Open Up - Grade 7 - ELA - Module 1 - Mid Unit 2 Assessment - Formative Library | Library

Part I 

Directions: Watch a clip (minutes 2:30–4:20) of the documentary God Grew Tired of Us three times.

• What are the main ideas? 
• How do you know? What are the supporting details? 
• Which questions from the Questions about A Long Walk to Water anchor chart are answered by this information? 

Take notes on this page as you watch, if you would like.

Second viewing: Answer the following questions.

Part A

Which of the following are the main ideas in this video clip? Select all that apply. (SL.7.2)

Before the war, southern Sudan was beautiful and abundant in food.

Before the war, the soil in southern Sudan was very rich.

Before the war, all of the children in southern Sudan looked after cattle for their parents.

The death rate during the war was very high, and many things were lost or destroyed.

SL.7.2

Which supporting details from the video clip best support the main ideas identified in Part A? Select all that apply. (SL.7.2)

Children took cattle to the water every afternoon to drink.

Two million people lost their lives due to the civil war.

The war started in 1983.

The land was beautiful and fertile

SL.7.2

Which of the following questions does this video clip answer? (SL.7.2)

What is the meaning behind tribal scars?

What was southern Sudan like for people before the war?

What happened to the girls in Sudan?

What changes have people in Sudan made in order to be able to live in the desert?

Part II 

Read the article “The Need” below. Then answer the questions that follow.

The Need
A basic need, a human right
South Sudan’s environment is starkly beautiful but harsh. It has just two seasons: one dramatically wet, the other dry. Daily temperatures often rise above 120°F during both seasons. During the rainy season, water is plentiful for villagers, their crops and their animals. But during the annual six-month dry season, life changes for the worst.

People are dying from water in remote villages of South Sudan
During the November-to-May dry season, most sources of surface water dry up. This forces millions of South Sudanese each year to leave their village homes in search for water. Some have to abandon their homes and move all together while others, usually women and children, are forced to trek miles every day to collect water from ponds, marshes, ditches, or hand-dug wells. This water is often contaminated with disease-causing parasites and bacteria. The results are pain, sickness, even death, especially among infants and children.

A constant search to satisfy a basic need
Villagers have no choice about what they drink. Water, however tainted, is needed to live. Villagers must relocate during the dry season to be near water sources. Only with the arrival of the next wet season can people return to their homes. This annual hunt for water prevents villages from building stable, basic infrastructure such as schools, markets, and medical clinics. Even when villages are able to build clinics or schools, the buildings can stay empty for up to six months a year because the dry season forces villagers to find water.

Walking hot, dusty miles to satisfy thirst
When women and children are forced to walk up to eight hours a day for water, they are unable to do anything else. This demanding, time-intensive regimen makes getting an education difficult if not impossible. This is why most children and especially women in South Sudan do not even have an elementary education.

Where safe, clean water flows, education, economic development, and health spring up. Safe water brings new hope and opportunities to South Sudan's people, empowering them to change their lives.

©2018 Water for South Sudan, Inc.  Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Use the text “The Need” to answer the following questions.

Part A 

Which of the following are central ideas in the article “The Need”? Select all that apply. (RI.7.2)

Clean, safe water is necessary to make life better for people in South Sudan.

During the dry season in South Sudan, the lack of water makes life challenging for the people.

Daily temperatures often rise above 120°F during both the rainy and dry seasons in South Sudan.

Water in South Sudan is often contaminated with disease-causing parasites and bacteria.

RL.7.2

Part B 

Underline the sentence in this paragraph that introduces one of the central ideas from Part A. (RI.7.1, RI.7.2)

South Sudan’s environment is starkly beautiful but harsh. It has just two seasons: one dramatically wet, the other dry. Daily temperatures often rise above 120°F during both seasons. During the rainy season, water is plentiful for villagers, their crops and their animals. But during the annual six-month dry season, life changes for the worst.

RL.7.2

RL.7.1

Write an objective summary of the article “The Need.” (RI.7.1, RI.7.2)

Be sure that your summary
• introduces the text with the title and “wraps up” with a concluding statement, 
• uses relevant events and important details from the text to explain what happens, and 
• is clear and concise.

RL.7.2

RL.7.1

Research to answer the following question by completing Part A and Part B below. You may use the article “The Need” above in addition to at least one more article you find online to answer this research question. (RI.7.1, W.7.7, W.7.8, W.7.9b)

Research question: Why does Nya have to spend so much time getting water?

Part A 

What are some internet search terms you can use for this question? (W.7.8):

W.7.8

Part B 

In the space below, design a note-catcher to capture research notes. (W.7.7, W.7.8)

Be sure to include space to quote or paraphrase the evidence to answer the question, to cite the source, to explain why you think the source is credible, and to record questions raised by reading the text.

W.7.7

W.7.8

Source: Open Up Resouces (Download for free at openupresources.org.)