1 Plath Packet

PACKET #1
CONTEMPORARY WRITERS PACKET Points: ____ / 55
FEATURED WRITER: SYLVIA PLATH – POET
CHECK LIST:
□ _____/6 Completed Study Guide

□ _____/4 Vocabulary Development
□ _____/6 Drawing Conclusions worksheet
□ _____/4 Analyzing Personification Graphic Organizer
□ _____/20 “Mirror” / “Mushrooms” Selection Test
□ _____/15 Personification / Imagery Poem
TURN IN THIS COMPLETED PACKET IN ON
DUE DATE:______________________________________
OBJECTIVE: Students will learn literary elements definitions and begin to apply them to reading and
their own writing. Students will also read and comprehend Contemporary American writing, the basis for
such writing, as well as learn and apply new vocabulary words.
Academic Standards: 1.1.11A Learning to Read Independently

1.1.11E Establish a reading vocabulary
1.1.11F Understand the meaning of and apply key vocabulary words
1.1.11H Demonstrate fluency and comprehension in reading
1.2.11C Produce work in a literary genre
1.3.11A Read and understand works of literature
1.3.11B Analyze relationships, uses, and effectiveness of literary elements
1.3.11C Analyze the effectiveness of author’s use of literary devices
1.3.11F Read and respond to nonfiction and fiction, including poetry and drama
1.3.11A Write short stories, poems and plays
1.5.11D Write with a command of the stylistic aspects of composition
STUDY GUIDE / INSTRUCTIONS
CONTEMPORARY WRITERS: SYLVIA PLATH, read page 1338.
►NAME TWO INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SYLVIA PLATH:
1._______________________________________________________________
2._______________________________________________________________
►VOCABULARY:
contemporary _______________________________________________
preconceptions _______________________________________________
agitation _______________________________________________
connotations _______________________________________________
►LITERARY ELEMENTS:
personification
_______________________________________________
imagery _______________________________________________
►READING: “Mirror” – page 1340
“Mushrooms” – page 1342
►WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Cut out a non-human picture from one of the

magazines and tape it in the box. Write a poem giving your picture human qualities with
personification. Use at least two examples of imagery and highlight them. Your poem
must be at least eight (8) lines long. It does not have to rhyme, but each line must be at
least five words or more.
RUBRIC: _____/8 8 lines (1 point per line)
_____/4 at least two examples of imagery are highlighted
_____/3 personification is explained
TOTAL: _____/15
Unit 6: Collection 18
Vocabulary Development SKILL BUILDER
Mirror Sylvia Plath

Activity 1: Exploring Deeper Meanings
Choose the statement that provides an accurate example of the meaning of each
vocabulary word.
1. agitation
A) The cat leaped up and caught the bird without making a sound.
B) The neighbor’s irritation at the cat could be heard all over the neighborhood when
he started screaming, “Scat, scat, scat!”
2. preconceptions
A) Jane discovered that the opinions she had formed in advance of meeting the well-
known diva were unfounded.
B) When she met the headstrong and self-centered actress, Jane formed an opinion
that was not flattering.
Activity 2: Changing Contexts

Each vocabulary word from “Mirror” is used in the following sentences. Fill in each
word where it best fits the context.
Example Tess approached the new school year with an open mind and no
preconceptions of what it might bring.
agitation preconceptions
3. Terri’s _______________________ about football players led her to expect that the
quarterback would not be very intelligent.
4. Riku’s _______________________ turned to anger as he realized he would not be

allowed to speak in his own defense.
Selection Reading Focus GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
Mirror Sylvia Plath

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS ABOUT MEANING As you read, use the web below to list
what you think the writer wants you to see and feel in the poem. Use an additional
sheet of paper if necessary.
AFTER YOU READ What conclusions can you draw about the real subject of
“Mirror”? Is it really about a mirror? Explain. Use a separate sheet of paper if
necessary.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Collection 18 Student Edition pages 1338–1343

Graphic Organizer ANALYZING PERSONIFICATION
Mirror / Mushrooms Sylvia Plath
Personification Diagram When writers give an object human abilities or characteristics,
they are using personification. This figure of speech helps readers see things in new ways.
Read Plath’s poems and then fill in the organizer below with the human parts and
abilities that Plath gives to the mirror and the mushrooms.
Parts of the Human Human Actions

Body
Mirror
Mushroom
Selection Test READING AND LITERATURE
Mirror Sylvia Plath

Mushrooms Sylvia Plath
COMPREHENSION Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
1. According to line 2 of “Mirror,” what does the mirror do with whatever it sees?
A) Shows love and dislike
B) Makes it a part of itself
C) Swallows it
D) Makes it look young and beautiful
2. Which of the following claims does the mirror make about itself?
A) It is not cruel, only truthful.
B) It can allow people to see what they want to see.
C) It is something that people do not really see.
D) It is lonely and neglected.
3. When the woman in “Mirror” sees her reflection, she—

A) becomes agitated and upset
B) realizes that she must forget her past
C) decides to polish the mirror’s surface
D) is reminded of her grandmother
4. At the end of “Mirror,” the woman sees—

A) a young girl playing happily
B) the person she wants to become
C) goldfish in a tank
D) herself growing older
5. Who sees the mushrooms grow?

