EverydayUse in Spanish
EverydayUse in Spanish
EverydayUse in Spanish
Mama and Maggie live in a poor little handmade house in the middle of a
pasture. They are waiting for sister Dee to arrive. They carefully swept the dirt yard
clean yesterday. Mama knows Maggie will be nervous to see her sister. Maggie feels
ashamed of her scars from the fire that burned her body when their old house burned
down.
Mama daydreams she is the beautiful mother of her famous daughter Dee. She
imagines herself on a famous TV show. Then Mama remembers her real life and her
two daughters. Mama is a large woman, and is good at men’s work. She can milk the
cows, and kill and clean animals for food, but Mama never looks white people in the
eyes. Mama grew up in the 1920’s. Things were different for “colored” people then.
Mama’s school closed down in 1927 when she was only in the second grade.
Dee’s life is different. People admire Dee because she looks you in the eyes, and
she doesn’t take “no” for an answer. Mama and the church sent Dee to the city of
Atlanta to be educated. Dee wants nice things, and she has a style of her own. Dee
doesn’t like the way her family lives, and she is ashamed to bring her friends there.
Maggie does not have money or good looks, and she doesn’t read well. Maggie is
ashamed of her scars, and cowers to get away from people. She dresses simply, and
wears her hair naturally in pigtails. Maggie will marry John Thomas soon. Mama
promised her Grandma’s two quilts as a wedding present. Grandma taught Maggie to
quilt when she was a girl.
Dee finally arrives by car in a long yellow and orange dress. She is covered in
dangling, noisy jewelry. Dee is with a stocky man named Asalamalakim or Hakim-a-
barber. Dee changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. They are both
concerned with their heritage. Wangero takes pictures of Mama, Maggie, the house and
the animals in the yard. The man inspects them. Maggie cowers behind Mama’s chair.
She is so nervous the perspiration falls from her chin.
During dinner, Dee takes Grandma’s butter dish and the family’s handmade
butter churn to decorate her house. After dinner, Dee rifles through Mama’s trunk and
takes Grandma’s quilts. Mama tells Dee the quilts are for her sister Maggie and offers
Dee two other quilts. Dee argues that Maggie is backward and can’t appreciate the
handmade quilts. Maggie will ruin the priceless quilts by putting them to everyday use.
Maggie is upset, but quietly tells Dee to take them. Mama hugs Maggie, takes the quilts
away from Dee and gives them to Maggie. Dee tells Maggie to make something of her
life. Dee is upset and leaves immediately. Mama and Maggie sit outside and enjoy the
end of their day. They smile peacefully, without nervousness or shame.
Mama y Maggie viven en una casucha hecha por ellas mismas en medio del
pastizal. El día de ayer, limpiaron con esmero el patio porque esperan la llegada de
Dee. Mama sabe que Maggie esta nerviosa por ver a su hermana y al mismo tiempo
se siente avergonzada de las cicatrices que le dejaron las quemaduras cuando el fuego
redujo a cenizas su antigua casa.
Mama sueña con llegar a ser la hermosa madre de su famosa hija Dee y se
imagina participando en un renombrado programa de televisión. Lamentablemente,
después recuerda su vida real junto a la de sus dos hijas. Mama es una mujer robusta
que realiza muy bien las labores del hombre, ordeña las vacas, mata y limpia animales
para el consumo, pero a pesar de esto no es capaz de sostener la mirada a las
personas de raza blanca. Ella se crió en la década de los años 1920, en aquel
entonces, la vida era muy difícil para la gente de “color”. Solo terminó el segundo
grado, cuando su escuela fue cerrada en 1927.
La vida de Dee es distinta. La gente la admira porque mira de frente y nunca
acepta que le rechacen nada. Mama y su parroquia la enviaron a la ciudad de Atlanta
para que se educara. Desea obtener cosas finas y tiene su propio estilo. No le gusta
la manera en que vive su familia, por eso se avergüenza de llevar a sus amigos a su
casa.
