This document provides guidance on preparing for a summative assessment on the short story "A Summer's Reading" by Bernard Malamud. It outlines several key points students should know to successfully answer questions about basic understanding, higher-order thinking skills, and bridging questions. Specifically, it emphasizes the importance of thoroughly knowing the text, including background details, events, characters, and how the story concludes. It also notes several higher-order thinking skills that may be assessed, such as problem-solving, comparing and contrasting, and predicting. Sample bridging questions are provided to demonstrate how additional context can deepen understanding of the story when supported by examples from the text.

1. SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT ON
A SUMMER’S READING
A GUIDE TO SUCCESS

2. first of all, here are things you must know to
answer basic understanding the questions
• - you must know the text well. This means, you must
know
• The background of events
• The events themselves
• The characters
• How the events come to a conclusion

3. for example
• It is not enough to know that Mr Cattanzara is a
drunk. You should be able to describe him,
understand where he is from, what he does and
why he acts the way he does.

4. you also need to know the way the
characters interact with each other
• George with his family
• George with his neighborhood
• George with Mr Cattanzara
George
Environment/Mr
Cattanzara

5. and of course, I’ll be asking you HOTS
questions
Higher
Order
Thinking Skills

6. here are the HOTS skills we have learned so
far
• Problem solving (the Road Not
Taken)
• Comparing and Contrasting ( A
Summer’s Reading)
• Predicting

7. please note
• When it says ‘with reference from the text’ it means
you must always back up your statements with a
proof from the text (the story)
• For example,
‘I believe that Mr
Cattanzara is a person who
values education because every
night he reads the New York
Times from cover to cover’.

8. bridging text and context
• In a bridging question you
will be given a statement
which is connected to the
story in some way (but it isn’t
from the story itself)
• You will be asked to connect
the statement to the text
and will be asked how it
helps you understand the
text better by giving
examples from the text

9. sample bridging questions
The question:
Malamud is known for telling
stories that have a moral
lesson.
• How does this information
add to your understanding
of "A Summer's Reading"?
• Give examples from the
story.
How to answer it:
In this question you have to talk
about how the statement helps you
understand the moral lesson of the
story
• education as a key to success,
• how to earn respect of others
• The dangers of lying )
and give examples from the story
• Mr Cattanzara’s sad life because
he didn’t have opportunities,
• how the list of books meant that
everyone around him started to
respect him
• how George’s lying ultimately
made him feel terrible

10. ok here’s a reminder:
• Learn the text really well. Work in pairs (go through the
questions on pages 14-23 in your book (UPP literature
program)
• Make sure you understand the deeper meaning of the
story and the background to it
• Make sure you understand the HOTS and can use them
to talk about the text
• Make sure you understand what a bridging question is
and what is expected from you (remember I gave you
an example of listening to a song on the radio, then
hearing the background to the song and then
understanding and appreciating it better after you have
the information?)
Good luck!