Total Eclipse

What is one message the author presents in the text?

• An eclipse has a scientific explanation that few people understand.

• What happens during an eclipse has never been fully explained by science.

• One must experience an eclipse to understand it scientifically.

• Experiencing an eclipse is different than knowing what scientifically causes it.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which two statements describe what the author's language in paragraph 2 indicates about the changes that take place during an eclipse?

• They are gradual.

• They are surprising.

• They are beautiful

• They are extensive

• They are frightening.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

What best describes the author’s purpose for including paragraph 3?

• To present a vividly poetic account of an experience

• To give factual details about a scientific process in nature

• To explain a perspective that differs from accepted facts

• To show how eclipses are usually perceived by average people

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.6

CCSS.RI.11-12.6

CCSS.RL.11-12.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.6

Read the sentences from paragraph 5.

I turned back to the sun. It was going. The sun was going, and the world was wrong. The grasses were wrong; they were platinum.

How does the author’s use of the word wrong influence the reader’s perception of the text?

• It implies that the narrator is concerned about the effects of the eclipse on the world around her.

• It demonstrates that a change in lighting can change people's moods in drastic ways.

• It emphasizes the power of an eclipse to transform the familiar into something new.

• It encourages the reader to consider the frightening effects of an eclipse.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

Read the sentences from paragraph 6.

I looked at Gary. He was in the film. Everything was lost.

The author’s use of simple, direct sentences contributes to a tone of —

• wonder

• frustration

• intrigue

• disbelief

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read the sentence from paragraph 6.

We had all started down a chute of time.

What is the figurative meaning of this sentence?

• Time moved more quickly during the eclipse.

• Our surroundings made it feel like a different time.

• We were falling through a tunnel of different eras.

• The eclipse made us realize how much changes between eras.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read the sentences from paragraph 8.

There was no sound. The eyes dried, the arteries drained, the lungs hushed. There was no world.

The author’s use of language contributes to a tone of —

• judgment

• nostalgia

• awe

• finality

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Read the sentence from paragraph 8.

The hatch in the brain slammed.

What is the figurative meaning of this sentence?

• Part of the brain is shut off from the rest.

• Part of the mind is concealed like the sun.

• The narrator feels strangely disconnected.

• The narrator realizes and understands something.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

Read the following paragraph about the text.

Scientists can explain the eclipse. People experience the eclipse in different ways.

The narrator has a surreal experience of the eclipse.

What is the best way to rewrite this paragraph to include sentence variety?

• Scientists can explain the eclipse, but people experience the eclipse in different ways. The narrator has a surreal experience of the eclipse, but other people might experience it differently.

• Scientists can explain the eclipse. People experience the eclipse in different ways. The narrator is having a surreal experience of the eclipse.

• Scientists can explain the eclipse, but people experience the eclipse in different ways. For example, the narrator has a surreal experience of the eclipse.

• Scientists can explain many things about the eclipse. People experience the eclipse in different ways. The narrator writes about a surreal experience of the eclipse.

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.3

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.8.3

CCSS.RI.9-10.3

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

Which two paragraphs about the text demonstrate good sentence variety?

• The eclipse begins. The world begins to change. Its appearance alters. It looks like a scene from another time.

• The world begins to change. The moon eclipses the sun. Lighting is strange. Everything looks different.

• As the eclipse begins, the world begins to change. Its appearance alters. It looks like a scene from another time.

• As the eclipse begins, everything begins to change. As the sun is covered, odd lighting makes the world look different.

• The world begins to change as the moon eclipses the sun. Lighting is strange. Everything looks different.

Tags

CCSS.RF.3.3B

CCSS.RF.3.3C

CCSS.RF.3.3D

CCSS.RF.4.3A

CCSS.RF.5.3A