MAKING MEANING
Comparing Texts
You will now read an excerpt from An Invisible
Thread. First, complete the first-read and close-
read activities. Then, compare the point of view
A SIMPLE ACT from AN INVISIBLE THREAD
of “A Simple Act” with the point of view of An
Invisible Thread.
About the Authors
from An Invisible Thread
Concept Vocabulary
You will encounter the following words as you read an excerpt from An
Invisible Thread.
Before reading, note how familiar you are with each word. Then, rank
Laura Schroff had a career the words in order from most familiar (1) to least familiar (3).
in advertising sales for
more than 30 years and WORD YOUR RANKING
helped launch USA Today resilience
and several other highly
successful publications. perseverance
She is now a motivational
speaker and encourages generosity
people to make a difference
in the lives of others.
After completing the first read, come back to the concept vocabulary and
review your rankings. Mark changes to your original rankings as needed.
First Read NONFICTION
Apply these strategies as you conduct your first read. You will have an
Alex Tresniowski is a
opportunity to complete the close-read notes after your first read.
writer based in New York
City. He has been a senior
writer for People magazine,
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writing human-interest,
NOTICE the general ideas of ANNOTATE by marking
crime, and sports articles,
the text. What is it about? vocabulary and key passages
and he is the co-author of
Who is involved? you want to revisit.
several books, including
An Invisible Thread and
The Vendetta.
CONNECT ideas within RESPOND by competing
STANDARDS the selection to what you the Comprehension Check and
Reading Informational Text already know and what you by writing a brief summary of
By the end of the year, read and have already read. the selection.
comprehend literary nonfiction in
the grades 6–8 text complexity band
proficiently, with scaffolding as
needed at the high end of the range.
42
ANCHOR TEXT | MEMOIR
from An
Invisible
Thread
Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski
BACKGROUND
Laura Schroff and Maurice Mazyck had been friends for 15 years when SCAN FOR
he gave the final toast at the celebration of her 50th birthday. Maurice’s MULTIMEDIA
words, and Laura’s reaction to them, reveal what each had gained from
their long friendship.
T hen came the final toast. The speaker was in a sharp black
tuxedo with spectacular black-and-white shoes, and his wife
was in a stunning navy blue gown, her hair swept up. Nearly
NOTES
everyone in the room had met him or at least knew his story, and
so everyone was excited to see him and hear him speak. He kissed
his wife, walked up and took the microphone, and began his toast.
2 “Laurie, where can I start,” Maurice began. “We met . . . the CLOSE READ
way we met was so special to me. I was a young boy on the street ANNOTATE: In paragraphs
with barely nothing, and I was very hungry that day and I asked 3 and 4, mark the
punctuation.
this lady, ‘Miss, can you spare some change?’ And she walked
away. And then she stopped. She was in the middle of the street— QUESTION: Why do you
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she almost got hit—and she looked and came back and took me think the author uses
this type of punctuation
to McDonald’s. We ate and then walked around Central Park; she
in transcribing Maurice’s
took me to Haagen-Dazs and then we played some games.
words?
3 “You know, at that moment she saved my life. ‘Cause I was
going down the wrong road, the wrong hill, and, you know, my CONCLUDE: Would
this passage have the
mother—bless her soul, my mother died—and the Lord sent me
same effect if it had just
an angel. And my angel was Laurie. summarized what Maurice
4 “Without you,” Maurice said, raising his glass, “I could not be said? Explain.
the man I am today.”
5 I was so incredibly moved when I heard Maurice say I saved
his life. Heck, I nearly lost it throughout his whole darn toast.
Whenever I hear someone tell me how lucky Maurice is to have
from An Invisible Thread 43
met me, I have to stop them and correct them. The truth is that the
NOTES lucky one is me.
6 Maurice taught me so many things; I can’t possibly list them
all. He taught me how to live. He taught me one of the most
important lessons a person can hope to learn—he taught me to be
resilience (rih ZIHL yuhns) n. grateful for what I have. He taught me about resilience, courage,
ability to recover quickly perseverance, and about the special strength that comes from
overcoming adversity. He taught me the true value of money, the
perseverance (pur suh VIHR real meaning of lunch in a brown paper bag, the importance of
uhns) n. continued,
a silly ritual like baking cookies. He taught me, more than I ever
patient effort
taught him, what it means to be a friend.
