Ninth Ward / After the Hurricane

^{Context Clues}

I start trembling and look around my neighborhood. The horizon is like none I’ve seen before. Just tips of houses. Tops or halves of trees. Lampposts hacked off by water.

Which words help the reader know what the word horizon means?

• tips, Tops

• Lampposts, water

• houses, trees

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

^{Author's Specific Purpose}

TaShon has his head buried in Spot’s fur. He’s crying full-out—sobbing like the world has ended and Noah hasn’t landed his ark.

The narrator says, “Noah hasn’t landed his ark” to —

• introduce another character in the story

• show that the story is set in the time of the Bible

• show that TaShon enjoys Bible stories

• show that the land has been covered by floodwater

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.1

^{Supporting Details}

Which sentence from the text suggests that Lanesha and TaShon want to be rescued?

• The horizon is like none I’ve seen before.

• I see a red car, a Ford, floating.

• I think when there’s light, someone will surely find us.

• “Yes, we did,” I say. “We made it out.”

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

^{Supporting Details}

I stretch my arms wide, clawing at the water, trying to move the trunk closer. I strain, feeling the pull in my shoulders. Water is lapping, almost to my chin.

I clutch bark. A piece cracks away in my hand.

“Get it, get it,” TaShon screams. His arms are too short. The trunk is floating by.

I inch my body further, my hips and legs still touching the roof. Inhaling, I plunge forward. My arms are around the tree.

Which idea is supported by this information?

• Lanesha has faith that Spot will help them escape.

• Lanesha is determined to save them.

• Lanesha no longer enjoys telling Bible stories.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.1

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.2

^{Main Conflict}

How does the setting of Ninth Ward contribute to the conflict in the selection?

• The narrator was unprepared for how the humidity would affect the rescue crews

• The screams from the other people on their rooftops make the narrator angry.

• The sun is so hot that the narrator and her brother get sunburns while waiting on the roof.

• The Mississippi River is flooding, causing the narrator and her brother to have to be rescued.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

^{Imagery / Mood}

Which line from "After the Hurricane" contains imagery that helps the reader visualize the hopeless setting?

• Camera crews bark, “Big Mike! Get this, over here!”

• The world is here but no one’s coming. Helicopters overhead beat up on our skies.

• How can I leave TK and Grandmama?

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

^{Author's Specific Purpose}

If toilets flushed,

if babies slept,

if faucets ran,

old bodies didn’t die in the sun,

if none of it were real,

if we weren’t in it,

this could be a disaster movie with

helicopters whipping up sky overhead,

The speaker in the poem says if none of it were real to —

• express that the hurricane never happened, and that it is as fictional as a disaster movie

• express a dislike for disaster movies

• express that the disaster is very real, but she wishes it was fictional, like a disaster movie

• suggest that the story of the hurricane would never make a good disaster movie

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.10

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.5

^{Compare and Contrast}

In what way are the speaker from the poem “After the Hurricane” and the narrator from Ninth Ward similar?

• Both feel a sense of despair about what’s happening after Hurricane Katrina.

• Both feel grateful to spend time with their family members after Hurricane Katrina

• Both are looking for missing relatives at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.7

CCSS.RI.6.7

CCSS.RI.7.7

CCSS.RL.6.9

CCSS.RL.7.7

^{Compare and Contrast}

Is the following statement true for the poem only, the novel only, or both?

The narrator sees things that make her lose hope.

• After the Hurricane (Poem)

• Ninth Ward (Novel Excerpt)

• Both

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.7

CCSS.RI.7.7

CCSS.RL.5.7

CCSS.RL.6.9

CCSS.RL.7.7

^{Compare and Contrast}

Is the following statement true for the poem only, the novel only, or both?

The narrator is not sure what the future will bring.

• After the Hurricane (Poem)

• Ninth Ward (Novel Excerpt)

• Both

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.7

CCSS.RI.7.7

CCSS.RL.5.7

CCSS.RL.6.9

CCSS.RL.7.7