"The Lady, or the Tiger"

It was assigned to our English 12 class to read the short story "The Lady, or the Tiger." After reading the story aloud and discussing certain points of the reading, we were given a packet on the text containing a great variation of concepts; many in which I was able to connect to the Pacing Guide created by Jefferson County Public Schools.

Prioritized Benchmark 1.a: Use cognitive and metacognitive strategies to comprehend diverse texts. This isn't so easily understood as it is written. Let me clarify. This benchmark wants readers to understand how using reading strategies (such as, but not limited to, classification, comparison/contrast, making connections, summarizing, and synthesizing) can more efficiently help interpret the story. Basically, this is a more complex statement informing us as students that we need to comprehend the text to its fullest. This is accurately portrayed in our entire packet, but I will only explain one. In section 1: 'vocabulary and phrases', guiding questions, and predictions are introduced. Of course, understanding words and phrases will help with the highest level of comprehension that can be reached. If one knows the meaning of every word and phrase there is only the analyzation of the reading that must be done. Assuming that not every word and phrase is understood, how would a student comprehend the story without using a dictionary or some other resource? Simple, the packet asks the reader to use the surrounding text to discover the word’s definition, thus, expanding the student’s ability to comprehend more diverse or complicated readings without the extra help.


In section 3, exercise 3 of the packet, students must identify metaphors, images, symbols, and patterns of alliteration. This applies directly to benchmark 1.b: Use context clues to define and interpret figurative words and phrases. It’s self-explanatory; one must be able to offer explanations about the literal representation of figurative language. The packet successfully instructs the student to do this by simply telling them to ‘identify’ the figurative language. There is no other instruction or help given leaving it solely to the student to find what is needed.


The last two benchmarks the packet connects with are benchmark 4.b: Analyze a variety of texts in order to build connections and draw subtle generalizations and conclusions, and benchmark 4.c: Summarize and synthesize ideas and events within or among a variety of texts. Both of these benchmarks are not completely fulfilled with the packet, but the packet does strike several of its tasks. In benchmark 4.b, the reader must build connections and draw conclusions and generalizations. This is done in section 3, exercise 4 when the story’s theme is brought into subject. The packet tells the students to “Identify the theme(s) of the story to reinforce understanding and encourage further levels of appreciation beyond the limits of the story itself.” Benchmark 4.b is accomplished because the student is building connections outside the story. As for benchmark 4.c, section 2 of the packet has students summarize the story in a variety of questions such as: who is the narrator, who are the characters, what do you know about them, describe them physically, describe them morally, and what is the setting. The goal of this benchmark is to incorporate a variety of texts into the picture. This was accomplished by me personally when I continued to compare it to novels I had recently read. I compared how the setting effected the mood differently in all texts I read, and I also compared how the characters can look a certain way in one story because of the way the author describes them, but then completely different in another.


The Jefferson County Pacing Guide is a complicated set of tasks to complete. The packet we were given on the short story “The Lady, or the Tiger” isn’t the easiest of packets for the same reasons the Pacing Guide is complicated and therefore, it successfully pertains the Pacing Guide.