Maggie no tiene dinero ni belleza y no sabe leer muy bien. Se esconde de la gente
porque sus cicatrices le causan vergüenza, viste sencillo y se arregla el cabello lo más
natural posible, en forma de trenzas. Dentro de poco, se casará con John Thomas y
Mama le prometió darle como regalo de bodas las dos colchas que pertenecieron a la
abuela, quien enseñó a Maggie a hacerlas cuando era chica.
Finalmente Dee, llega en un automóvil, luciendo un vestido largo de color
amarillo y naranja, cubierta de joyas que le cuelgan y hacen ruido. Dee está
acompañada por un hombre robusto llamado Asalamalakim o Hakim~a~barber. Ella se
llamaba ahora Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Ambos se preocupan por conservar su
herencia cultural. Wangero toma fotografías de Mama, Maggie, la casa y de los
animales en el pastizal mientras el hombre los revisa. Maggie se esconde detrás de la
silla de Mama, está tan nerviosa que el sudor le gotea del mentón.
Durante la cena, Dee toma la mantequillera de la abuela y la mantequera hecha
por la familia para decorar su casa. Después de concluida la cena, Dee busca entre las
cosas que hay en el baúl de Mama y saca las colchas de la abuela. Mama le dice a
Dee que esas son para su hermana Maggie y le ofrece otras dos colchas. Dee alega
que Maggie es una ignorante y que no es capaz de apreciar las colchas hechas a
mano, ya que las estropearía al usarlas todos los días. Maggie se molesta pero le dice
en voz baja que se puede quedar con ellas. Mama la abraza, le quita las colchas a
Dee y se las entrega a Maggie. Dee le dice a su hermana que haga algo por su vida,
ella está malhumorada e inmediatamente se va. Mama y Maggie entonces, se sientan
afuera a disfrutar el final del día. Se ríen tranquilamente, no se sienten nerviosas ni
avergonzadas.
Mama ak Maggie abite nan yon ti joupa nan mitan yon patiraj. Y ap rete tann sè Dee ki
gen pou vini. Yo te byen pran swen pou netwaye lakou a pwòp yè. Mama konnen ki
jan Maggie anvi wè sè li. Maggie te santi l wont akoz sikatris boule li te gen sou po l lè
ansyen kay yo a te pran dife.
Mama t ap imajine je klè se li ki te bèl manman pitit fi presye sa a Dee. Li imajine
li nan yon espesyal emisyon televize. Apre sa Mama vin sonje reyalite lavi a ak de pitit fi
li yo. Mama se yon gwo pyès fanm ki te konn fè travay gason byen. Li kab tire lèt nan
manmèl vach ak touye oswa kòche bèt pou manje, men Mama pa t janm konn leve tèt
gade blan nan je. Mama te grandi nan ane 1920 yo. Bagay yo pa t menm jan pou
moun « nwa » nan epòk sa a. Lekòl Mama a te fèmen pòt li an 1927 pandan manmzèl
te sèlman nan dezyèm ane primè.
Dee li menm te gen yon lòt vi diferan. Moun renmen Dee anpil paske li leve tèt
gade moun nan je epi li pa t konn aksepte moun di li « non ». Mama ak legliz la te voye
Dee Atlanta pou li te kab ale lekòl. Dee te renmen bèl bagay epi li te gen pwòp estil pa
li. Dee pa t renmen jan fanmi li t ap viv la, epi li wont mennen zanmi lakay la.
Maggie pa t gen lajan, li pa t bèl fanm nonplis, epi li pa t konn li byen. Maggie te
wont mak sikatris li te gen sou po li epi li te toujou ap demake moun. Li mete rad senp
ak penyen cheve li youn sèl très. Maggie ap gen pou marye ak John Thomas avan
lontan. Mama te pwomèt grann li 2 kouvreli atizay kòm kado maryaj. Grann Maggie te
montre li fè kouvreli atizay lè li te timoun.
Finalman, Dee te resi rive nan machin ak yon wòb long koulè jòn ak oranj sou li.
