Feathered Friend Theme

How does the title of “Feathered Friend” hint at one theme of the story?

• It suggests that Claribel’s existence is important to the crew.

• It points out one key difference between birds and humans.

• It reminds the reader of the delicate nature of animals.

• It compares bird flight to human flight.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

How does this excerpt from “Feathered Friend” connect most clearly to one of the themes of the story?

"It was one of those accidents that couldn’t possibly happen; we’d had one of our rare eclipses by Earth’s shadow that night: Part of the air purifier had frozen up, and the single alarm in the circuit had failed to go off."

• It refers to an unexpected natural event.

• It shows the excitement of manned space travel.

• It explores the narrator’s concerns about bad air.

• It reveals that technology is not always dependable.

Tags

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.6.5

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A Which of the following statements best expresses one of the themes of “Feathered Friend”?

• Humans are meant to explore and discover new worlds.

• Sometimes the oldest, simplest solution is the most valuable.

• One should always choose teamwork over personal ambition.

• A bird does not change its feathers because the weather is bad.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Part A Answer: Sometimes the oldest, simplest solution is the most valuable.

Part B Which of these sentences from “Feathered Friend” best supports the answer to Part A?

• To the best of my knowledge, there’s never been a regulation that forbids one to keep pets in a space station.

• I’m not a psychologist, but I must admit that his selection was very sensible.

• It was quite obvious that she’d already learned how to operate in the absence of gravity, and did not believe in doing unnecessary work.

• “I’ve just remembered that miners used to carry canaries down to warn them of gas.”

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2