Formative- AKS 3 and 6

QUESTION: In the passage from The Georges and the Jewels, how do the father’s actions affect the narrator’s life?

from The Georges and the Jewels

by Jane Smiley

1 Sometimes when you fall off your horse, you just don’t want to get right back on. Let’s say he started bucking and you did all the things you knew to do, like pull his head up from between his knees and make him go forward, then use a pulley rein on the left to stop him. Most horses would settle at that point and come down to a walk. Then you could turn him again and trot off—it’s always harder for the horse to buck at the trot than at the lope. But if, right when you let up on the reins, your horse put his head between his knees again and took off bucking, kicking higher and higher until he finally dropped you and went tearing off to the other end of the ring, well, you might lie there, as I did, with the wind knocked out of you and think about how nice it would be not to get back on, because that horse is just dedicated to bucking you off.

2 So I did lie there, looking up at the branches of the oak tree that grew beside the ring, and I did wait for Daddy to come trotting over with that horse by the bridle, and I did stare up at both their faces, the face of that horse flicking his ears back and forth and snorting a little bit, and the face of my father, red-cheeked and blue-eyed, and I did listen to him say, “Abby? You okay, honey? Sure you are. I saw you bounce! Get up, now.”

3 I sighed.

4 “How am I going to tell those folks who are looking to buy these horses that a little girl can ride them, if you don’t get up and ride them?”

5 I sat up. I said, “I don’t know, Daddy.” My elbow hurt, but not too badly. Otherwise I was okay.

6 “Well, then.”

7 I stood up, and he brushed off the back of my jeans. Then he tossed me on the horse again.

8 Some horses buck you off. Some horses spook you off—they see something scary and drop a shoulder and spin and run away. Some horses stop all of a sudden, and there you are, head over heels and sitting on the ground. I had a horse rear so high once that I just slid down over her tail and landed in the grass easy as you please, watching her run back to the barn. I started riding when I was three. I started training horses for my dad when I was eight. I wasn’t the only one—my brother, Danny, was thirteen at the time, and he did most of the riding (Kid’s Horse for Sale), but I’m the only one now.

9 Which is not to say that there aren’t good horses and fun horses. I ride plenty of those, too. But they don’t last, because Daddy turns those over fast. I had one a year ago, a sweet bay mare. We got her because her owner had died and Daddy picked her up for a song from the bank. I rode her every day, and she never put a foot wrong. Her lope was as easy as flying. One of the days she was with us, I had a twenty-four-hour virus, so when I went out to ride, I tacked her up and took her down to the crick at the bottom of the pasture, out of sight of the house.

10 I knew Daddy had to go into town and would be gone for the afternoon, so when I got down there, I just took off the saddle and hung it over a tree limb, and the bridle, too, and I lay down in the grass and fell asleep. I knew she would graze, and she did for a while, I suppose. But when I woke up (and feeling much better, thank you), there she was, curled up next to me like a dog, kind of pressed against me but sweet and large and soft. I lay there feeling how warm she was and smelling her fragrance and I thought, I never heard of this before. I don’t know why she did that, but now when Daddy tells me that horses only know two things, the carrot and the stick, and not to fill my head with silly ideas about them, I just remember that mare (she had a star shaped like a triangle and a little snip down by her left nostril). We sold her for a nice piece of change within a month, and I wish I knew where she was.

• The father’s kindness causes him to carry the narrator into the house after she falls off the horse.

• The father’s love of horses causes him to show the narrator how beautiful the animals are when they walk.

• The father’s desire to sell horses causes him to quickly place the narrator back on the horse after she falls.

• The father’s expectation of obedience causes him to require the narrator to keep trying.

Choose evidence from the passage from The Georges and the Jewels that best supports the answer to Part A.

• “. . . and I did wait for Daddy to come trotting over with that horse . . . .” (paragraph 2)

• “. . . and the face of my father, red-cheeked and blue-eyed . . .” (paragraph 2)

• “ ‘Abby? You okay, honey?’ ” (paragraph 2)

• “. . . he tossed me on the horse again.” (paragraph 7)

I love to watch birds!  It always amazes me 
  how they can build those nests!  I like to leave 
  scraps of hair and yarn out for them to find. 
  They'll use these things and weave them into a 
  nest.  Being a parent is a hard job, and the birds 
  can use all the help they can get.
What is the author's perspective?

• Humans should help birds build their nest
• Humans should never interfere with wild animals
• Birds are interesting animals
• Birds use lots of things to build their nest

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.6

CCSS.RL.4.6

CCSS.RL.3.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RI.6.6

Author's perspective refers to the unique combination of...

• ideas, values and beliefs
• tone, diction, and voice
• tone, purpose, and syntax
• voice, style, and imagery

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.4.6

CCSS.RI.6.6

CCSS.RI.6.9

CCSS.RL.6.6

Landfills are overflowing with the garbage 
created by fast food restaurants and individuals too lazy to wash their dishes.  The earth is 
becoming polluted.  Wouldn't it be nice if people would go back to eating at home and washing 
dishes?
Which statement do you think the author would agree with?

• People should not use disposable products
• People should never wash dishes
• People should only use disposable products

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.6

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.4.6

CCSS.RL.3.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

conversation between two or more people is called...

• dialogue

• setting

• location

• major/minor event

What character trait is revealed?
After pulling an all-nighter studying, Sarah moved through the dance routine sluggishly.  She was off beat and missed several moves.

• passionate
• nervous
• tired
• bored

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.1

CCSS.RL.8.3

What character trait is revealed?
Having had enough, Darren walked up to the bully and stood between him and the smaller kid.  "Enough!"  he said, "This stops today!"

• energetic
• fearfully
• overbearing
• bold

What character trait is revealed in this passage?
Jonathan looked at the homeless dog walking down the street of his neighborhood.  He approached the dog, slowly cautiously, with his hands stretched outward.  After gaining his trust, Jonathan took the dog home, gave him a warm bath, and big bowl of food.

• impulsive
• obsessed
• humble
• compassionate

Text that propels the action in a text...

• keeps things moving along in the story

• brings everything to an end in the story