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Open Up - Grade 6 - ELA - Module 1 - Mid Unit 3 Assessment

By Formative Library
Last updated 7 months ago
5 questions
Read the text, and answer the questions that follow.

Helios

According to the ancient Greeks, Helios was not only the sun-god, he also represented life and life-giving power because light is necessary for life. A lot of people at that time worshipped the sun, so the stories about Helios explained the movement of the sun in the sky.

Helios (the sun) was the son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and he is described as rising every morning in the east. His sister Eos (the dawn) painted the tips of the mountains with her rosy fingers and pulled away the darkness for her brother to appear. Bursting forth in all the glorious light of day, Eos disappeared, and Helios would drive his flaming chariot across the sky. The gold chariot was pulled by four fire-breathing horses. Helios stood behind the horses holding the reins with one hand, his eyes flashing and his head surrounded by rays of light. When it got close to evening, he would cool his burning forehead in the waters of the deep sea in the west, and sister Selene (the moon) took over, illuminating the world with her silver crescent. At night, Helios rested after his labors and reclined on the cool, fragrant couch prepared for him by the seanymphs to ready himself for another life-giving, joy-inspiring day.

Helios was often called as a witness because it was believed that he saw everything. He is said to have loved Clytie, who was a sea nymph and a daughter of Oceanus. He then transferred his devotion to Leucothea, who was a sea goddess who protected sailors. This angered Clytie so much that she told Leucothea’s father, who then punished Leucothea by burying her alive. Helios was overcome by grief, and he sprinkled her grave with heavenly nectar, a sweet liquid that made things grow. There, a shoot of frankincense grew.

Helios eventually married Perse, another sea nymph and daughter of Oceanus, and their children were Aetes and Circe. He also had another son called Phaeton, whose mother was a mortal named Clymene. Phaeton asked Helios if he could drive the chariot of the sun across the sky for one day, and Helios reluctantly agreed. Phaeton couldn't control the chariot, and he accidentally set mountains and forests on fire and dried up rivers and streams. The scorched earth called on Zeus for help, so Zeus hurled his thunderbolt at Phaeton, killing him.

“Bursting forth in all the glorious light of day, Eos disappeared and Helios would drive his flaming chariot across the sky. The gold chariot was pulled by four fire-breathing horses.”

What does chariot most likely mean in these sentences? (L.6.4a, L.6.6)

“At night, Helios rested after his labors and reclined on the cool, fragrant couch prepared for him by the sea-nymphs to ready himself for another lifegiving, joy-inspiring day.”

Use a print or online dictionary. On the lines, copy the meaning of the word reclined as it is used in this sentence. (L.6.4c, L.6.4d, L.6.6)

Helios was overcome by grief and sprinkled her grave with heavenly nectar, a sweet liquid to make things grow. There, a shoot of frankincense grew.”

What words in these sentences best help in understanding the meaning of nectar? (RI.6.4, L.6.4a)

Which of the following is a central idea in this text? (RI.6.2)

Write an objective summary of the text. Remember, a summary of an informational text should include: an introduction stating the title, a brief outline of what the text is about, the central idea, details from the text to support your central idea, and no opinions or judgments. (RI.6.1, RI.6.2, W.6.10)

Source: Open Up Resouces (Download for free at openupresources.org.)