Standardized Testing and Reporting - STAR

Literary Response and Analysis (Performance Level: Proficient) – Question 01

Read the next two stories. Think about how these stories are the same and how they
are different.
 

Story 1: The Drum — A Tale from India

1    Long ago in India, a boy named Sonu and his mother were
walking home from the market. Along the way, Mother stopped
and picked up a stick. “Here is a fine stick, Sonu,” she said. “I’m
sorry it is not a drum. I know that you have been wishing for
one.”

2    “Thank you, Mother,” said Sonu, taking the long piece of wood.
He knew that she would buy him a drum if she had the money.

3    Soon they met a woman who was trying to start a fire. Her fire
would not light. “Here,” said Sonu, handing her his stick. The
woman used the stick to start the fire. Then she gave Sonu a chapati, a round, flat bread.

4    Next Sonu and his mother met a man and a little girl. The girl was hungry, so Sonu gave her
his bread. “Here, take this drum,” said the man. “Someone gave it to my daughter, but she
doesn’t need it.”

CSR0P006

Story 2: The Blue Feather — A Tale from Brazil

1    Mia lived by the great Amazon River. One day her mother gave her a pretty blue feather.

2    Mia wanted to show the feather to her friend Nali. She put the feather
in her basket and told her mother where she was going. Nali lived
nearby in a hut by the river.

3    Walking on the path along the river, Mia saw a red flower. As she bent
to pick up the flower, the wind blew the blue feather up into the air!
Mia could not catch the feather. She sighed and put the red flower in
her basket.

4    Then a yellow butterfly flew in front of Mia. Running to catch the
butterfly, Mia dropped her basket. The red flower fell out, and the
wind carried it out onto the river.

5    Mia sighed and picked up her basket. Looking up, Mia saw the yellow butterfly land on a
branch where there was a bluebird. The bluebird flew away, dropping one of its beautiful
blue feathers near Mia’s feet!

6    Happily, Mia picked up the feather and hurried to her friend’s house.

CRR0P006

In BOTH stories, a child is

A   lonely.

B   playful.

C   lucky.

D   funny.

Results

1. 18% of students gave this response.
2. 15% of students gave this response.
3. 60% of students gave this response. (Correct Response)
4. 6% of students gave this response.

Note: Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.