Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: Miracle Worker

Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: Miracle Worker

FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading Drama

At a Glance

Approximate 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Difficulty Index: Considerate . . . . . . . . . . . . Challenging
Grade Range: Structure:
Purpose:
Genre: Drama Richness:
Topic: Helen Keller’s loss of sight and hearing Relationships:
Author: William Gibson Vocabulary:
Source: The Miracle Worker Style:
Special Note: used on G7 MCAS 2002

Lexile Measure: 760L

The characters in the excerpt you are about to read are Kate Structure: This television screenplay depicts a single
Keller, the mother; Captain Arthur Keller, the father, Helen scene using vivid visual description which the reader
Keller, the child; and a doctor. The Miracle Worker is a play for must integrate with the dialogue in order to understand
television about Helen Keller, whose vision and hearing were lost the full meaning of the passage.
following a childhood illness. This scene from Helen Keller’s life See especially: Question 1
takes place in 1882. Read the excerpt below. Use the information
Vocabulary: Some word usage is indicative of 1880’s
from the excerpt to answer the questions that follow. syntax (constitution). Words like whiskers, Providence,
and dissolve may be used in unfamiliar ways. There
THE MIRACLE WORKER is some challenging new vocabulary as well; vigil,
forbearing, stethoscope, undertake, vitality, and serene.
A PLAY FOR TELEVISION See especially: Questions 5, 6

by William Gibson Continued on next page

ACT ONE

[It is night, and we are in a child’s crib, looking up: what we see are the
crib railings and three faces in lamplight, looking down. They have been
through a long vigil, it shows in their tired eyes and disarranged cloth-
ing. One is a gentlewoman in her twenties with a kindly and forbearing
face, KATE KELLER; the second is a dry elderly DOCTOR, stethoscope
at neck, thermometer in fingers; the third is a dignified gentleman in his
forties with chin whiskers, CAPTAIN ARTHUR KELLER. Their dress
is that of 1880, and their voices are southern. The KELLERS’ faces are
drawn and worried, until the DOCTOR speaks.]
DOCTOR
She’ll live.
[KATE closes her eyes.]
You’re lucky, Captain Keller. Tell you now, I thought she wouldn’t.
KELLER [heavily]
Doctor. Don’t spare us. Will she be all right?
DOCTOR
Has the constitution of a goat. Outlive us all. Especially if I don’t get some

sleep.
[He removes his stethoscope, his face leaves the railing; we
continue to hear him, but see KELLER’s hand across
the crib take and squeeze KATE’s.]

You run an editorial in that paper of yours, Captain Keller, won-
ders of modern medicine, we may not know what we’re curing
but we cure it. Well, call it acute congestion of the stomach and
brain.

[KELLER moves after the DOCTOR, we hear them
off-camera; we see only KATE’s tearfully happy face
hovering over us, her hand adjusting the blanket.]
KELLER
I’ll see you to your buggy. I won’t undertake to thank you,
Doctor—

FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by William Gibson is from The Miracle Worker. Copyright © 1988 by William Gibson. Some questions
were drawn or adapted from the G7 MCAS Spring 2002 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.

DOCTOR [simultaneously] Relationships: The featured relationships in this
Main thing is the fever’s gone. I’ve never seen a baby, more passage include those between parents and children, and
vitality, that’s the truth. By morning she’ll be knocking down between humans and fate. Just as the Doctor invokes the
your fences again. idea of “Providence” to explain baby Helen’s survival
of her illness, so too must some divine power then be
KELLER responsible for taking away her sight and hearing.
Anything that you recommend us to do, we’ll do— See especially: Questions 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9