Li te chaje ak bijou k ap balanse, sonnen sou li. Dee te ansanm ak yon gwo nèg ki rele
Asalamalakim oswa Hakim-a-barber. Dee te chanje pwòp non pa li pou rele tèt li
Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Yo toulede te enterese anpil nan eritaj rasin fanmi yo.
Wangero te pran foto Mama, Maggie, kay la ak bèt yo kite nan lakou a. Nèg la t ap
enspekte yo. Maggie kouri al kache dèyè chèz Mama a. Li te tèlman pè, ou te wè gout
swe k ap degoute sòt tonbe nan manton li.
Pandan yo t ap dine, Dee te pran plat bè grann nan ak batèz bè fanmi an te fè
alamen an pou al dekore kay li. Apre yo fin manje, Dee al fouye nan kès Mama a pou
pran kouvreli atizay grann yo. Mama di Dee kouvreli yo se pou sè li Maggie epi li ofri
Dee de (2) lòt kouvreli atizay pito. Dee reponn Maggie pa moun ki eklere, kidonk li pa p
kab konn enpòtans kouvreli atizay sa yo ki te fèt alamen an. Maggie ap gaspiye
kouvreli sa yo, l ap sèvi ak yo chak jou. Maggie te fache, men li te di Dee tou dousman
li mèt pran yo. Mama anbrase Maggie, li pran kouvreli yo nan men Dee epi li remèt yo
bay Maggie. Dee di Maggie pou li fè yon bagay ak vi li. Dee te fache epi li te kite
imedyatman. Mama ak Maggie rete chita deyò a pou fin jwi rès jounen an. Yo t ap
souri kè pòpòz, san kè sote ni wont.
Bingo
Objective: Auditory comprehension of vocabulary from the lesson
Procedure: Choose vocabulary words or phrases from the lesson summary list or from
students' classroom texts. Give each team a blank Bingo card. Each team writes vocabulary
words/text phrases you provide on the board in the spaces of their choice. Randomly select
sentences from the text and read them aloud. Teams mark their Bingo spaces when they hear
the word or phrase.
chitlins, cowering, dingy, dopey, furtive, heritage, hesitation, orchid, pasture, perspiration
Note – Here are additional compound words from the story for your quilt:
checkerberry, hangdog, anyone, backstage, soft-seated, big-boned, man-working,
overalls, sledgehammer, nightfall, sometimes, red-hot, make-believe, dimwit, good-
naturedly, port-holes, rawhide, well-turned, faultfinding, without, armpits, salt-lick, beef-
cattle, nobody, old-fashioned
Note – “Compound Words Quilt” can be made wall size for a word bank activity or construction
paper size as a team activity.
See next page for more Everyday Use: Follow Directions Activity
A template for drawing triangles and diamonds is provided on the next page
Backwards Build-up
Objective: Auditory discrimination and oral reproduction of rhythmic patterns of spoken English
Procedure: Students practice the intonation, stress, and punctuation of sentences by repeating,
by teams, the increasingly larger fragments of a sentence modeled by you. Repeat each line (as
necessary) until teams can pronounce the segments well. Continue to build up to the complete
sentence. Teams completing the exercise correctly get a point. Example:
…in fourteen hundred and ninety-two
…blue in fourteen hundred and ninety-two
…the ocean blue in fourteen hundred and ninety-two
…sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred and ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred and ninety-two.
Everyday Use: Backward Build-up Activity:
a) Mama and Maggie live in a poor little handmade house in the middle of a pasture.
b) She feels ashamed of her scars from the fire that burned her body when their old house
burned down.
c) People admire Dee because she looks you in the eyes, and she doesn’t take “no” for an
answer.
d) Dee finally arrives by car in a long yellow and orange dress, covered in dangling, noisy
jewelry.
e) Maggie cowers behind Mama’s chair, and is so nervous the perspiration falls from her
chin.
Mixed-up Sentence
Objective: Each team consults to give spoken directions to correct a “mixed-up” sentence.
