CAHSEE ELA Problem of the Day --Week 6

CAHSEE ELA Problem of the Day --Week 6 

Teacher Notes 

Week & Day: Week 6—Day 1 

Concept/Skill: Poetry: Theme and Mood 

Standards: 

Literary Analysis 3.5: Compare works that express a universal theme and provide 

evidence to support the ideas expressed in each work. 

Materials: CAHSEE Released Items: “The Courage That My Mother Had” pp. 29-30, 

Questions 33 and 35 

1. Review the following information about theme from the CAHSEE Problem of the 

Day Lessons for Week 1, Day 3: 

Problem of the Day Review: Week 1, Day 3 

Theme is the central idea or insight about human life revealed by a work of 

literature. A theme must be expressed in a statement and must be universal, 

meaning it must apply to all people. For example, one of the themes of “Romeo 

and Juliet” could be stated, “It is impossible to escape your fate.” 

2. Have students read the poem “The Courage That My Mother Had” on the student 

handout and answer question 33. 

3. The answer for 33 is A: “Personal strengths are more important than valuable 

objects.” The speaker longs for her mother’s courage rather any other material 

inheritance (lines 9-12). 

4. Remind students that mood is often closely related to theme. The mood is the 

atmosphere projected by the literary text. Words that describe mood might 

include, frightening, somber, comical, or peaceful. 

5. Have students answer question 35 which asks about the mood of the poem. 

6. The answer to 35 is A: The mood is one of “admiration and longing.” The 

speaker admires the mother and longs for the courage her mother had. 

K. Berger Fall 2007 

SAUSD, Educational Services Week 6 – Teacher - Page 1 of 5


Teacher Notes 


Concept/Skill: Poetry: Tone 

Standards: Literary Analysis 3.9: Explain how voice, persona, and the choice of a narrator 

affect characterization and the tone, plot, and credibility of a text. 

Materials: CAHSEE Released Items: “The Courage That My Mother Had” pp. 29-30, 

Question 34 

1. Review the following information about tone from the CAHSEE Problem of the 

Day Lessons for Week 1, Day 1.: 


The tone of the text is the attitude the author or narrator takes towards a subject, 

a character, or the reader. 

2. Have students complete question 34 which asks students to find the phrase which 

best conveys the tone of the poem. 

3. The answer to 34 is B: “Oh, if instead she left to me.” This is the only answer 

choice which conveys the tone of sadness and longing. 

4. Ask students what tone is conveyed in the other answer choices. (Answers A and 

D reflect a tone of admiration of the mother’s strength. Answer C does not seem 

to convey any tone, although students may interpret this quote as nostalgic.) 

Note: Students may ask about the difference between tone and mood. Although 

these two literary elements are similar, they are still distinct from one another. For 

example, a horror story, such as “Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Alan Poe, may have 

a mood of horror; however, the tone, or the attitude of the narrator, may be quite 

detached or matter-of-fact. 




Teacher Notes 


Concept/Skill: Poetry: Stanzas and Repetition 

Standards: Literary Analysis 3.10: Identify and describe the function of dialogue, scene designs, 

soliloquies, asides, and character foils in dramatic literature. 

Materials: CAHSEE Released Items: “I’ve Watched” pp.31-32, Question 36 

1. Tell students that poetry is usually organized in units called stanzas. Ask 

students to preview the poem “I’ve Watched.” Ask them how many stanzas the 

poem has and how many lines are in each stanza. (There are 6 stanzas with 4 

lines each.) 

2. Review the concept of repetition in poetry. Tell students that poets often repeat 

words and phrases to emphasize their importance. Repetition is also frequently 

used as a sound device. 

3. Have students preview question 36 which asks about the organization of the 

poem. Tell them they should pay attention to any examples of repetition in the 

poem. After reading the poem, students should go back and answer the question. 

4. The answer for question 36 is B: The poem includes 5 stanzas of observation and 

1 of conclusion. 

5. Ask students which words are repeated in the first line of stanzas 1-5. ( The words 

are “I’ve Watched.”). These words reinforce the emphasis on observation in 

those stanzas) 

6. Finally ask students what conclusion is offered in the last stanza. (The speaker 

concludes that even after all his intense watching, he is still no closer to solving 

nature’s mysteries.) 




Teacher Notes 


Concept/Skill: Poetry: Theme 

Standards: 

Literary Analysis 3.3: Analyze interactions between main and subordinate characters in a 

literary text (e.g., internal and external conflicts, motivations, relationships, influences) and 

explain the way those interactions affect the plot. 

Literary Analysis 3.5: Compare works that express a universal theme and provide 

evidence to support the ideas expressed in each work. 

Materials: CAHSEE Released Items: “I’ve Watched” pp.31-32, Questions 38 and 39 

1. Question 39 deals with the theme of the poem “I’ve Watched.” Since the theme 

is very similar to the conclusion the speaker makes in the last stanza (Question 

36), have students think back to that question and refer to the last stanza before 

answering 39. 

2. Have students answer Question 39. 

3. The answer for 39 is C: “Nature remains a mystery, regardless of our 

observations.” 

4. Next, have students preview question 38. Have them try to guess the answer 

before referring to the text. After they have guessed, have them reread the text to 

confirm their answer choice. 

5. The answer for 38 is D: “The fishermen’s knowledge of the sea does not 

guarantee them safety.” 

6. Ask how many students guessed the correct answer for 36 before looking at the 

text. Point out that this answer supports the theme of the poem. No matter how 

much experience the sailor has on the sea, he never can understand its deepest 

mysteries. 




Teacher Notes 


Concept/Skill: Poetry: Figurative Word Meanings, Contextual Clues 

Standards: Word Analysis 1.2. Distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words 

and interpret the connotative power of words. 

Materials: CAHSEE Released Items: “I’ve Watched” pp.31-32, Questions 37 

1. Review figurative language which was introduced in the Problem of the Day, Week 1, 

Day 5. 


Figurative Language: Language which cannot be understood on a literal level. “That boy has a real 

chip on his shoulder.” 

Simile: A comparison using like or as. “Her eyes were as blue as the ocean.” 

Metaphor: A direct comparison. “My brother’s room was an absolute pigsty.” 

Implied Metaphor: A metaphor where the comparison between the two things is implied instead of 

directly stated. “The greedy landlord slithered out of the building.” (The landlord is implicitly 

compared to a snake.) 

Personification: A type of metaphor where nonliving things are given human qualities. “The bell 

screamed that it was the end of the school day.” 

2. Explain that sometimes a figurative meaning might be implied by only one word. 

3. Have students answer question 37 paying attention to the word lashed. 

4. The answer is D: “The word lashed suggests that the ocean is being whipped.” 

5. Ask the students how the wind could whip the ocean. They might say the wind is 

violently striking the ocean or that the wind is personified. 

6. Have students go back to the poem (lines 18-20) to look for contextual clues 

which support this answer. The context suggests that the wind is something 

violent which “makes a fool out of fisherman.” Therefore, students could have 

eliminated answers A (soothed) and C (sailed). The wind could possible trouble 

(answer B) the ocean, but if so, how would this endanger the fisherman? 

7. Before closing, point out how all of the questions for this poem are all related to 

the big idea or theme. Students should look for these relationships when 

answering the questions. Seeing the relationships between questions may provide 

them with clues for finding the correct answer.

CAHSEE ELA Problem of the Day --Week 6

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