DOCTOR Style: Readers must use the stage directions to visualize
Might put up stronger fencing. Just let her get well, she knows the events and emotional undertones in this scene.
how to do it better than we do. Don’t poke at Providence, rule See especially: Questions 1, 2, 5, 6
I’ve always made it a practice to—
Richness: The passage deals with the joy and the
[But throughout, their voices have been dying out impending heartbreak of Helen’s parents as they
of focus, and the image of KATE’s face has begun discover that their baby has survived an illness only to be
to swim. Music steals in; we hear the music without blind and deaf.
distortion, but light and sound otherwise are failing. See especially: Questions 2, 4, 9, 10
KATE’s serene face smiles down with love, blurring in
a halo of light, then is a spot, then is gone. Darkness.] Ideas for Connected Writing Activities
[Cut to CAPTAIN KELLER standing in his yard, in-
side the gate, lamp in hand, the lighted house behind • Compare the reactions of the mother and father when
him; we hear, but do not see the DOCTOR.] they realize Helen is deaf and blind. Use information
DOCTOR from this excerpt to support your answer.
You’re a pair of lucky parents, Captain Keller.
• Turn this TV screenplay into a feature article for the
KELLER [with weight] local newspaper.
Thank you.
Humanities Connection:
[The DOCTOR clicks a giddy-yap, we hear the clop
of hoofs and roll of wheels. KELLER’s eyes follow • Research Helen Keller’s life story.
the unseen buggy out of sight, then lift to the stars, • Visit the Horace Mann school in Boston to see what
thanking them too. Suddenly from the house behind
him comes a knifing scream; music out.] classes look like for students who are deaf or hard of
[Cut to KATE’s face again, not from the baby’s eyes, hearing.
but across the crib, and her look is terrible; she
chokes down a second scream. KELLER hurries in to Purpose & Relationships: The passage represents
her, the lamp aloft.] man’s three-dimensional vision of a pivotal moment in
what would become the very accomplished life of Helen
KELLER Keller.
Katie! See especially: Questions 8, 9, 10

KATE
Look.

[She makes a pass with her hand in the crib, at the
unseen child’s face.]
KELLER
What, Katie? She’s well, she needs only time to—

KATE
She can’t see.

[She takes the lamp from him, moves it before the
child’s face.]
She can’t see!
KELLER [hoarsely]
Helen.
KATE
Or hear. When I screamed she didn’t blink. Not an eyelash—
KELLER
Helen. Helen!
KATE
She can’t hear you.
KELLER
Helen!

[His face has something like fury in it, crying the
child’s name; KATE almost fainting takes up the
baby’s hand, pressing it to her mouth to stop her own
cry. We go close to her lips, kissing the baby’s hand.
Dissolve on lips and hand.]

FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by William Gibson is from The Miracle Worker. Copyright © 1988 by William Gibson. Some questions
were drawn or adapted from the G7 MCAS Spring 2002 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.

Teacher Guide for FAST-R Passage: Miracle Worker

FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading Drama

The annotated answer key below highlights common reasons students might choose each answer, and the sidebar gives more
insight into the question types, to help you understand patterns of student responses. Always make time to follow up with students
in conferences or small groups to probe their thinking, teach in response to patterns, and help them apply effective reading and
thinking strategies to their everyday reading.

Note: You may find it helpful to refer to the “Types and Levels of Questions on FAST-R” sheet from your teacher resource
folder as you examine your students’ responses. The icon in the right-hand column, below, corresponds to that sheet’s more
detailed explanations of the kinds of thinking each type of question asks of readers.

1. In the opening text, the playwright sets the mood by discussing the MI5: Determine mean-
A. weather. (OOB, students may have learned that description of natural environment may ing by incorporating an
help establish the mood) understanding of literary
concepts
 B. faces of the characters. (found in stage directions in italics at beginning of scene; play-
wright writes about eyes and faces)

C. doctor’s voice. (OOP2, students are confusing character’s dialogue with playwright’s intro-
duction - may have missed opening text or purpose of it)

D. ages of the characters. (OOP1, ages are indicated in the opening, but that doesn’t set the
mood; students who pick this choice are looking at the right block of text but may not under-
stand “mood”)

2. It is clear from the author’s description in the opening text that the three MI1: Determine implicit
characters lack meaning from words in
context
 A. sleep. (opening italicized stage directions say that they have endured a “long vigil” and they
are “tired”)

B. a cure. (OOP1,“we may not know what we’re curing but we cure it” did cue in to “lack”)
C. style. (OOB, student may be imposing their own opinions of 1800s dress)
D. anxiety. (OOP2, they are full of anxiety and they are “worried”; students who choose this

one may have missed the word “lack” in the question)

3. The doctor’s first words in the play express what feeling? MI1: Determine implicit
A. excitement (OOP2, his words, “She’ll live,” do bring good news, but no other clues, such as meaning from words in
punctuation with an ‘!’, indicate excitement) context
B. disgust (OOB)

 C. surprise (the doctor “thought she wouldn’t” live)
D. pessimism (OOP1, the doctor admitted that he had been pessimistic about Helen’s survival,
but she proved stronger than he expected)

4. Captain Keller’s first words in the play express what feeling? MI1: Determine implicit
 A. anxiety (his first words are, “Don’t spare us. Will she be all right?”; he is full of anxiety and meaning from words in
worry) context
B. relief (OOB, students may be projecting their own feeling that because the doctor says that
he baby will live, Keller should feel relief )
C. thankfulness (OOP1, Keller thanks the doctor later on in the scene)
D. anger (OOP2, basing tone on abrupt syntax, not context - ELL cues)

FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by William Gibson is from The Miracle Worker. Copyright © 1988 by William Gibson. Some questions
were drawn or adapted from the G7 MCAS Spring 2002 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.