Procedure: Write a sentence on the board that contains lesson vocabulary and grammar, but
scramble the order of the words and put a capital letter or two in the wrong places(s). Tell the
class the way the sentence should read. Example sentence: A dicot seed has two parts. You
might write on the board: “tWo a seed dicot hAs parts”. The person whose turn it is must
verbally give directions to make a correction after consulting with the team. The teacher follows
the exact directions given and, if correct, gives the team a point. Then s/he calls on next team.
Example: “Move the A to the front”. You might decide to erase letter “a” in “part” and put it at
the beginning of the sentence. Perhaps you erase an “a” and rewrite it on the wall somewhere in
front of the classroom. In both cases, you were not given the detailed instructions necessary to
complete the task, and you would move on to the next group without awarding a point. You are
looking for a response something like, “Remove the first capital A and replace it with a lower
case A.” Directions like these get teams points. Continue until the sentence is reorganized, with
a capital at the beginning and a period at the end.
Notes: This activity is very difficult and takes several weeks to master. Students will prefer to
show you what to do, but do not let them. The idea is to tell you, not show you. The first time
you use the activity do not spend more than five minutes. Stop and discuss the kinds of
directions they need to give in the future. Do not give up on this activity, no matter how
immature the students.
Teacher-Student Grammar Notes are provided as a teaching resource or student study notes.
Classifying
What to do and what to watch for- Information is sometimes organized by grouping similar
things together. This is called classifying. Items that have something in common can be placed
in the same category, group, or class. Classifying details is a logical and convenient way of
organizing information.
Watch for lists or series of details that refer to the same theme. Look for headings. How are
ideas or objects grouped? What does each item in the group have in common? Example:
When we moved to Florida, I learned a lot about fish, especially snapper, because they are
my favorite to catch and to eat. There are different kinds of snapper, yellowtail, red, and
mangrove.
Look for similarities and differences by comparing and contrasting details. How are ideas
or objects similar or alike? How are they different? Example:
Beaches are rated based on several factors. These include the amount, color, and
quality of the sand, accessibility, facilities, closeness to other places of interest, and the
estimated number of visitors annually. Florida beaches have the best sand, accessibility,
and closeness to attractions, but facilities are not always rated as highly, and are often
crowded. Georgia beaches are not visited as much, but rate lower than Florida in other
factors, such as sand, facilities and attractions.
Use graphic organizers, lists, charts, or webs to organize the information visually. Identify
the details. Identify what they have in common. Place them in categories or groups. . Here are
some suggestions. Example:
George Washington Carver, a famous American teacher and scientist, lived in
Missouri, Iowa, and Alabama. His experiments at the Tuskegee Institute improved
farming techniques and the quality of the crops. He discovered hundreds of uses for
peanuts, soybeans, and potatoes.
GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
Homes Experiments Contributions
Missouri Peanuts Farming Techniques
Iowa Soybeans Quality Of The Crops
Alabama Potatoes Teacher & Scientist
CLASSIFY
Category 1 Category 2 Category 3
HOMES EXPERIMENTS
CONTRIBUTIONS
CLASSIFY
Mama and Maggie live in a poor house in the middle of a pasture. Mama lived a
hard life of work and discrimination. Maggie has scars from a terrible fire. Maggie’s sister
Dee comes to visit. Dee lives an educated life in the city. Dee is ashamed of the way her
family lives. Mama promised Maggie Grandma’s two quilts as a wedding present. Dee
wants the quilts to show her heritage. Mama takes Maggie’s side of the disagreement.
Dee leaves upset.
Judgment
Objective: Read a text for the purpose of identifying facts and opinions.
Procedure: On five separate strips of paper, each team writes (or copies) 5 sentences from the
text that show facts and opinions. Teams write their team name on the backs of the 5 strips, and
swap their sentences. Teams read the sentence strips they have, and place them in either a fact
basket or opinion basket in front of the room. The teacher reads each sentence strip from the
two baskets. For each, the teams decide if the sentence was correctly placed. If correct, the
team with its name on the strip gets a point. If not correct, that team loses a point. (This
encourages effective writing.)
