Color of Water Bell Ringer #1

The Color of Water
Bellringer (Chaps 1)

By Jennifer McMillan

• Context Clues

• Vocabulary

• Text Evidence

From Chapter 1, "Dead"

"My family mourned me when I married your father. They said kaddish and sat shiva. That's how Orthodox Jews mourn their dead. They say prayers, turn their mirrors down, sit on boxes for seven days, and cover their heads. It's a real workout, which is maybe why I'm not a Jew now. There were too many rules to follow too many forbiddens and "you can'ts" and "you mustn'ts," but does anybody say they love you? Not in my family we didn't. We didn't talk that way"(2).

Multiple Choice

Based on the passage, what is meaning of the word "kaddish"?

• greetings

• prayer

• complaints

• compliments

Multiple Choice

Choose the text evidence that supports your answer to the meaning of "kiddish."

• "That's how Orthodox Jews mourn their dead."

• "They said kaddish and sat shiva."

• "They say prayers, turn their mirrors down, sit on boxes for seven days, and cover their heads."

• "It's a real workout, which is maybe why I'm not a Jew now.

Reread the passage:

"My family mourned me when I married your father. They said kaddish and sat shiva. That's how Orthodox Jews mourn their dead. They say prayers, turn their mirrors down, sit on boxes for seven days, and cover their heads. It's a real workout, which is maybe why I'm not a Jew now. There were too many rules to follow too many forbiddens and "you can'ts" and "you mustn'ts," but does anybody say they love you? Not in my family we didn't. We didn't talk that way"(2).

Multiple Choice

Based on the passage, what is meaning of the word "shiva"?

• A low bench

• A head covering

• Covering mirrors after a loved one dies

• The grieving ritual in Jewish culture

Multiple Choice

Choose the text evidence that supports your answer to the meaning of "shiva."

• "That's how Orthodox Jews mourn their dead."

• "They said kaddish and sat shiva."

• " They say prayers, turn their mirrors down, sit on boxes for seven days, and cover their heads."

• "It's a real workout, which is maybe why I'm not a Jew now."