What is the ‘achievement gap’? what does the essays author, malcolm gladwell, think schools should do to remedy the achievement gap? support your answer with text evidence.

Wichita mourning david matherne pipe organs—dusty and tarnished— bellowed the ancient song, as movers carried the pews for one last time. frozen branches—heavy with ice arms— 5 couldn’t perform their dance, as workmen shuffled inside the worn-out floors. sally richards—broken and mourning— watched while her father left, 10 as painters brought in their cans for the first time. stained-glass windows—buckled and broken— surveyed commotion’s cause as commerce won in the end 15 yet one more time. reverend richards—feeble and finished— cried as his exit was lost on christians who worshiped the dime; a change of the times. 20 which of these best summarizes the author's style in this poem? a) each of the five stanzas contains internal rhyme and consistent rhythm. b) each of the five stanzas contains an end rhyme describing a different character. c) each of the five stanzas contains assonance followed by a dash, then a description of the old church. d) each of the five stanzas introduces a character followed by a dash, then a description of that character. 3) in the first line of each stanza, the author follows the pattern of a noun followed by a pair of adjectives. what is the purpose of this pattern? a) the author hopes to create a peaceful feeling for the readers. b) the object and its adjectives are used to create a sense of progress. c) the author uses the pattern to create vivid pictures in the reader's mind. d) the author uses the pattern of man and nature to show the impact of this event.

Frequently the subject of blues songs has to do with some challenge or problem faced by the writer. everyone faces personal challenges. sometimes music us deal with these problems. do you know of times when music has you or people that you know cope with difficult situations? think about your life experiences and challenges or the experiences of someone you know. then write your own twelve-bar blues song that describes one such experience that you or another person has had. your blues song should have three verses. you may write a fourth verse for extra credit. each verse you write should have three phases and should be written in call-and-response form. the first two phases of each verse should describe the experience, challenge, or problem and should act as your “call” phrases. the third phrase should describe the solution to your challenge or problem, or the next step in your story, and should act as your “response” phrase. review “sneaker blues” to see an example of a call-and-response song with three verses. “sneaker blues” my sneakers got a hole and my feet are killing me; my sneakers got a hole and my feet are killing me; i’m gonna get my sneakers fixed just you wait and see. the man said twenty dollars; you have got to be kidding me; the man said twenty dollars; you have got to be kidding me; twenty dollars is what he said, i might have to let them be. the hole in my sneakers is getting bigger every day; the hole in my sneakers is getting bigger every day; twenty dollars is what he said, that’s what i’ll have to pay. write your song title and verses as the answers to the questions. after you have written your song, try putting it to music using one of the online music samples. original twelve-bar blues song (2 points) score 1. title(6 points) score 2. verse 1line 1: line 2: line 3: (6 points) score 3. verse 2 line 1: line 2: line 3: (6 points) score 4. verse 3 line 1: line 2: line 3:

Read the passage. when mother’s fever persisted for a week, father summoned our family doctor. dr. blakemore applied leeches to mother’s skin in hopes of reducing the amount of blood in her body. despite the doctor’s efforts, she languished in bed for three more days before her appetite returned and she requested a thin broth. our dear cook, mrs. davis, prepared the broth and delivered it to my mother directly, eager to ease her discomfort. what can readers infer about the time period of the passage?