Historical Fiction and Expository Writing Final 2021SESS1

Historical Fiction And Expository Writing Final

JCMS 2021 SESS1

Mischief Night by Brenda B Covert

Finola and Patrick Brody slipped out the back door after their parents put out the oil lamps and went to bed.

"Do you think anyone else in this country knows that it's Mischief Night?" Finola asked her brother as she threw her shawl over her shoulders.

"If they don't know now, they will know in the morning!" her brother replied in a low voice.

Multiple Choice

Finola Brody was wearing a costume.

• True

• False

Mischief Night...

The dead leaves crackled as the twins crept out to the pumpkin patch. By the light of the orange moon, Finola chose a nice fat pumpkin. Patrick produced a small knife and set to work making a jack-o'-lantern of it. He pulled a short, stubby candle from his pocket and fitted it inside the pumpkin.

"Now, let there be light!" Patrick declared softly as he lit the candle. The jack-o'-lantern glowed eerily in the darkness.

Multiple Choice

Historically, what time of year does the beginning of the story represent?

• Spring

• Winter

• Summer

• Fall

Mischief Night...

The pair strolled down the road to the neighbor's house.

"What shall we do first?" Finola asked. Her long skirts swished around her legs.

Patrick looked at his sister. Her black shawl framed her face in shadows and blended in with her dark clothing.

The orange-yellow glow of the jack-o'-lantern threw shadows across her eyes. She looked spooky, a bit like the grim reaper.

"We should unhinge the fence gate first, I should think," he said. "It is the farthest from the house, so the Tindalls will not hear us."

Multiple Choice

Finola had dark shadows around her eyes because:

• she was a creature of the night

• of the glow of the jack-o'-lantern

• of not getting to sleep on time

• she smeared dark paint there

Mischief Night...

A sudden breeze nearly blew out the candle. Patrick turned the toothy grin away from the wind. A dog - or was it a wolf? - howled in the distance.

The pair arrived at the gate and made short work of it. In the morning when Mr. Tindall went to tend his cattle, the gate would fall flat! What a jolly joke that would be!

Tipping over the outhouse was next on their list. They struggled to remain quiet. It was funny to imagine the Tindalls coming out in the morning and finding their toilet on its side!

Multiple Choice

What could the 2 children have done to cause the gate to fall flat?

• left it open

• locked it with a pad lock

• took out the screws

• nailed it shut

Mischief Night...

"Let's leave the pumpkin sitting here," Finola said. "It will look like the work of Jack!"

The last thing to do was to creep up to the house and soap the windows. Finola wanted to make the pretty designs that a fairy or an elf might make. Patrick merely wanted to fog up the windows so the Tindalls couldn't see out of them.

Once they had completed their Mischief Night activities, Finola and Patrick scurried toward home.

Multiple Choice

What will the Tindalls think when they see the overturned outhouse and the jack-o'-lantern?

• that they need to build a sturdier foundation

• that a fairy or elf came to make mischief

• that humans played those tricks on them

• that the outhouse was haunted

Multiple Choice

Which word best describes the Brody twins?

• pranksters

• braggarts

• humanitarians

• Scottish

Mischief Night...

"I wonder what our friends back in Ireland are doing," Finola said wistfully.

"Oh, they'll have finished their Mischief Night celebration by now," Patrick replied, sounding a bit forlorn. "The bonfires will have died out, and they'll all be sleeping soundly in their beds. In just a few hours they'll rise with the sun and feign surprise at the midnight work of the fairies and elves!"

"Aye," Finola agreed, "and they will grin and wink at each other." She sighed. "America is a nice place to visit, but I do miss Ireland and --"

"Don't look now," Patrick burst out, as a light flickered in a window of their home. "I think we've been discovered!"

Multiple Choice

What kind of mischief did the twins pull on the Tindalls?

• The twins soaped the windows of the house.

• The twins unhinged a gate so instead of opening it would fall.

• The twins tipped over the outhouse.

• all of the above

Multiple Choice

Why did Patrick think he and Finola had been discovered?

• A light came on in the Tindall home.

• The sun was coming up, and they weren't at the breakfast table.

• Someone was shining a flashlight at them.

• When they left home, it was dark. On their return, there was a light.

Multiple Choice

Why might people not know that it was Mischief Night?