7 Everything I ever gave to Maurice, he gave back to me tenfold.
Every meal, every shirt, every bike or toothbrush, was matched
by Maurice with a more genuine appreciation than I have ever
known. Every hand I ever lent him was returned with a hug;
every kindness was paid back with an impossibly optimistic
smile. If love is the greatest gift of all—and I believe it is—then
the greatest privilege of all is to be able to love someone. Maurice
appeared out of nowhere and allowed me to love him, and for
generosity (jehn uhr AHS that, I simply can never thank him enough. His generosity of
uh tee) n. willingness to spirit continues to astound me, and to this day my relationship
give or share
with him is the relationship I am most proud of in my life. ❧
MEDIA CONNECTION
Discuss It In what way does this video of Maurice’s toast
deepen your understanding of and appreciation for the text?
Write your response before sharing your ideas.
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Maurice’s Toast
SCAN FOR
MULTIMEDIA
44
Comprehension Check
Complete the following items after you finish your first read.
1. At what stage of his life does Maurice give a toast explaining how he and
Laura met?
2. What statement does Maurice make that makes Laura “nearly lose it”?
3. How does Laura respond when people say that Maurice was lucky to meet her?
4. What does Laura say she learned from knowing Maurice?
5. According to Laura, what are the greatest gift and greatest privilege of all?
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6. Notebook Write a summary of the excerpt from An Invisible Thread to confirm
your understanding of the selection.
RESEARCH
Research to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly
research that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an
aspect of the story?
Research to Explore Choose something that interests you from the text and formulate
a research question.
from An Invisible Thread 45
MAKING MEANING
Close Read the Text
1. The model, from paragraph 1 of the essay, shows two sample
annotations, along with questions and conclusions. Close read the
passage, and find another detail to annotate. Then, write a question
from AN INVISIBLE THREAD and your conclusion.
ANNOTATE: This phrase has unusual
QUESTION: Why did the author choose to
put the verb before the noun? ANNOTATE: The
CONCLUDE: Using this word order makes the author uses vivid
sentence seem more formal, which suits the language here.
setting of the scene. QUESTION: Why
does the author
Then came the final toast. The provide so much
speaker was in a sharp black detail about the
tuxedo with spectacular black- speaker and his wife?
and-white shoes, and his wife CONCLUDE: These
was in a stunning navy blue details emphasize
that Maurice has
gown, her hair swept up.
become successful.
2. For more practice, go back into the text and complete the close-read
notes.
3. Revisit a section of the text you found important and annotate what
you notice. Ask questions such as “Why did the author make this
choice?” What can you conclude?
CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
Analyze the Text to support your answers.
Notebook Respond to these questions.
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1. Analyze In the first paragraph of the excerpt from her memoir, Laura
Schroff gives the reader a positive impression of Maurice. Which of her
word choices contribute most to this positive tone?
2. Draw Conclusions In his toast, Maurice says that when he asked
Laura for spare change, at first she walked past him. Then, she
stopped in the middle of the street, almost got hit by a car, and then
walked back to him. Why do you think Laura turned around?
3. Interpret In paragraph 7, Laura says, “Everything I ever gave to
Maurice, he gave back to me tenfold.” What does this statement
STANDARDS suggest about her friendship with Maurice?
Reading Informational Text
Determine an author’s point of view 4. Make Inferences Why do you think Maurice gave the final toast?
or purpose in a text and analyze how 5. Essential Question: What can one generation learn from
the author distinguishes his or her
position from that of others. another? How did reading this excerpt affect your understanding of
how people from different generations can learn from one another?
46
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What can one generation learn from another?
Analyze Craft and Structure
Narrative Point of View An Invisible Thread is a memoir written from
the first-person point of view. You can tell a work of nonfiction is
written from the first-person point of view by looking for the following
clues.
The author uses the pronoun I to refer to himself or herself.
The author is involved in the events being described.
Authors often use direct quotations, or a person’s exact words, to
reflect the views of other people involved in the narrative.
Memoirs are usually written from the first-person point of view. Authors
of memoirs use the first-person point of view because they are describing
events and experiences in their own lives—both what happened as well
as personal reactions and emotions.
CITE TEXTUAL EVIDENCE
Practice to support your answers.
Notebook Respond to these questions.
1. Record two examples of first-person point of view in paragraphs 5–7 of the text.
Rewrite each example to change the point of view to third person by using the
pronoun she. An example is shown.