Grade 7 • Drama passage 1 • “Miracle Worker”

5. The doctor clearly believes that baby Helen is unusually MI1: Determine implicit
meaning from words in
A. unresponsive (OOP1, she was at the end, but it’s not the doctor’s analysis) context
B. smart (OOB, based on background knowledge about Helen)
 C. strong (can be inferred from the doctor’s comments: “constitution of a goat,” “outlive us

all,” and “she’ll be knocking down your fences again.”)
D. lucky (OOP2, the doctor tells the Kellers that they are “lucky parents,” but attributes Helen’s

survival to her own strength)

6. The doctor says that baby Helen “has the constitution of a goat.” What does constitution MI1: Determine implicit
mean as it is used here? meaning from words in
A. freedom (OOB, students may confuse this use of the word with the Constitution of the context
United States and associate freedom with that document)
 B. physical make-up (can be inferred from the context of the phrase)
C. sound (OOB, students may think babies make animal-type noises)
D. legal document (OOB, students may confuse this use of the word with the Constitution of
the United States)

7. According to this excerpt, the doctor believes that the baby will MI1: Determine implicit
meaning from words in
A. be upset in the morning (OOP2, his comment that she’ll be “knocking down your fences the context
again” by morning is his way of implying that)

 B. get well (found in the doctor’s comments in the first half of the scene, such as “By morning
she’ll be knocking down your fences again” and “Just let her get well, she knows how to do it
better than we do.”)

C. lose her sight and hearing (OOP1, the Kellers discover this after the doctor leaves; the doc-
tor doesn’t predict her loss of hearing and sight)

D. cry through the night (OOB, students may know from experience that babies sometimes
cry through the night when they’re sick, but there is no evidence in the scene that the doctor
believes Helen will)

8. After the doctor leaves, Mrs. Keller discovers that baby Helen FE2: Recognize the
A. is unconscious. (OOP1, the distinction between being unresponsive and being unconscious explicit meaning from
is subtle but clear) varied wording in the text
B. is missing. (OOB, plausible based on mother screaming and father calling “Helen!” which
they might do if she was missing)
C. still has a fever. (OOP1, earlier, the doctor announced “the fever’s gone”)

 D. is unresponsive to sound or movement. (Mrs. Keller says that the baby can’t see or
hear)

FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by William Gibson is from The Miracle Worker. Copyright © 1988 by William Gibson. Some questions
were drawn or adapted from the G7 MCAS Spring 2002 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.

Grade 7 • Drama passage 1 • “Miracle Worker”

9. According to this except Mrs. Keller knows that the baby can’t hear when she notices FE1: Identify evidence
that explicitly stated in the
text
A. the baby had acute congestion of the stomach and brain. (OOP1, found in the stage
directions after the doctor leaves; this is evidence that the baby can’t see, not that she can’t
hear)

B. the baby didn’t blink when Mrs. Keller put the lamp near the baby’s face. (OOP1,
found in the stage directions after the doctor leaves; this is evidence that the baby can’t see,
not that she can’t hear)

 C. the baby didn’t blink when Mrs. Keller screamed. (found four lines from the end
of the scene: “Or hear. When I screamed she didn’t blink.”)

D. the baby didn’t move when the fire engine went past the house. (OOB, there is no fire
engine mentioned in this excerpt; students may be making a text-to-self connection rather
than relying on evidence from the text)

10. What is the main idea of this excerpt? MI2: Determine a
singular meaning
A. Love can solve all problems. (OOB, students may choose this because they may have heard from the sum total of a
this phrase before) particular paragraph

B. Miracles can happen. (OOP2, “miracle” is in the title of the play but the events do not sug-
gest miracles happening)

 C. Happiness can change to grief in an instant. (can be inferred from the way the Keller’s
feelings change after they learn Helen is deaf and blind)

D. Modern medicine can cure many illnesses. (OOP1, it does, and the doctor says something
similar, but it’s not the main idea)

FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by William Gibson is from The Miracle Worker. Copyright © 1988 by William Gibson. Some questions
were drawn or adapted from the G7 MCAS Spring 2002 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.