A) Only people who stay up late at night
B) People who betray them
C) No one
D) Strangers who have opened the door
Unit 6: Collection 18, Selection Test continued
6. Which of the following lines in “Mushrooms” contains an allusion to a Biblical

passage?
A) “Our kind multiplies:”
B) “The small grains make room.”
C) “Nobody sees us, / Stops us, betrays us;”
D) “We shall by morning / Inherit the earth.”
7. In both “Mirror” and “Mushrooms” the speakers—

A) are the same as the poet
B) are not the same as the poet
C) are clearly named
D) do not use the pronoun I
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Write T or F next to each statement to tell whether

it is true or false.
_______ 8. A man who has no preconceptions about people he has not met has not formed
any opinions about them.
_______ 9. The washing machine vibrated because of the agitation of the clothes during the
wash cycle.
LITERARY FOCUS Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
10. Which of the following descriptions from “Mirror” is an example of personification?

A) “Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.”
B) “Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.”
C) “. . . in me an old woman / Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.”
D) “She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.”
Unit 6: Collection 18, Selection Test continued
11. The tone of “Mirror” is best described as—

A) detached
B) amused
C) harsh
D) caring
12. One of the ways that the mushrooms in “Mushrooms” are personified is that they—
A) are edible
B) talk quietly
C) diet
D) grow
13. The tone of “Mushrooms” is best described as—

A) sorrowful
B) fierce
C) hopeful
D) playful
READING FOCUS Circle the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
14. From the phrase “In me she has drowned a young girl,” you can conclude that the
woman in “Mirror”—
A) has killed a young girl
B) witnessed a drowning when she was young
C) is growing older
D) was beautiful when she was young
15. One of the main ideas in “Mushrooms” is that—

A) quiet people have a lot of strength
B) quiet people eat a great deal
C) quiet people are pushy and demanding
D) quiet people are irritable and pushy
CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE (5 POINTS)
16. How does Sylvia Plath’s choice of speakers in “Mirror” and “Mushrooms” help her
achieve her purpose? Explain her purpose in these two poems, and explain how she uses
tone and style to achieve her purpose in each poem. Write a paragraph that explains
your answer. Support your ideas with details from the two poems.
HINT: The beginning of your paragraph should tell what the author’s purpose is.
How does her use of personification help? Pick a line or two from EACH poem. Write them
out using quotation marks. Explain how the lines you used from the poems show the
author’s purpose.
_____________________________________________________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Cut out a non-human picture from one of the magazines and tape it in
the box. Write a poem giving your picture human qualities with personification. Use at least two examples
of imagery and highlight them. Your poem must be at least eight (8) lines long. It does not have to rhyme,
but each line must be at least five words or more.
IN THIS POEM, _____________________________________ IS PERSONIFIED
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
RUBRIC: _____/8 8 lines with at least 5 words each (1 point per line)
_____/4 at least two examples of imagery are highlighted
_____/3 personification is explained at the top
TOTAL: _____/15

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PACKET #1

CONTEMPORARY WRITERS PACKET Points: ____ / 55

FEATURED WRITER: SYLVIA PLATH – POET

□ _____/6 Completed Study Guide

TURN IN THIS COMPLETED PACKET IN ON

Academic Standards: 1.1.11A Learning to Read Independently

CONTEMPORARY WRITERS: SYLVIA PLATH, read page 1338.

►NAME TWO INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SYLVIA PLATH:

►READING: “Mirror” – page 1340

“Mushrooms” – page 1342

►WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Cut out a non-human picture from one of the

RUBRIC: _____/8 8 lines (1 point per line)

_____/4 at least two examples of imagery are highlighted

_____/3 personification is explained

Mirror Sylvia Plath

Activity 2: Changing Contexts

4. Riku’s _______________________ turned to anger as he realized he would not be

Mirror Sylvia Plath

Collection 18 Student Edition pages 1338–1343

Parts of the Human Human Actions

Mirror Sylvia Plath

3. When the woman in “Mirror” sees her reflection, she—

4. At the end of “Mirror,” the woman sees—

5. Who sees the mushrooms grow?

6. Which of the following lines in “Mushrooms” contains an allusion to a Biblical

7. In both “Mirror” and “Mushrooms” the speakers—

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Write T or F next to each statement to tell whether

10. Which of the following descriptions from “Mirror” is an example of personification?

11. The tone of “Mirror” is best described as—

13. The tone of “Mushrooms” is best described as—

15. One of the main ideas in “Mushrooms” is that—

IN THIS POEM, _____________________________________ IS PERSONIFIED

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