Page 304 - SpringBoard_ELA_Grade6_Flipbook

play ball: Analyzing a Game of Life
AcTIvITy 4.8
Learning Targets
• Explain how a text’s structure contributes to the development of the theme in a written response.
• Analyze an author’s use of diction to create meaning and tone.
Preview
In this activity, you will read a short story and think about the theme.
Setting a Purpose for Reading
• As you read the short story, underline words and phrases that suggest emotion.
• Draw a star next to any evidence that the characters’ attitudes are changing.
• Circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.
About the Author
Judith Viorst is a journalist and an author who writes fiction and nonfiction for both adults and children. Her well-known and loved children’s classic Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and its sequels are based on the adventures of her own three sons.
Short Story
Word coNNecTIoNS
Etymology
The word southpaw is baseball slang for a left-handed pitcher. Originally baseball diamonds were laid out with home plate to the west, so left-handed pitchers’ pitching arms would be facing south when they stood on the pitching mound.
My Notes
by Judith Viorst Inning 1
Dear Richard,
Don’t invite me to your birthday party because I’m not coming. And give back the Disneyland sweatshirt I said you could wear. If I’m not good enough to play on your team, I’m not good enough to be friends with.
Your former friend, Janet
P.S. I hope when you go to the dentist he finds 20 cavities.
Unit 4 • The Final Act 277
LeArNING STrATeGIeS:
Previewing, Predicting, Marking the Text, Summarizing, Collaborative Discussion, Close Reading, Rereading, Brainstorming, Drafting
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