Out of the Dust - Lesson 27

Last updated over 2 years ago

5 questions

Instructions

1

L.6.5.a

RL.6.4

1

L.6.5.a

RL.6.4

1

RL.6.4

1

RL.6.3

1

RL.6.1

Library

Out of the Dust - Lesson 27

Last updated over 2 years ago

5 questions

Instructions

from “Something Lost, Something Gained”
from Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse

We talked as the train rocked,
as the cars creaked,
as the miles showed nothing but empty space,
we talked through the pink of the setting sun,
and into the dark.
I told him about Ma dying.
I told him about my father,
and how the thing that scared us both the most
was being left alone.
And now I’d gone and left him.
I told him about the piano,
and Arley Wanderdale,
and how I wasn’t certain of the date,
but I thought it might be my birthday,
but he was sleeping by then, I think.

He was like tumbleweed.
Ma had been tumbleweed too,
holding on for as long as she could,
then blowing away on the wind.

My father was more like the sod (1).
Steady, silent, and deep.
Holding on to life, with reserves underneath
to sustain (2) him, and me,
and anyone else who came near.
My father
stayed rooted, even with my tests (3) and my temper,
even with the double sorrow of
his grief and my own,
he had kept a home
until I broke it.

1 sod: Grass
2 sustain: Support
3 tests: Misbehavior

Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust. Scholastic, Inc., 1997, pp. 201–202.

1

L.6.5.a

RL.6.4

1

L.6.5.a

RL.6.4

1

RL.6.4

1

RL.6.3

1

RL.6.1

from “Something Lost, Something Gained”
from Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse

We talked as the train rocked,
as the cars creaked,
as the miles showed nothing but empty space,
we talked through the pink of the setting sun,
and into the dark.
I told him about Ma dying.
I told him about my father,
and how the thing that scared us both the most
was being left alone.
And now I’d gone and left him.
I told him about the piano,
and Arley Wanderdale,
and how I wasn’t certain of the date,
but I thought it might be my birthday,
but he was sleeping by then, I think.

He was like tumbleweed.
Ma had been tumbleweed too,
holding on for as long as she could,
then blowing away on the wind.

My father was more like the sod (1).
Steady, silent, and deep.
Holding on to life, with reserves underneath
to sustain (2) him, and me,
and anyone else who came near.
My father
stayed rooted, even with my tests (3) and my temper,
even with the double sorrow of
his grief and my own,
he had kept a home
until I broke it.

1 sod: Grass
2 sustain: Support
3 tests: Misbehavior

Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust. Scholastic, Inc., 1997, pp. 201–202.

What does Billie Jo mean when she writes that her father is “more like the sod”?

Just like grass holds onto the earth with its roots, her father remained reliable and strong after her mother’s death.

Just like grass blows different directions in the wind, her father could not decide what to do after her mother’s death.

Just like grass dries up without water, her father pulled away and stopped speaking after her mother’s death.

Just like grass does not stop growing until it is cut, her father couldn’t speak about the accident until Billie Jo brought up her mother’s death.

Read the following definition of reserves.

reserves (n.): Something kept for a particular purpose

Now read these lines from the passage.

“My father was more like the sod.
Steady, silent, and deep.
Holding on to life, with reserves underneath
to sustain him, and me,
and anyone else who came near.”

PART A: What do Billie Jo’s father’s reserves represent in this context?

his anger

his strength

his memories

his fears

PART B: What does the word reserves suggest about Billie Jo’s father?

He does not like to remember Billie Jo’s mother.

He has a difficult time opening up to Billie Jo.

He is strong enough to support both of them.

He has been scared that something will happen to Billie Jo next.

PART AA: Which statement describes Billie Jo’s response after talking to the man on the train?

She realizes she has more in common with her mother than her father.

She realizes her father is proud of her when she acts independently.

She realizes people are not meant to live in one place all their lives.

She realizes she has made decisions that will cause her father pain.

PART BB: Which two pieces of evidence best support this idea?

“as the miles showed nothing but empty space”

“And now I’d gone and left him.”

“I thought it might be my birthday”

“Ma had been a tumbleweed too”

What does Billie Jo mean when she writes that her father is “more like the sod”?

Just like grass holds onto the earth with its roots, her father remained reliable and strong after her mother’s death.

Just like grass blows different directions in the wind, her father could not decide what to do after her mother’s death.

Just like grass dries up without water, her father pulled away and stopped speaking after her mother’s death.

Just like grass does not stop growing until it is cut, her father couldn’t speak about the accident until Billie Jo brought up her mother’s death.

Read the following definition of reserves.

reserves (n.): Something kept for a particular purpose

Now read these lines from the passage.

“My father was more like the sod.
Steady, silent, and deep.
Holding on to life, with reserves underneath
to sustain him, and me,
and anyone else who came near.”

PART A: What do Billie Jo’s father’s reserves represent in this context?

his anger

his strength

his memories

his fears

PART B: What does the word reserves suggest about Billie Jo’s father?

He does not like to remember Billie Jo’s mother.

He has a difficult time opening up to Billie Jo.

He is strong enough to support both of them.

He has been scared that something will happen to Billie Jo next.

PART AA: Which statement describes Billie Jo’s response after talking to the man on the train?

She realizes she has more in common with her mother than her father.

She realizes her father is proud of her when she acts independently.

She realizes people are not meant to live in one place all their lives.

She realizes she has made decisions that will cause her father pain.

PART BB: Which two pieces of evidence best support this idea?

“as the miles showed nothing but empty space”

“And now I’d gone and left him.”

“I thought it might be my birthday”

“Ma had been a tumbleweed too”