Read this passage from O Pioneers!, a novel by Willa Cather. Then answer the question below.
Explain whether "The Wild Land" is an effective title for this passage. In your response, use details from the passage that support your explanation. Write your answer in the box below.
|
| Sample Student Response #1 |
Score for Sample Student Response #1:
Rubric Score 0
Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response is irrelevant to the question. The student simply repeats part of the prompt.
|
| Sample Student Response #2 |
Score for Sample Student Response #2:
Rubric Score 0
Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response is irrelevant to the question. The student provides a definition of the title.
|
| Sample Student Response #3 |
Score for Sample Student Response #3:
Rubric Score 1
Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates a minimal understanding of the text. The student uses minimal information to explain that the title is not effective because, “…nothing wild is happening.”
Instructional Annotation: (While the Annotation, Using the Rubric describes the scorer’s explanation for the rubric score, the Instructional Annotation describes how the response might be improved.)
The reader answers that the title is not a good choice because "nothing wild is happening" and then qualifies wild should concern only "cowboys." The response does show minimal interaction with the passage. To improve this response, the reader should support the claim of the title not being the best by giving text evidence. For example, the reader might note that it was a cold, windy day and the situation described was a typical one with a pet getting away from a young owner and conclude that the conditions were problematic but not wild.
|
| Sample Student Response #4 |
Score for Sample Student Response #4:
Rubric Score 1
Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates a minimal understanding of the text. The student uses minimal information to explain why the title is effective, “…takes place in a small town…being hit by a big storm…roads and conditions were bad.”
|
| Sample Student Response #5 |
Score for Sample Student Response #5:
Rubric Score 2
Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates a general understanding of the text. The student uses text-relevant information to why the title is effective, “It reledes to how the boy doesn’t feel welcome in the town…boy is afraid to ask for help…towns people are going to be mean to him.”
|
| Sample Student Response #6 |
Score for Sample Student Response #6:
Rubric Score 2
Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates a general understanding of the text. The student uses text-relevant information to explain that the title is effective because “most of the story described the winter of the town…everything was frozen…Everything was wild and harsh to them.”
Instructional Annotation: (While the Annotation, Using the Rubric describes the scorer’s explanation for the rubric score, the Instructional Annotation describes how the response might be improved.)
The reader answers that the title is effective because of the winter season, which causes the children to suffer without anyone in the town offering to help them. The setting creates wildness and harshness. The response does answer the question and offers correct text support for the claim. To improve this response, the reader might clarify that the use of the word wild suggests a lack of control and that the children in the passage are placed in a setting and situation which is currently out of their control.
|
| Sample Student Response #7 |
Score for Sample Student Response #7:
Rubric Score 3
Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the text. The student effectively uses text-relevant information to explain why the title is effective, “…takes place in Nabraska 30 years ago…unsettled, unmoderned place.” The student extends understanding by explaining that “the town’s progress isn’t florishing” and compares this town to other cities, “…compare this town to New York or Chicago, the ‘land’ would be more ‘wild’.”
|
| Sample Student Response #8 |
Score for Sample Student Response #8:
Rubric Score 3
Annotation, Using the Rubric: This response demonstrates an understanding of the complexities of the text. The student effectively uses text-relevant information to explain why the title is not effective, “…story has a very somber mood and ‘The Wild Land’ makes the story seem adventurous.” The student extends understanding by explaining that the land “is described as a more subtle area” while the title makes “the land sound wild and action filled.”
Instructional Annotation: (While the Annotation, Using the Rubric describes the scorer’s explanation for the rubric score, the Instructional Annotation describes how the response might be improved.)
The reader states that the title "is not effective" because of "the somber mood" of the passage, "the subtle area," for the passage, and "the predicament" in the passage, which is not caused by the land but the circumstances of the strayed kitten. The reader addresses and supports three elements within the passage that do not support the idea of wildness. To improve this response, the reader might clarify that the word wild generally describes something that is untamed or unable to be managed and that the circumstances and mood in the passage while not the best are still workable.
|