Option: This activity may be adapted to focus on cause/effect, reality/fantasy or inferred/explicit.
Scan
Objective: Scan a text for the purpose of asking and answering simple questions.
Procedure:
1. Teams write 3 questions about an assigned text. Next to each question, they write page
number and paragraph number where the answer is located.
2. A representative from each team asks the team’s questions. The other teams get 60
seconds for each question to scan the text, find the answer, page and paragraph numbers,
and write them on a sheet of paper. Any team not getting the answer within that time loses a
point.
3. Any time a responding team loses a point, the questioning team gets a point. The responding
teams take turns reading out their page and paragraph numbers. Then the questioning team
reads its page and paragraph numbers.
4. Team respondents who have the same answer as the questioner get an automatic point.
Respondents who do not have the same answer as the questioner are not automatically
wrong. Both the questioner and respondent read aloud their chosen paragraph. The
questioner then decides if the respondent is also correct (Many times the answer to a
question can be found in more than one place in a text). If the respondent is also correct, the
respondent gets a point.
5. If the questioner says that the respondent is incorrect, the respondent may challenge (as in
Total Recall). The responding team must prove that it is also correct or that the questioner is
incorrect. It does not need to prove both. Other teams may join one side or the other. The
teacher then decides who wins. Winning teams get 2 points and losers lose 2 points.
Indirect Speech
Objective: Write a familiar dialog in paragraph form, using indirect or reported speech.
Procedure: Use the dialog in this lesson written for Presenting Activity “Dialog”. After teams
have completed presenting their dialogs (see Presenting Activities), have each group write the
dialog in a paragraph format using indirect speech. Example:
COLUMBUS: “I need money to buy ships to sail west.”
Columbus asked the queen for some money to sail to the west.
Teams use one piece of paper and one pencil only. Each member takes a turn writing a line of
the dialog. Other team members can offer help, but they cannot write it for the individual whose
turn it is to write. Collect and grade. Each member of the team gets the same grade.
Everyday Use: Indirect Speech Activity: Use the dialog in this lesson written for Presenting
Activity “Dialog”.
Example:
Dee to Mama: Mama, can I have these old quilts?
Dee asked mama if she could have the old quilts.
In the short story, “Everyday Use”, by Alice Walker, there are several examples of
internal and external conflict, including_____, _____ and _____ (Topic sentence). One example
of conflict is _____ (Detail #1). This conflict is (external/internal) because_____. Another
example of conflict in the story is _____ (Detail #2). This (internal/external) conflict is between
_____. A third example of conflict is _____ (Detail #3). The conflict is (internal/external) and is
important because_____. At the end of the story, _____ is resolved (or not resolved)
when_____ (Conclusion).
In the “Everyday Use”, by Alice Walker, the two sisters are very different. These
differences include _____, _____ and _____ (Topic Sentence). One difference between the
sisters is _____ (Supporting Detail #1). Another difference is _____ (Supporting Detail #2). A
third important difference is _____ (Supporting Detail #3). In conclusion, there are many
differences between the sisters that cause conflict and misunderstanding in the story, including
____, _____and _____.
Proof
For the first time, Maggie smiled a real smile, not a scared smile.
Dee was not thinking about Maggie’s feelings, so Mama had to.
Maggie was not going to speak up for herself because she was afraid.
Dee did not behave in a loving way towards her family and didn’t deserve the quilts.
Dee’s idea of heritage was hanging something on the wall. Dee rejected her family and
her heritage, even her name.
Maggie’s idea of heritage was to remember the details of your ancestry and maintain
them.
Grandma had taught Maggie to quilt and she would want Maggie to have them.
Everyday Use: Spool Writing Activities: (Use the sample format provided above).
Suggested Topics:
Classify information about the different quilts and quilt pieces.
Classify information about the colors used in the story.