FAST-R Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading

+ Name “The Miracle Worker” • Drama
Date Teacher/Class

The characters in the excerpt you are about to read are Kate Keller, the mother; Captain Arthur Keller,
the father; Helen Keller, the child; and a doctor. The Miracle Worker is a play for television about Helen
Keller, whose vision and hearing were lost following a childhood illness. This scene from Helen Keller’s
life takes place in 1882. Read the excerpt below. Use the information from the excerpt to answer the ques-
tions that follow.

THE MIRACLE WORKER

A PLAY FOR TELEVISION
by William Gibson
ACT ONE

[It is night, and we are in a child’s crib, looking up: what we see are the crib railings and three faces in lamplight, looking
down. They have been through a long vigil; it shows in their tired eyes and disarranged clothing. One is a gentlewoman in
her twenties with a kindly and forbearing face, KATE KELLER; the second is a dry elderly DOCTOR, stethoscope at neck,
thermometer in fingers; the third is a dignified gentleman in his forties with chin whiskers, CAPTAIN ARTHUR KELLER. Their
dress is that of 1880, and their voices are southern. The KELLERS’ faces are drawn and worried, until the DOCTOR speaks.]

DOCTOR Spotlight On: Helen Keller
She’ll live.
Helen Keller (1880-1968) was born
[KATE closes her eyes.] healthy, but an illness at 19 months
left her blind and deaf. When she
You’re lucky, Captain Keller. Tell you now, I thought she wouldn’t. was six years old, she began working
KELLER [heavily] with Anne Sullivan, a teacher at
Doctor. Don’t spare us. Will she be all right? Perkins School for the Blind in South
DOCTOR Boston. Anne taught Helen how to
Has the constitution of a goat. Outlive us all. Especially if I don’t get some sleep. communicate, and spent the rest of
her life as Helen’s friend and teacher.
[He removes his stethoscope, his face leaves the railing; we continue to hear Helen’s schooling finished at Radcliffe,
him, but see KELLER’s hand across the crib take and squeeze KATE’s.] where she became the first deaf and
blind person to graduate from college.
You run an editorial in that paper of yours, Captain Keller, wonders of modern She then devoted the rest of her life to
medicine, we may not know what we’re curing but we cure it. Well, call it acute causes she believed in, speaking out
congestion of the stomach and brain. for the handicapped, women’s rights,
and the socialist movement, among
[KELLER moves after the DOCTOR, we hear them off-camera; other issues. Helen also founded
we see only KATE’s tearfully happy face hovering over us, her her own organization for preventing
hand adjusting the blanket.] blindness. Over the course of her
KELLER lifetime, she spoke in 39 countries
I’ll see you to your buggy. I won’t undertake to thank you, Doctor— and met with every US president from
Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson.
DOCTOR [simultaneously]
Main thing is the fever’s gone. I’ve never seen a baby, more vitality,
that’s the truth. By morning she’ll be knocking down your fences again.

KELLER
Anything that you recommend us to do, we’ll do—

FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by William Gibson is from The Miracle Worker. Copyright © 1988 by William Gibson. Some questions
were drawn or adapted from the G7 MCAS Spring 2002 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.

DOCTOR Spotlight On: Screenplays
Might put up stronger fencing. Just let her get well, she knows how to do
it better than we do. Don’t poke at Providence, rule I’ve always made it a Screenplays, often referred to as
practice to— scripts, are blueprints for motion
pictures (screenplays for television are
[But throughout, their voices have been dying out of focus, and the called teleplays). Though similar in
image of KATE’s face has begun to swim. Music steals in; we hear style to stage plays, screenplays follow
the music without distortion, but light and sound otherwise are their own format and delve into areas
failing. KATE’s serene face smiles down with love, blurring in a which stage plays cannot. Screenplays
halo of light, then is a spot, then is gone. Darkness.] deal with camera direction, camera
angles, cuts, fade ins/outs, daylight,
[Cut to CAPTAIN KELLER standing in his yard, inside the gate, sequences, and the interior/exterior
lamp in hand, the lighted house behind him; we hear, but do not descriptions of scenes. Screenplays
see the DOCTOR.] can be adapted from novels, short
DOCTOR stories, and stage plays or can be a
You’re a pair of lucky parents, Captain Keller. completely original creation by the
screenwriter.
KELLER [with weight]
Thank you.

