Think Questions – Sample
This is what it takes to get an A.
Aim to write responses like this – couched, detailed, etc.!
1: Use specific details from the second paragraph to write two or three sentences summarizing why Nicholas Gage came to the United States.:
Nicholas Gage came to the United States in the March of 1949 to escape his home country of Greece. In paragraph 2, it says his mother had died and been tortured by Communist guerrillas allowing him and his siblings to escape. They had come to the United States to be free and join their father, their mother pushing them to do so.
2: Refer to specific details from the text to support your understanding of how Nicholas Gage first met Marjorie Hurd. What does he mean in paragraph 7 when he says, “I was soon under Miss Hurd’s spell”?:
In paragraph 7 Nicholas says, "I was soon under Miss Hurd's spell", this meant that he would follow whatever she would direct him to do, and held her in a state of awe or respect. I believe this because a line in the writing reads, "Soon I asked the principal to transfer me to her English class as well." (7) Gage had understood, liked and respected Miss Hurd enough to want to join her class. She was a teacher who took Gage, and her job, seriously. She was no-nonsense, formidable, taught him journalism skills and English structure/writing, and lastly made him proud of his Greek origins. His listing of the various ways Miss Hurd helped and was, in his mind, awe-inspiring, further backs up my claim of the quote in paragraph 7 meaning he would follow her to the ends of the earth, 'under her spell'. His first impression of her, yelling at the kids goofing around probably contributed to Gage's idea that she was not to be messed with.
3: What does Miss Hurd ask Gage to write about? In what way is the assignment a turning point in his life? Cite textual evidence from paragraphs 8-12 to support your response.:
In paragraph 8 it states, "One day, after discussing that writers should write about what they know, she assigned us to compose an essay from our own experience," and Miss Hurd had asked Gage to write about what had happened to his family in Greece. This assignment had been a pivotal point in Gage's life, opening up many experiences and opportunities to him. Him writing about his experience allowed Gage to deal with the pain of his past properly, and have his classmates truly understand and accept him. "I saw that my classmates had reacted with sypathy and tact to my familiy story." (11) In paragraphs 11, 12, and 13 Gage, from that one assignment won awards and learned about the power of the written word. Gage got from the power of his words, had met (along with his father) the president as it states in paragraph 14/15. As you can tell this assignment led to a great beginning of Gage's life as an accepted writer.
4: Use context to determine the meaning of the wordmentoras it is used in paragraph 5 in"The Teacher Who Changed My Life."Write your definition of “mentor” and tell how you determined its meaning. Check your meaning in context and then confirm it in a print or digital dictionary.:
My definition of mentor would be, "someone who teaches their ways, gives advice and helps another less experienced." I determined this because Gage had described his teacher Miss Hurd as his mentor, and in later paragraphs said she had helped him understand the English language and hone his skills in journalism. This means Miss Hurd taught Gage about something she knew very much about, a wizened mentor and her student. Although my definition may be right in context, the actual meaning of mentor is, close to mine, "someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person" from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
5: Use the context clues provided in the passage to determine the meaning of the wordcatalystas it is used in paragraph 21 in"The Teacher Who Changed My Life."Write your definition of “catalyst” and tell how you figured out the meaning of the word.:
Although I do not know of the actual meaning of catalyst, I though it meant someone who helps or causes an event/good happening. I though of this from the context, "She was
the catalyst that sent me into journalism and indirectly caused all the good things that came after. " (21) From this I knew catalyst couldn't be a mean or rude thing to call a person, and saying she was the catalyst meant it was a noun a something. I believe that the catalyst was a good something/one that had to cause something great from the text.