Grade 6 Mini-Assessment “The Curse of the Poisoned Pretzel ...

1 1 Grade 6 Mini-Assessment The Curse of the Poisoned Pretzel from Two Hot Dogs with Everything by Paul Haven This Grade 6 Mini-Assessment is based on The Curse of the Poisoned Pretzel . This text is worthy of students time to read and also meets the expectations for text complexity at Grade 6. Assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will employ quality, complex texts such as this one. Questions aligned to the CCSS should be worthy of students time to answer and therefore do not focus on minor points of the texts. Several standards may be addressed within the same question because complex texts tend to yield rich assessment questions that call for deep analysis. In this Mini-Assessment there are six questions that address the Reading Standards below and one constructed-response question that addresses Reading, Writing, and Language Standards.

2 We encourage educators to give students the time that they need to read closely and write to sources. While we know that it is helpful to have students complete the Mini-Assessment in one class period, we encourage educators to allow additional time as is necessary. Note for teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs): This assessment is designed to measure students ability to read and write in English. Therefore, educators will not see the level of scaffolding typically used in instructional materials to support ELLs these would interfere with the ability to understand their mastery of these skills. If ELL students are receiving instruction in Grade -level ELA content, they should be given access to unaltered practice assessment items to gauge their progress. Passages and items should not be modified; however, additional information about accommodations you may consider when administering this assessment to ELLs is available in the teacher section of this resource.

3 The questions align to the following standards: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments. Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone. 2 Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot. Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

4 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. 3 Contents Grade 6 Mini-Assessment The Curse of the Poisoned Pretzel : Print for students ..4 Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses of the Text .. 13 Correct Answers, Standards, and Distractor Rationales.

5 15 Using the Mini-Assessments with English Language 19 Additional Resources for Assessment and CCSS Implementation .. 22 The assessment questions in this document align with the CCSS and reflect the instructional shifts implied by the standards. To learn more about these topics, please go to the following link: 4 Grade 6 Mini-Assessment The Curse of the Poisoned Pretzel Today you will read a story that introduces the reader to the fictional Sluggers baseball team. You will then answer several questions based on the text. I will be happy to answer questions about the directions, but I will not help you with the answers to any questions. You will notice as you answer the questions that some of the questions have two parts. You should answer Part A of the question before you answer Part B, but you may go back and change your answer to Part A if you want to.

6 Take as long as you need to read and answer the questions. If you do not finish when class ends, come see me to discuss the ways you may have additional time. Now read the passage and answer the questions. I encourage you to write notes in the margin as you read the passage. Excerpt from The Curse of the Poisoned Pretzel from Two Hot Dogs with Everything by Paul Haven (1) In the history of baseball, no team had tormented its fans with more gut-wrenching defeats and wasted promise than the Sluggers. And in the history of rooting for baseball, no fans had been more devoted than Sluggers fans. Every bad bounce, every lopsided trade, every bitter loss, all were stamped onto the hearts of Sluggers fans decade after frustrating decade until misfortune became a part of them. Any of them could reel off a list of the team s most famous failures. There were the Phantom Strikeout of 1907, the Snowed-Out Summer of 1934, the Triple-Play Tragedy of 1967.

7 The first had broken the heart of Danny s great-grandfather Zechariah Gurkin, the second had crushed the spirit of his grandpa Ebenezer, and the third still brought tears to the eyes of Danny s parents, Harold and Lydia. (2) In fact, in the 108 years since an immigrant bubble-gum tycoon named Manchester E. Boddlebrooks founded the team, the Sluggers had won only one championship, and that was in their very first year. Even that glorious season, as Danny or any other Sluggers fan could tell you, was tainted by tragedy. 5 (3) It all started in the smoky clubhouse after the Sluggers won the World Series. At the time, all the players wore baggy wool pants and very small caps on their heads, and the gentlemen in the stands wore fancy top hats and had pointy mustaches that curled up at the ends like bicycle handlebars. Nobody realized how silly they looked because it was so many years ago.

8 (4) Boddlebrooks wasn t just any bubble-gum tycoon. He was the type of bubble-gum tycoon people noticed. He weighed nearly three hundred pounds and had big, bushy sideburns and a kind smile. More than anything else, Boddlebrooks loved baseball, and he loved owning the Sluggers. He handed out gum and sweets to the players after most games, and on weekends he even let them come to his mansion outside town. The mansion was painted all red, the color of Boddlebrooks s most favorite flavor of gum, Winning-Streak Watermelon. It had a fountain in the back that spouted bubble-gum-flavored soda and a giant hot-air balloon that looked like the biggest bubble ever blown. (5) Everyone loved Boddlebrooks. Everyone, that is, except his younger brother, Skidmore. (6) Skidmore C. Boddlebrooks was thin and wiry. He always wore a black overcoat and hats that were slightly too big for him, so his eyes were hidden in shadow.

9 In fact, nobody could ever remember seeing Skidmore Boddlebrooks s eyes at all. He gave everyone the creeps. (7) Why Skidmore hated his brother so much was anybody s guess, but most people thought it had something to do with the fact that he was violently allergic to bubble gum. Skidmore saw his brother s sweet, chewable candies as a personal insult. The fame and riches the gum brought Manchester made it even worse. (8) On the night the Sluggers won the championship, as Manchester and all his players were celebrating in the clubhouse, Skidmore crept up to his brother and pulled something out from beneath his jacket. 6 (9) Here, try this, Skidmore said, revealing an enormous doughy concoction. It s a new snack food I ve been working on. I call it a Pretzel . (10) Now, Manchester was an educated man with a passion for junk food, so he was well aware that the Pretzel had been invented more than a thousand years before by a lonely European monk named Ralph who had a lot of time on his hands.

10 But he didn t want to embarrass his brother by pointing that out, and he had to admit, he had never seen a Pretzel like the one Skidmore had concocted, as big as a man s face and oozing with mustard. (11) Years later, Skidmore s creation would become the standard ballpark Pretzel , sold by screaming teenage vendors in every ballpark around the country. Every ballpark except one, that is. Out of respect, no Pretzel has ever been sold at a Sluggers game because of what happened next. (12) Hmm, what a strange idea, said Boddlebrooks, his eyes twinkling with excitement at the Sluggers great victory. (13) But no sooner had he taken a bubble-gum-tycoon-sized bite out of the Pretzel than Boddlebrooks raised his hands to his mouth, turned purple, and fell over dead, his enormous body crashing down on young Lou Smegny, the Sluggers lanky star shortstop, who never played another game.