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.9-10.2

CCSS.RI.9-10.3

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

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.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.3

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

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

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.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

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.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.L.9-10.5

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.L.9-10.5

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.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

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.L.9-10.1B

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.L.9-10.1B