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Grade 9 Literature Worksheet: By the Waters of Babylon

$1.00

  • 2 pages total

  • 3 differentiated practice exercises

  • 1 answer key page

  • 2 pages total

  • 3 differentiated practice exercises

  • 1 answer key page

“The old gods are dead, but the new god is stronger.”
— By the Waters of Babylon, Stephen Vincent Benét

Additional Info:

  1. Text type: Short story

  2. Difficulty Level: Medium to Medium–Difficult

  3. Grade Level: Grade 9 

  4. Skill Focus: This worksheet develops reading comprehension, inference, theme analysis, and author’s craft, with a focus on understanding how setting, symbolism, and point of view shape meaning in a post-apocalyptic text.

  5. Standards Alignment

CCSS (Grades 9–10):

  • RL.9-10.1 – Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis.

  • RL.9-10.2 – Determine a theme or central idea and analyze its development.

  • RL.9-10.4 – Analyze the cumulative impact of word choice and symbolism.

CEFR:

  • B1+–B2 Reading – Can understand texts expressing viewpoints, symbolism, and implicit meaning.

Cambridge English:

  • Reading for Meaning & Interpretation – Identifying attitudes, opinions, and deeper meaning in literary texts.

This Grade 9 literature worksheet is based on By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét and focuses on reading comprehension, inference, symbolism, and theme analysis. Aligned with CCSS, CEFR (B1+–B2), and Cambridge English standards, the worksheet guides students from literal understanding to higher-order literary analysis through differentiated activities: Try This, Challenge Yourself, and Push Your Limits. Students analyze character development, setting, symbolism, and the author’s message about knowledge and civilization. A complete answer key is included, making the worksheet suitable for classroom instruction, homework, or independent study.