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Wonders Unit 2, Week 5 Weekly Assessment

Last updated about 4 years ago
11 questions

All Hail King George!

I gasped in horrified surprise as my friend Grant walked into the drama room wearing the oddest headgear I had ever seen. He was grinning from ear to ear, and the many flaps of his black hat danced cheerfully as he moved his head and explained, “It’s the hat I’m going to wear in the play!”

“Grant, you’re playing Thomas Jefferson,” I replied reasonably. “That hat belongs in a Halloween parade, not at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”

When I was first offered the opportunity to write and direct our class play, I was excited. I wanted to show that the Declaration of Independence is a living, breathing document, as relevant today as it was when it was signed. I had not anticipated the headaches involved in getting my actors to bring my vision to life.

“We can talk about the hat later, George,” said Grant. “Right now, I want to discuss some changes I think we should make in scene 5.”

“The script is precisely perfect the way I wrote it,” I interrupted, “and you need to remember that your job is to act the words exactly as they were written by the playwright—me!”

Just then Sondrae, who was playing Benjamin Franklin, wandered in. “Hey, George, did you look at the alterations Grant made to scene 5? We worked on them together last night.”

“Why doesn’t anyone understand that this play is not a democracy?” I yelled in frustration. “It’s your responsibility to do what I say because I’m the director!”

Grant and Sondrae glanced at each other with eyebrows raised. “We’ll let you cool down a little,” Grant said soothingly.

As the two of them left the room, Grant muttered to Sondrae, “This director job is really going to his head. Who does he think he is—King George?”

“He has a point about the hat, though,” I heard her reply.

The next day, as rehearsal time approached, the weather seemed to be responding to my stormy mood. The skies darkened to a deep gray, while the wind picked up and thunder approached with an angry grumble.

Dreading more disagreements about the script, I entered the drama room. Just inside the door, I stopped in surprise at the scene outlined by the dim, gloomy light. My director’s chair had been decorated as an elaborate throne and all of the actors stood on either side of it in costume, reciting a poem.

All hail King George!
Did you not hear?
Democracy does not live here.
For we must act our parts,
And refrain
From finding reason
To complain.

But King George,
Did you not forget
The lines you wrote,
The scenes you set?
Democracy for one and all.
And in this play
A king will fall!

It may have been a little dramatic, but the poem certainly got its point across.

Grant handed me a rolled-up scroll, and when I opened it, sure enough it was the Declaration of Independence. Several sentences were highlighted. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” I read, and also, “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it.” The words on the page pointed a finger right at me.

“Well, I guess I did get a little carried away with the directing,” I admitted.

“People have to be able to make decisions for themselves and vote on making changes that matter to them,” said Sondrae.

“You’re right,” I answered firmly, “and here’s our first vote: how many people say Grant should get rid of that ridiculous hat?”

All the hands in the room went up. Our first vote as a democracy was a success!
1

Part A: Read the sentence from the passage.

I wanted to show that the Declaration of Independence is a living, breathing document, as relevant today as it was when it was signed.

Why does the narrator compare the Declaration of Independence to a person?

2

Part B: Which two words in the sentence make the Declaration of Independence seem alive?

2

Select two results that the author achieves by telling the story from George's point of view.

1

Read the sentence from the passage.

The words on the page pointed a finger right at me.

What does the phrase "pointed a finger right at me" suggest about George?

1

Part A: What is the theme of this passage?

1

Part B: Which sentence from the passage best supports the theme?

All hail King George!
Did you not hear?
Democracy does not live here.
For we must act our parts,
And refrain
From finding reason
To complain.

But King George,
Did you not forget
The lines you wrote,
The scenes you set?
Democracy for one and all.
And in this play
A king will fall!
1

Read the poem above.

A central message in the passage in that the Declaration of Independence is still important today. Which line from the poem best supports this message?

1

Which word has the opposite meaning of the word forlorn?

1

What does the word commemorate mean?

1

Which word has almost the same meaning as the word majestic?

1

What does the word contemplate mean?