• It was too dark to notice.

• It was not an American custom.

• The 1840s lacked holidays.

• They didn't have a calendar.

Multiple Choice

What American holiday resembles Mischief Night the most?

• Thanksgiving

• Easter

• Christmas

• Halloween

Expository Essay by Brenda B Covert

Don't be afraid of the expository essay.

Expository is just a fancy word that means explaining a subject/topic. An expository essay, then, is a written explanation of a subject. The goal is to share information with the reader. It may be abstract or concrete in nature. That is, it may be about an idea (the U.S. system of checks and balances) or about a real take-a-photo-of-it subject (making a toothpick model of the Golden Gate Bridge).

Multiple Choice

The goal of an expository essay is to share information with the reader?

• True

• False

Expository...

Your expository essay will exhibit your knowledge of a subject. That knowledge may be familiar to you already, or it may require research. It will be fact-based and not opinion-based. It will be without first and second-person pronouns. Focus your attention on the topic and not yourself or the reader.

Multiple Select

An expository essay will require...

Choose all that apply.

• opinions

• facts

• directions

• research

Expository...

Explanations can be presented in a variety of methods, such as the following:

1. Explain a step-by-step process

2. Compare and/or contrast two items

3. Explain with examples

4. Divide and classify

5. Identify a cause-effect relationship (causal analysis)

Expository...

The first method requires sequential order in the details. If you were to write the instructionsf or making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, laying out the bread would come before spreading the peanut butter and jelly, which comes before putting the two slices of bread together--sticky side in, of course! Methods #2 through #4 employ an order of importance; the two options are to arrange the information from most-to-least important (news reporting style) or least-to-most important (dramatic buildup).

Multiple Choice

Methods 2-4 can be written as... most-to-least important (dramatic buildup) or least-to-most important (news reporting style)

• True

• False

Expository...

The method of causal analysis involves one of two options: identify a cause and predict its effect, or present the effect and identify its cause. For example, if the effectis that Hammy is dripping wet, the cause might be that he got caught in the rain or sprayed with a garden hose. It's detective work.

Expository...

As you organize your paper, keep these guidelines in mind. Whether it takes just one paragraph or several to present your explanation, no paragraph should have less than three sentences. Each will need a topic sentence followed by two or more supporting sentences. Don't assume that the reader is familiar with any portion of your subject. Neither should you choose big, complicated words when a simple one will work.

Expository...

It is better to be understood than to appear erudite. (You don't know the meaning of erudite? That's the point! Showing off by using big words is annoying! Don't do it!) You should also avoid overuse of the word "then," as in "Then I went to school, and then I went to lunch, and then I went to recess."

Expository...

Your essay will end with a concluding paragraph. It will summarize your points and bring the subject to a close. It won't contain any new material, but it should express the previous material in a different way.

It's time for you to begin your expository essay. Here is a brief summary to guide you.

Expository...

I. Choose a topic. Perhaps you have a talent or skill to share. If so, keep yourself out of the essay. This paper should not be about you specifically; its purpose is to explain what something is,or how something is done, or why certain results occur. Possible topics include babysitting, car maintenance, camping, arts and crafts, or mastering a specific video game.

Open Ended

Why is it important to read or write an expository essay, story, article?

Expository...

II. Prepare an introduction - capture the reader's attention and state your purpose. Let the reader know what to expect as he or she reads your essay. If your topic were photography, your purpose might then be "to explain how to shoot awesome scenic photos."

III. Select the best method for presenting your explanation. Choose one of the five previously listed methods.

Open Ended

If you could write an expository essay about the current President, what would it say?

Expository...

IV. Organize the essay. Choose your main points; these will become the topic sentences for the body of the essay. Decide whether your points will be sequential, listed in order from most-important to least-important or least-important to most-important.

V. Write the body paragraphs of the essay. Each paragraph will begin with a topic sentence followed by at least two sentences that support or further explain the topic sentence.

Open Ended

Doy ou thin it is easier to write an essay in time (chronoligcal order), from least important to most important (dramatic build up) or from most important to least important (news report)?

Expository...

VI. Write your final paragraph. In the conclusion, you will remind the reader of your subject and review the information that they just read. Don't slip any new facts or steps into the concluding paragraph.

Open Ended

What story have you read that had the best ending? Name the story and why you like the ending...