [...]

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Read this plan for an article, written for the quiz: "Paragraph 1 introduces two ways students get to school, walking and riding the bus. Paragraph 2 describes walking. Paragraph 3 describes riding the bus. Paragraph 4 tells how the two ways are alike and how they are different." Which best describes the overall structure of the article?

   AEvents told in the order they happened BA problem followed by its solution CTwo subjects described, then compared DSteps for readers to follow in order

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Read this paragraph, written for the quiz: "(1) Our school library got 200 new books this fall. (2) Many are graphic novels and science books that students asked for in a survey. (3) Getting the books was only half the job, though. (4) Now the librarians need student helpers to label and shelve them." Which sentence closes the first part of the paragraph and opens the second?

   ASentence 1 BSentence 2 CSentence 4 DSentence 3

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   The chapter III line in Passage 1 begins "Good-by to the American coast--Off Sable Island in a fog--In the open sea." What does the order of these three phrases show?

   AThe Spray gets farther from land, stage by stage BSlocum compares three kinds of weather at sea CEach phrase names a problem and then its fix DThe sections go from most to least important

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Chapter XXI's line in Passage 1 ends with "The Spray again at Fairhaven." Which earlier part of the book does this ending connect back to?

   AThe run from Gloucester to Nova Scotia BThe first fit of loneliness in chapter III CThe arrival at the Azores in chapter III DThe rebuilding of the Spray in chapter I

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Passage 5 begins chapter II with "I spent a season in my new craft fishing on the coast, only to find that I had not the cunning properly to bait a hook." How does this sentence fit into the structure?

   AIt states the main idea of the whole book BIt bridges the launch and the voyage's start CIt is a flash-forward to the end of the trip DIt describes the problem chapter II solves

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Passage 5, paragraph 1, which words mark the turn from that first season to the real voyage?

   A"only to find that I had not the cunning" B"The twelve-o'clock whistles were blowing" C"But at last the time arrived" D"A thrilling pulse beat high in me"

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Why does Slocum give the exact date and hour, "the morning of April 24,1895... at noon," in Passage 5?

   ATo mark the exact start of the voyage story BTo show that he was often late for work CTo compare his trip with a famous earlier trip DTo explain why the wind was blowing so hard

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   "A thrilling pulse beat high in me. My step was light on deck in the crisp air." What do these two sentences contribute to Passage 5?

   AThey warn readers that the voyage will end badly BThey show Slocum's excitement as the trip begins CThey describe the photographer on the outer pier DThey explain how to sail out of Boston harbor

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Passage 3, paragraph 1, how does the sentence "The people of Fairhaven, I hardly need say, are thrifty and observant" prepare for what comes later in the paragraph?

   AIt shows that the town is poor and needs jobs BIt begins a new section about the town's history CIt explains why Captain Pierce gave the boat away DIt explains why people watch and ask about money

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    What is the job of the sentence "Take warning, Spray, and have a care" at the end of Passage 5, paragraph 1?

    AIt adds a note of caution after a proud claim BIt begins a new section about the Spray's repairs CIt shows that Slocum is afraid and wants to turn back DIt repeats the advice that other sailors gave him

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Passage 5, paragraph 2 is one short sentence: "The wind freshened, and the Spray rounded Deer Island light at the rate of seven knots." What does this paragraph do in the structure?

    AIt states the central idea of chapter II BIt flashes back to the building of the Spray CIt moves the trip forward one quick step DIt answers the question asked in paragraph 1

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In Passage 4, paragraph 3 gives only the Spray's measurements: "thirty-six feet nine inches long," "fourteen feet two inches wide," and her tonnage. Why does it fit right after the launch?

    AIt lists the tools Slocum used for the job BIt explains why the neighbors doubted him CIt tells readers what the voyage will cost DIt shows the finished size of the boat

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Passage 4, paragraph 2 ends, "As she rode at her ancient, rust-eaten anchor, she sat on the water like a swan." What does this image add?

    AIt suggests that the old anchor will soon fail BIt compares the Spray with a bird on a pond CIt shows the rebuilt boat floats well and looks fine DIt warns that the boat may still leak at the seams

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    An article about a school's new compost program has four paragraphs. Paragraph 1 introduces the program. Paragraph 2 says that before the program, the cafeteria threw away about 40 pounds of food scraps every day. Paragraph 3 explains how the compost bins work. Paragraph 4 describes the school garden that now uses the compost. How does paragraph 2 contribute?

    AIt gives the steps for making compost at home BIt shows the problem the program was made to fix CIt concludes the article with the central idea DIt describes what the garden grows in summer

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    In Passage 5, paragraph 1, Slocum writes, "I had taken little advice from any one, for I had a right to my own opinions in matters pertaining to the sea." Explain how the sentences right after it connect to this sentence.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    The chapter II line in Passage 1 begins, "Failure as a fisherman--A voyage around the world projected--From Boston to Gloucester." Match the second and third phrases to the parts of Passage 5 they describe. What does the match show about how Slocum builds a chapter?

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17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Passage 4, paragraph 4, says, "Sails were bent, and away she flew with my friend Captain Pierce and me, across Buzzard's Bay on a trial-trip--all right." How does this sentence help prepare readers for chapter II?

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18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Read these sentences, written for the quiz, from a short report: "(1) Millions of monarch butterflies spend the winter in the mountains of central Mexico. (2) In spring, they begin flying north. (3) Along the way, they stop to lay eggs on milkweed plants. (4) The new butterflies that hatch keep flying north." Where would this sentence fit best: "Their trip starts in the fall, when they fly south from Canada and the United States"? Explain your choice.

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19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    The chapter III line in Passage 1 includes "The first fit of loneliness." Using the chapter lines in Passage 1, explain how a section like this might fit into the book and contribute to its ideas.

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20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Read this short article, written for the quiz: "(Paragraph 1) People say someone is 'blind as a bat,' but the saying is wrong: bats can see. (Paragraph 2) Many bats also have a second way to find their way in the dark. They make very high squeaks and listen for the echoes that bounce back from trees, walls and insects. This is called echolocation. (Paragraph 3) Echolocation is so exact that a small bat can catch an insect the size of a mosquito in total darkness. (Paragraph 4) So the next time you hear 'blind as a bat,' remember that bats are experts at finding their way in the dark." Explain how paragraph 3 fits into the structure and what it contributes to the ideas.

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These standards connect to RI.6.5: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.