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2018 MCAS
Grade 6 English Language Arts
Question 24

Idea Development - Score Point 4

The essay contains a clear and well-developed central idea connecting how Rinko and the speaker feel both ashamed and different because of their heritage. Evidence is effectively included to support the central idea. The essay explains how Rinko "was a[s]hamed of the way that her mom spoke," so she tore up a note about a PTA meeting that she was supposed to give her mother. The speaker in the poem "talks about living between two cultures and [the] fact that in America she is not like anybody else, she feels alone." A clear expression of ideas and effective organization is evidenced by showing how each character is influenced by a family member who helps her changes her mind about her heritage. The conclusion makes reference to a general sense of feeling different, but being equal to others: "Everyone is different, but all equal in different ways, no one is nothing and they should never feel as though they are." There is full awareness of the task.

Standard English Conventions - Score Point 3

The essay shows consistent control of Standard English conventions for grammar, usage, and mechanics. It uses a variety of sentence structures relative to length and complexity for this grade level.
Answer for Idea Development Score Point 4, and Standard English Conventions Score Point 3 Both Rinko in A Jar of Dreams and the speaker in Somewhere Among feel ashamed and different because of their heritage. Rinko and the speaker both express in the poem and the story, that they are not happy with being different and that they do not like being in America because they are different. In the story A Jar of Dreams Rinko, the main character, feels upset and ashamed about her family and her heritage. In the story, while taking of her kimono with her Aunt Waka, she tells her about her struggles at school and outside of the house. One of the stories that she told her aunt was one about a PTA note that she was supposed to bring home to her mom so that she could go to a meeting. But, becuase she was ahamed of the way that her mom spoke, she ripped it up and never told her. She also told her aunt that she feels ashamed at school because the boys make fun of her and the girls make her feel left out. When Rinko told Aunt Waka this, Aunt Waka told her a similar story about then she was younger. She said that she understand how she feels because her friend used to tease her. But she also tells Rinko that she shouldn't be ashamed of her heritage, that it is what make her different and that that is a good thing. In the story A Jar of Dreams, the main character Rinko feels ashamed of her heritage and how different she is. But her aunt changes her mind about that, because her aunt is wise and knows that no one should be ashamed of what makes them different. A similar thing happened in the poem Somewhere Among, the speaker in this story is also Japanese and American. Throughout the poem the speaker talks about being half American and half Japanese and living between two worlds. The speaker also talks about living between two cultures and that fact that in America she is not like anybody else, she feels alone. But just like in A Jar of Dreams, she has an incredible relative that changes her mind. Her Uncle Bob, an amazing, kind man, sees that the speaker is upset with the way she is living and sees that she doesn't like feeling like this. So he gives her a NASA pen and tells her all about Japanese astronauts and what they did. In lines 59- 64 of the poem, it says, I can make a mark no matter what the NASA pen will work if I'm upside down, underwater or in space. Under any pressure. These lines are very inspiring to the speaker. Their Uncle Bob always told them that, because her knew their true potential. In the poem Somewhere Among, the speaker feels alone and upset, until one man, just one man changes that and changes her life forever. Rinko and the speaker both express in the poem and the story, that they are not happy with being different and that they do not like being in America because they are different. The people in the story and the poem might be different people, but they experience something very similar. None of the events that haooened in the story or the poem should happen to anyone. Everyone is different, but all equal in different ways, no one is nothing nd they should never feel as though they are.



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