Did you enjoy the antics
of Red Chief and grin a little when the kidnappers ended up
paying his father to take him back? How close was your prediction
to the story's resolution?
Before we leave Red Chief
to his mischief, what kind of story do you think he is going
to tell all his friends about his adventure?
Instruction:
You are very familiar
with this story by now, but in case you want to refer to it
for some examples, here is the link to the story "The
Ransom of Red Chief" by O.Henry.
To completely answer this prompt, you will write
an Extended Answer. It might be a good idea
to review the targets for an extended answer so you know the
expectations for a top score. Go to Rubrics, a tab
on the top navigation bar, and pull down to Extended Answer.
Sam is the narrator of the story
and tells his botched kidnapping tale from the first person
point of view. We know that because he uses "I."
The humor in the story is strong because we see the events
from Sam's eyes and get to know his confused thoughts and
exclamations.
Analyze how the story would be
different if it had been told from Red Chief's point of
view. Use two examples from the story to support your point
of view.
Quick
Review: Since
this is the first Extended Response you've completed for
this
review course, let's take just a minute to look at what is
expected and how you will score your writing. Click here
for a review >>
For this prompt about changing the
point of view to Red Chief's, what key elements will be needed
for a full four point answer?
You're correct if you listed these key elements:
analyze(take
the story apart and put it back together with your brain cells)the
differences in the story if Red Chief told it instead of Sam
two examples
to support your ideas
One more hint . . . ok two more hints . .
well, no more than three!
You probably have figured out that this question is asking
you to show you understand point of view in a story and
how it is important to the plot. Authors make a conscious choice
when they write a story about the narrator and the point of
view. In this story, there is a reason O.Henry chose Sam to
tell the story. The humor and irony are strengthened when we
hear Sam's own words about his experience. As you write, think
about humor, irony and character. Would the humor be different?
Would the irony be different? How would Red Chief describe Sam
and Bill? How would he describe himself and his part in the
story? Would he be the hero or the victim? Those are just some
things to think about as you write.
Here's the target you want to hit for a full four point score:
analyzes appropriate information and makes thoughtful connections
between parts of the story
develops thoughtful interpretations of the story by discussing
the changed point of view
uses ample (enough and lots of), relevant evidence (evidence
that makes sense) from the story to support ideas
Brainstorming your ideas with
a graphic organizer before you start writing will give you
a head start and make your writing sound more professional!
The
organizer might be a list, a web, a chart.
That's it. You're more than ready to write!!
Choose ONE of the following three options for writing your response.
1.
If Microsoft Word is available on your computer, this document allows you to type your answer, use spell check, save, copy/paste text, and/or print the page to turn in. << Click here to open a word form for your response.
2.
This file can be printed, and allows you to use your best penmanship (yes, real writing instead of typing), and turn it in to your teacher. << Click here to open a .pdf file for your response.
3.
If you are a student taking this class through IA, you will need to use this document for your response. Follow directions on your checklist to copy/paste into an e-mail. << Click here for the text.
To score your response, look at the criteria below
and evaluate where your response fits:
4 - Extensive (top notch, bullseye!)
3 - Basic (good, middle of target)
thoroughly (completely) analyzes important differences
in story when told from Red Chief's point of view
interpretation of the story shows insight
ample (more than enough) relevant (proving your idea)
examples from the story to support ideas
analyzes some differences in story when told
from Red Chief's point of view
interpretation of story is thoughtful
sufficient (enough) examples from the story to support
ideas
2 - Partial (needs practice, outer edge of
target)
1 - Minimal (try again, off target)
analyzes a difference or two in the story when told from
Red Chief's point of view
interpretations of the story are simple or right on the
surface
tries to use evidence from the story to support ideas,
but they may not be relevant (prove your idea).
difficulty analyzing differences in story when told from
Red Chief's point of view
retells story rather than interpreting
little or no evidence from the story included
If you scored 3 or 4, print the Word document for your teacher.
If you scored 1 or 2, figure out how to improve your writing.
What needs to be added to increase your score? Sometimes it
really helps to discuss it with a parent, friend or teacher.
Revise your Word doc, and then when you are satisfied with it,
rescore it and print for your teacher!
