On Turning Ten by Billy Collins

PART A: Which of the following best summarizes a theme of the poem? (RL.1.2)

• a. Imagination is constrained by age.

• b. Nature reflects the human cycle of life.

• c. Growing up means letting go of the carefree innocence of childhood.

• d. Growing old is a universal fear, even though it feels unique to the individual.

PART B: Which of the following phrases best supports the answer to Part A? (RL.1.1)

(PART A: Which of the following best summarizes a theme of the poem? )

• a. “But now I am mostly at the window / watching the late afternoon light.” ( Lines 17-18)

• b. “The whole idea of it makes me feel / like I'm coming down with something.” ( Lines 1-2)

• c. “This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself, / ... It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends, / time to turn the first big number.” ( Lines 24-27)

• d. “Back then it never fell so solemnly / against the side of my tree house, / and my bicycle never leaned against the garage / as it does today, / all the dark blue speed drained out of it.” ( Lines 19-23)

Read lines 5-7 from the text.

“a kind of measles of the spirit, / a mumps of the psyche, / a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.”

What does this description reveal about the speaker's attitude towards aging? (RL.2.6)

• a. The speaker feels physically nauseated by age and older people.

• b. The speaker fears aging because he associates it with sickness and dying.

• c. The speaker likens aging to sickness, believing it to be a physically arduous process.

• d. The speaker compares his feelings about growing up to sickness, suggesting that he does not have a positive outlook on it.

PART A: Which of the following best describes the tone of stanza 3? (RL.2.4)

• a. Somber

• b. Resentful

• c. Whimsical

• d. Sarcastic

PART B: What word choice develops this tone? (RL.2.4)

(PART A: Which of the following best describes the tone of stanza 3?)

• a. The line "At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince." implies that the narrator has a playful attitude towards growing up.

• b. The word “solemnly” suggests a level of seriousness, while the words “leaned” and “drained” imply a physical and emotional amount of sad acceptance.

• c. The words "good-bye" and "bleed" suggest the narrator is bitter towards turning ten.

• d. The line "like I'm coming down with something," displays a sarcastic and arrogant tone

PART A: How does the author reveal the speaker’s view of growing up? (RL.2.6)

Select TWO responses from below.

• a. the author makes contradictory statements to elaborate on his views of getting older

• b. the author includes research and statistical evidence to support the speaker's argument of growing old

• c. the author shares anecdotes associated with personal events dealing with fear from the speaker’s past

• d. the author uses a variety of figurative language devices to compare and contrast the speaker’s perspective to aging

• e. the author uses words and phrases with negative connotations to display how the speaker dreads getting older

PART B: Select a line or stanza from the poem that supports your response in Part A. (RL.2.6/RL.1.1)

PART A: How does the author reveal the speaker’s view of growing up?

• a. stanza 5 - the author uses the imagery of skinned knees to show the narrator's acceptance of aging

• b. stanza 3 - light and the bicycle; the author uses the change in the bicycle and light to symbolize the loss of youth

• c. stanza 1 - the author uses simile and metaphor to display that the narrator is sick

• d. imagination of youth vs. sickness of age; the author highlights the innocence of youth (stanza 2) vs. the “illness” of aging (stanza 1)

What impact does the following imagery in lines 21 through 23 have on the text? (RL.2.4)

"and my bicycle never leaned against the garage

as it does today,

all the dark blue speed drained out of it."

• a. to share a sense of loss

• b. to express anxiety about the future

• c. to illustrate the speaker’s point of view

• d. to compare the speaker's feelings about growing up to sickness

What effect does stanza 1 have on the overall structure and meaning of the text? (RL.2.5)

• a. It reinforces the speaker's beliefs that he has a virus.

• b. It emphasizes the ideas that others may have about the speaker.

• c. It reveals the speaker's innermost thoughts and emotions about cake.

• d. It introduces the speaker's uneasiness with aging.

How does the final stanza contribute to the overall structure and development of the plot? (RL.2.5)

• a. It highlights the speaker’s fears of being injured.

• b. It illustrates the difference in mindset between a teenager and a child.

• c. It uses figures of speech to reveal the speaker’s understanding about growing up.

• d. It uses a flashback to define what the speaker finds confusing about human anatomy.