List the verbs and adjectives used to describe Maggie in the story.
List the verbs and adjectives used to describe Mama in the story.
List the verbs and adjectives used to describe Dee in the story.
Group all information given about the family farm and items in the home.
Group all information given about Dee (appearance, experiences, attitude)
Group all information given about Maggie (appearance, experiences, attitude)
Writing Situation:
Everyone tries to make good choices about relationships. Making a good choice can
improve relationships with the people we care about, and it makes us feel good.
However, it is easier to be selfish and not think about the other person or the outcome. If
you had the chance to help a friend make a good choice, how would you help?
Now write to persuade your friend to make a good choice that will improve an important
relationship.
Concentration
Objective: Identify vocabulary words and their meanings.
Preparation: On twenty 8” x 5” index cards, write the numbers 1-20, one number per card.
Place these cards in order, 3 per line in a pocket chart. On another 20 index cards, write, one
word per card, 10 vocabulary items from the lesson 2 times each. Shuffle these cards and place
them behind the numbered cards.
Procedure: Teams will match the vocabulary words with their meanings. Choose one team to
go first. A member of that team picks two numbers. Remove those cards from the chart, leaving
the words behind them visible to the class. The student reads the words, with the team’s
assistance if needed. If the words match, leave them showing and give the team a point. If they
do not match, replace the numbers and call on the next team.
Option: Instead of writing each noun 2 times, write it once in the singular and once in the plural.
When working with verbs, write one in the present tense and one in the past. Matching
variations such as these helps the students understand that, despite certain differences in the
visible spelling of two words, they are still semantically related at a deeper level.
Everyday Use: Concentration Activity:
Match the vocabulary words with their meanings.
Wrong Word
Objective: Identify, analyze, and correct errors in vocabulary usage.
Procedure: Teams find the word that is “wrong” and correct it. Teams get a point for each
correction. Read a sentence with a wrong word in it. Examples: The contribution tells us how
the government will operate. (should be Constitution) Many people have moved to Florida for
the arctic climate. (should be tropical) When teams get good at this activity, embed an
incorrect sentence among other correct sentences. Teams can make sentences with incorrect
words for other teams to correct.
POSSESSIVE NOUNS
Possessives are used to show ownership or belonging relationships. The form of a noun that
shows possession is called a possessive noun. To change the form of nouns to show
possession add “apostrophe-s” or “–s apostrophe”:
Transformation Exercises
Objective: Change the form or format of a sentence according to the situation.
Procedure: Students change the format of a sentence based on teacher directions or prompts.
Give points for correct answers in the oral format. Give grades in the written format. Examples:
1. Is it raining? (Answer the question, yes.) Yes, it is raining.
2. It is raining. (Ask a yes/no question.) Is it raining?
3. Many Indians died from disease. Many Indians died from starvation.
(Combine 2 sentences into one sentence.) Many Indians died from disease and starvation.
Everyday Use: Transformation Exercises:
Students respond by answering the questions using a possessive noun.
Example:
The purse belongs to Wilma. Whose purse is it?
It’s Wilma’s purse.
a) The quilt belongs to my family. Whose dog is it?
b) Those chitlins belong to Dee. Whose chitlins are they?
c) The orchids belong to the girls. Whose orchids are they?
d) The sledgehammers belong to the men. Whose sledgehammers are they?
e) That butter churn belongs to Jacqueline. Whose butter churn is it?
Mama and Maggie live in a poor house in the middle of a pasture. Mama lives a hard life
of work and discrimination. Maggie has scars from a terrible fire. Maggie’s sister Dee comes to
visit. Dee lives an educated life in the city. Dee is ashamed of the way her family lives. Mama
promises Maggie Grandma’s two quilts as a wedding present. Dee wants the quilts to show her
heritage. Mama takes Maggie’s side of the disagreement. Dee leaves upset.
pasture
discrimination
scars
educated
quilts
heritage
disagreement
ashamed
upset
Mama and Maggie live in a poor house in the middle of a __________. Mama
lived a hard life of work and __________. Maggie has __________ from a terrible fire.