[The DOCTOR clicks a giddy-yap, we hear the clop of hoofs and
roll of wheels. KELLER’s eyes follow the unseen buggy out of sight, then lift to the stars, thanking them too.
Suddenly from the house behind him comes a knifing scream; music out.]

[Cut to KATE’s face again, not from the baby’s eyes, but across the crib, and her look is terrible; she
chokes down a second scream. KELLER hurries in to her, the lamp aloft.]

KELLER
Katie!

KATE
Look.

[She makes a pass with her hand in the crib, at the unseen child’s face.]
KELLER

What, Katie? She’s well, she needs only time to—

KATE
She can’t see.

[She takes the lamp from him, moves it before the child’s face.]

She can’t see!

KELLER [hoarsely]
Helen.

KATE
Or hear. When I screamed she didn’t blink. Not an eyelash—

KELLER
Helen. Helen!

KATE
She can’t hear you.

KELLER
Helen!

[His face has something like fury in it, crying the child’s name; KATE almost fainting takes up the baby’s
hand, pressing it to her mouth to stop her own cry. We go close to her lips, kissing the baby’s hand. Dis-
solve on lips and hand.]

FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by William Gibson is from The Miracle Worker. Copyright © 1988 by William Gibson. Some questions
were drawn or adapted from the G7 MCAS Spring 2002 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.

FAST-R Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading

+ Name “The Miracle Worker” • Drama
Date Teacher/Class

On your answer sheet, fill in the circle for the correct answer to each question.

1. In the opening text, the playwright sets the mood by discussing the
A. weather.
B. faces of characters.
C. doctor’s voice.
D. ages of characters.

2. It is clear from the author’s description in the opening text that the three
characters lack

A. sleep.
B. a cure.
C. style.
D. anxiety.

3. The doctor’s first words in the play express what feeling?
A. excitement
B. disgust
C. surprise
D. pessimism

4. Captain Keller’s first words in the play express what feeling?
A. anxiety
B. relief
C. thankfulness
D. anger

5. The doctor clearly believes that baby Helen is unusually
A. unresponsive.
B. smart.
C. strong.
D. lucky.

FAST-R: Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading. The passage text by William Gibson is from The Miracle Worker. Copyright © 1988 by William Gibson. Some questions
were drawn or adapted from the G7 MCAS Spring 2002 test. All other materials are Copyright 2007 by the Boston Plan for Excellence.

Name School

Date Teacher/Class

6. The doctor says that baby Helen “has the constitution of a goat.” What does constitution
mean as it is used here?

A. freedom
B. physical make-up
C. sound
D. legal document

7. According to this excerpt, the doctor believes that the baby will
A. be upset in the morning.
B. get well.
C. lose her sight and hearing.
D. cry through the night.

8. After the doctor leaves, Mrs. Keller discovers that baby Helen
A. is unconscious.
B. is missing.
C. still has a fever.
D. is unresponsive to sound or movement.

9. According to this excerpt, Mrs. Keller knows that the baby can’t hear when she notices
that

A. the baby has acute congestion of the stomach and brain.
B. the baby didn’t blink when Mrs. Keller put the lamp near the baby’s face.
C. the baby didn’t blink when Mrs. Keller screamed.
D. the baby didn’t move when the fire engine went past the house.

10. What is the main idea of this excerpt?
A. Love can solve all problems.
B. Miracles can happen.
C. Happiness can change to grief in an instant.
D. Modern medicine can cure many illnesses.

Teachers: Please duplicate and use this answer sheet only for students for whom you did not receive a pre-printed answer sheet!

FAST-R Answer Sheet School

Name Grade Class

Date Teacher Name

Passage Title Write your answer to the open response prompt in the lined space below
if your teacher directs you to do so.
Completely fill the circle
for the correct answer.

1. A B C D
2. A B C D
3. A B C D
4. A B C D
5. A B C D
6. A B C D
7. A B C D
8. A B C D
9. A B C D
10. A B C D

OFFICE USE ONLY 4
RESEARCH: Y N
OPEN RESPONSE: 1 2 3