Out of the Dust Tone and Mood

Read the excerpt from "Beat Wheat," and then answer the following questions.

The piano is some comfort in all this. I go to it and I forget the dust for hours,testing my long fingers on wild rhythms,but Ma slams around in the kitchen when I play and after a while she sends me to the store. Joe De La Flor doesn’t see me pass him by;he rides his fences, dazed by dust. I wince at the sight of his rib-thin cattle.But he’s not even seeing them. I look at Joe and know our future is drying up and blowing away with the dust.

Which statement best describes how the tone of this passage impacts the mood?

• The sad tone of the speaker creates a feeling of sympathy in the reader.

• The angry tone of the speaker creates a feeling of fear in the reader.

• The surprised tone of the speaker creates a feeling of distrust in the reader.

• The friendly tone of the speaker creates a feeling of warmth in the reader.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Which words from the excerpt contribute to the speaker’s tone?

• "The piano is some comfort in all this.”

• “Ma slams around in the kitchen when I play . . .”

• “Joe De La Flor doesn’t see me pass him by . . .”

• “I wince at the sight of his rib-thin cattle.”

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Read the excerpt from the poem from Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, and then answer the question that follows.

Daddy was just seventeen

when he fought in the

Great War off in France

There's not much he's willing to

say about those days, except about the poppies.

He remembers the poppies,

red on the graves of the dead

What is the tone and mood of the excerpt?

• The tone of the excerpt is informative; the mood is reflective.

• The tone is sad; the mood is gloomy

• The tone is solemn; the mood is cheery

• The tone is frustrating; the mood is resigned.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

Read the excerpt from "The Path of Our Sorrow" from Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, and then answer the question that follows.

Then the war ended and before long, Europe didn’t need our wheat anymore, they could grow their own.

But we needed Europe’s money to pay our mortgage,our rent,our bills.We squeezed more cattle,more sheep,onto less land,and they grazed down the stubble till they reached root

And the price of wheat kept dropping so we had to grow more bushels to make the same amount of money we made before,to pay for all that equipment, all that land,and the more sod we plowed up,the drier things got,because the water that used to collect there under the grass,biding its time,keeping things alive through the dry spells wasn’t there anymore.

Without the sod the water vanished,the soil turned to dust.Until the wind took it,lifting it up and carrying it away.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

What are two causes of the Dust Bowl mentioned in the excerpt that you read about in other texts?

• The war ended, and there were suddenly too many farmers and not enough land.

• The price of wheat dropped, so more land had to be plowed for farmers to make the same amount of money.

• Europe’s money was not as valuable after the war, so it didn’t cover the cost of rent and bills.

• Farmers plowed up the native grasses, so the soil held less moisture and easily blew away.

• The equipment used by farmers was no longer adequate, so they had to go back to the old ways of working the soil.

Tags

CCSS.RI.4.3

CCSS.RI.5.3

CCSS.RI.6.3

CCSS.RI.7.3

CCSS.RI.8.3

He responds in this way because he has always been a wheat farmer, and he doesn’t know any other kind of life.

This is an example of:

• claim

• reason

• explanation

• evidence

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RI.6.8

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

When Ma suggests he plant other things, he tells her, “No. It has to be wheat. I’ve grown it before. I’ll grow it again.”

This is an example of:

• claim

• explanation

• evidence

• reason

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.8

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RI.6.8

CCSS.RI.7.8

CCSS.RL.6.1

Daddy’s response to the dust storms and drought is to work the way he has always worked, only harder.

This is an example of:

• claim

• evidence

• explanation

• reason

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.8

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RI.6.8

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

Daddy’s statement tells us that he is not willing to try something new, that he believes the wheat crop will eventually be successful.

This is an example of:

• claim

• evidence

• reason

• explanation

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RI.6.8

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.7.1

Which sentence is written correctly as an appositive?

• It's being part f all that, being part of Arley's crowd that I like so much

• I'm earning a little money playing, thanks to Arley Wanderdale

• Mr. Chaffin, a farmer like daddy, delivered their harvest too.

• If Daddy gets five bushels t his acre, it'll be a miracle.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3