Maggie’s sister Dee comes to visit. Dee lives an __________ life in the city. Dee is
__________ of the way her family lives. Mama promised Maggie Grandma’s two
__________ as a wedding present. Dee wants the quilts to show her __________.
Read each sentence and decide if it is true or false. If it is true, write the word “true” on
the line. If the sentence is false, rewrite the sentence to make it a true.
___________________________________________________________________
2. People admire Maggie because she looks you in the eyes, and she doesn’t take “no”
for an answer.
___________________________________________________________________
3. Mama’s school closed down in 1927, when she was only in the second grade.
___________________________________________________________________
4. Dee dresses simply and wears her hair natural and in pigtails.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
7. Asalamalakim takes pictures of them, the house and the animals in the yard.
___________________________________________________________________
8. Mama hugs Maggie, takes the quilts away from Dee and gives them to her.
___________________________________________________________________
9. After dinner, Mama rifles through the trunk for Grandma’s quilts.
___________________________________________________________________
10. Maggie thinks Dee will ruin the quilts by putting them to everyday use.
___________________________________________________________________
MAGGIE DEE
__________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
________________________________________________
_____________________________________
1. Identify details in the story about Dee that show what Mama means when she describes
Dee as “the child who made it”.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. At the end of the story, Dee accuses Maggie and Mama of not understanding their African
American heritage. Do you agree or disagree with her? Give your reasons.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
English III Through ESOL: Everyday use
Page 36
Name ____________________________ Date __________
Unit 3: Lesson 1: Exercise 4 (FCAT Practice/Reading Comprehension)
Complete the information chart below. Use the text, the summary and the vocabulary
list from the short story, “Everyday Use”, by Alice Walker.
2 2 2
3 3 3
4 4 4
2 2 2
3 3 3
4 4 4
middle of __________ pasture. They are waiting __________ sister Dee to arrive.
__________ carefully swept the dirt __________ clean yesterday. Mama knows
__________ will be nervous to __________ her sister. Maggie feels __________ of her
scars from __________ fire that burned her __________. when their old house
__________ down.
daughter Dee. She __________ herself on a famous __________ show. Then Mama
__________ woman, and is good __________ men’s work. She can __________ the
cows and kill __________ clean animals for food, __________ Mama never looks white
different for “colored” __________ then. Mama’s school closed __________ in 1927
Dee’s life is different. __________ admire Dee because she __________ you in
the eyes, __________ she doesn’t take “no” __________ an answer. Mama and
Dee wants nice __________, and she has a __________ of her own. Dee __________
like the way her _________ lives, and she is _________ to bring her friends ________.
Maggie does not have __________ or good looks, and __________ doesn’t read
well. Maggie __________ ashamed of her scars, __________ cowers to get away
__________ pigtails. Maggie will marry __________ Thomas soon. Mama promised
__________ heritage. Wangero takes pictures __________ Mama, Maggie, the house
__________ the animals in the _________. The man inspects them. _________ cowers
behind Mama’s chair. __________ is so nervous the __________ falls from her chin.
__________ dinner, Dee takes Grandma’s __________ dish and the family’s
__________ through Mama’s trunk and __________ Grandma’s quilts. Mama tells
__________ the quilts are for __________ sister Maggie and offers __________ two
other quilts. Dee __________ that Maggie is backward __________ can’t appreciate
the handmade __________. Maggie will ruin the __________ quilts by putting them
__________ everyday use. Maggie is __________, but quietly tells Dee __________
take them. Mama hugs __________, takes the quilts away __________ Dee and gives
them __________ Maggie. Dee tells Maggie __________ make something of her
__________ outside and enjoy the __________ of their day. They __________
5. Dee takes (Uncle Stash) _____ churn top to decorate her house.
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9. The quilt was made with bits and pieces of (Grandpa Jarrell) _____ paisley shirts.
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11. Dee used to read to us, forcing other (folks) _____ habits upon us.
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