Example: “I was so incredibly moved when I heard Maurice say I saved his life.”
She was so incredibly moved when she heard Maurice say she saved
his life.
ORIGINAL PASSAGE REWRITTEN PASSAGE
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2. (a) When the text begins, the point of view is unclear. At what point in the text is
it evident that it is written in the first-person point of view? (b) What clues in the
text helped you to recognize point of view?
3. (a) What strategy do the writers of An Invisible Thread use to present Maurice’s
point of view? (b) Do you think this strategy is effective? Why or why not?
4. How do the ideas expressed by the first-person narrator in An Invisible Thread
deepen your understanding of relationship between Laura and Maurice?
from An Invisible Thread 47
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Concept Vocabulary
resilience perseverance generosity
Why These Words? These concept vocabulary words show positive
from AN INVISIBLE THREAD
qualities or personality traits. Maurice and Laura demonstrate these
qualities in their relationship with each other. For example, the way
Maurice overcomes adversity teaches Laura about resilience and
perseverance. Notice that both of these words show positive aspects of
Maurice’s personality.
1. How does the concept vocabulary sharpen your understanding of how
WORD NETWORK
both Laura and Maurice benefited from their relationship?
Add words related to
generations from the text to
your Word Network.
2. What other words in the selection connect to the concept of positive
personality traits?
Practice
Notebook The concept vocabulary words appear in the excerpt
from
.
1. Use each word in a sentence that demonstrates your understanding of
the word’s meaning.
2. Work with a partner, and take turns coming up with as many
synonyms, or words with similar meanings, and antonyms, or
words with opposite meanings, as you can for each concept
vocabulary word.
STANDARDS Word Study
Language Latin Suffix: -ity The Latin suffix -ity means the “state, quality, or
• Demonstrate command of the
conventions of standard English condition of.” In the selection, the author refers to Maurice’s “generosity
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capitalization, punctuation, and of spirit.”
spelling when writing.
a. Use a comma to separate 1. Explain how the suffix -ity contributes to the meaning of the concept
coordinate adjectives.
• Determine or clarify the meaning vocabulary word generosity.
of unknown and multiple-meaning
reading and content, choosing
flexibly from a range of strategies. 2. Look at paragraph 6, and find another word that uses the suffix -ity.
b. Use common, grade-appropriate
Greek or Latin affixes and roots as Identify the base word that was combined with the suffix. Write a
clues to the meaning of a word. definition for that word.
• Demonstrate understanding
of figurative language, word
relationships, and nuances in word
meanings.
b. Use the relationship between
particular words to better
understand each of the words.
48 UNIT 1 • GENERATIONS
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What can one generation learn from another?
Conventions
Adjectives An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or
pronoun. Adjectives may answer the question What kind? How many?
Which one? or Whose? Possessive nouns and pronouns are used as
adjectives to answer the question Whose?
What kind? The young boy had a genuine smile. Which one? Have you read that book?
How many? They talked for fifty minutes. Whose? I greatly admired Maurice’s speech.
Two or More Adjectives Coordinate adjectives are two or more
adjectives that modify the same noun and are separated by a comma.
You can tell whether adjectives are coordinate if the word and could
be used in place of the comma and you could reverse the adjectives.
Cumulative adjectives also modify the same noun, but they are not
separated by a comma. Cumulative adjectives cannot be reversed.
COORDINATE ADJECTIVES CUMULATIVE ADJECTIVES
They became lifelong, devoted She wore a light blue sweater.
friends. (She wore a blue light sweater does
You could say: They became not mean the same thing.)
devoted and lifelong friends.
Read It
Identify the adjectives in each sentence, and name the nouns they
modify. Then tell whether the adjectives are coordinate or cumulative and
explain why.
1. Maurice gave an emotional, heartfelt speech.
2. His warm good nature inspired many listeners.
3. The book teaches many valuable life lessons.
Write It
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The original sentence in the example below was revised by adding two
adjectives. Review the example, and then add two adjectives to each
practice sentence. Separate the adjectives with commas if needed.
EXAMPLE
Original: Laura wrote a memoir.
Revision: Laura wrote an unforgettable personal memoir.
1. Maurice shared a story with the audience.
2. Laura wore a dress.
Notebook Write a paragraph describing Laura and Maurice’s
relationship. Include at least one pair of coordinate and one pair of
cumulative adjectives.
from An Invisible Thread 49
