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NJSLSA.R2

Description: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
Maps to Reading Plus skills: 1A, 2A, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2C, 6B, 8B, 9A

Exemplars

2A: Determining Main Idea

2A: Determining Main Idea

Description: Determining Main Idea and Themes

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-7

I-7

Grade level: 9
Word count: 1833 words
Author: Charles Dickens
Synopsis: A young orphan, whose life's expectations are dim, meets a strange man while visiting his parents' graves in the village churchyard.
Excerpt: No excerpt is available for this question.
Question: This selection is mainly about
  1. a young boy who has a frightening experience while visiting his parents' graves.
  2. a poor boy who has to take care of his younger brother after their parents die.
  3. an orphaned boy who is forced by a young sailor to work on a pirate ship.
  4. a brave boy who feeds an old man, who has abandoned his ship.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: List three supporting details from a selection and explain how those details helped you determine the selection's main idea.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

Description: Determining Relative Importance

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-10

I-10

Grade level: 9
Word count: 1732 words
Author: Mary R. Dunn
Synopsis: You can learn a lot of interesting things about ancient people from their bones.
Excerpt: When a map of Florida appeared on the screen, students thought it must be a mistake, but Professor Linus pointed to a town in the central part of the state labeled Titusville, which he described as one of the most significant archeological sites in North America. The land being developed was a bog and had, at one time in the past, been used as a cemetery. The peat in the region had preserved the skeletons of about 168 prehistoric people buried there.

Question: Based on this excerpt, what was the most unusual aspect of the Titusville site?
  1. It was a bog that preserved prehistoric bodies.
  2. It appeared on a map of the central part of Florida.
  3. It was being developed by a construction company.
  4. It had been used in the past as a vacation resort.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Create a Facebook fan page for a selection. Include the most important information to share with fans.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2C: Summarizing

2C: Summarizing

Description: Summarizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-36

I-36

Grade level: 9
Word count: 2302 words
Author: Erica Cirino
Synopsis: Brothers want to see a new pirate film, but they don't have enough money. Will their plan to get the money work out?
Excerpt: Being an honest kid, the next day I divulged the whole thing to Mom and Dad, while naturally Jared never told them about what happened that night on the Gannet--he, unlike John and I, really had fun on our pirate adventure. John and I were punished for starting the trouble, and we never did get to go to the cinema that month. One night while we were grounded, Mom and Dad took Jared to the cinema and told him he could pick any film to watch. He picked the new Adventures of Captain Red Beard film, of course.

Question: Fables are stories that teach readers a lesson. Which idiom below best summarizes the message conveyed in this fable?
  1. Crime does not pay.
  2. They are all in the same boat.
  3. He pulled the wool over their eyes.
  4. Never give up.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Imagine you are an attorney. Prepare a summation of a selection you have read to present to a jury for deliberation.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

6B: Recognizing Persuasion

6B: Recognizing Persuasion

Description: Recognizing Persuasive Devices

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-41

I-41

Grade level: 9
Word count: 1904 words
Author: Luke Cooper
Synopsis: Gustavo Dudamel embodies the power and magic of music.
Excerpt: "Music does more than nourish the human spirit," he adds. "Its very practice instills focus and discipline, respect for others, a spirit of collaboration, and many other positive values that make us better citizens of the world."

Dudamel is convinced that classical music can be a powerful force for social change. "When a little boy or girl, especially from a disadvantaged community, goes to [play in] the orchestra, it can change the life of a family and a community," he explains.

Question: The author of this selection is most likely to agree with which of the following statements?
  1. Music instills values that can be a powerful force for making people and the world a better place.
  2. Classical music is an elite art form that holds no interest for today's young people.
  3. A conductor of an orchestra has a responsibility to follow the musical score as the composer intended.
  4. A more mature conductor usually can generate more excitement than a younger one.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Write a summary of a selection from a perspective that is opposite from the selection.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

Description: Identifying explicit details including character, time, setting and speaker

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-1

I-1

Grade level: 9
Word count: 1740 words
Author: Peter Kupfer
Synopsis: Many bright minds came together to make the new Bay Bridge in San Francisco a technological wonder.
Excerpt: The idea of building a bridge between San Francisco and Oakland had been discussed since the California Gold Rush in the 1840s, but because the water separating the two cities was so wide (more than four miles) and so deep (more than 100 feet in some places), many people thought it would be too challenging and too costly to build. Finally, in 1926, the state of California set up a special commission to plan and build a bridge connecting the two cities. The commission decided that the most suitable solution was to build two separate bridges linked by Yerba Buena Island.

Question: Why did people think it would be too difficult to build the original Bay Bridge?
  1. The water at the building site was so wide and deep.
  2. Steel would have to be shipped from the East Coast.
  3. No suitable locations could be found on each shore.
  4. A special commission said there was no money to pay for it.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Create a website for a non-fiction selection you read. Include the main idea and supporting details. Include images that would help viewers of your website better understand the topic.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2A: Determining Main Idea

2A: Determining Main Idea

Description: Determining Main Idea and Themes

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-9

I-9

Grade level: 9
Word count: 1814 words
Author: Tamara Smith
Synopsis: Want to change the world? Then do what Wangari did: plant a tree.
Excerpt: No excerpt is available for this question.
Question: This selection is mainly about Wangari Maathai and how
  1. she was instrumental in transforming both environmental policies and human rights issues.
  2. her Green Belt movement came under constant attack by government officials who thought it was too radical.
  3. her political success paved the way for other women to obtain high-ranking government positions.
  4. she helped end gender discrimination when she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Using the Internet or other research tools, find three additional pieces of information that support the main idea stated in the selection.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2C: Summarizing

2C: Summarizing

Description: Summarizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-4

I-4

Grade level: 9
Word count: 1787 words
Author: Patrick Henry
Synopsis: A passionate speaker stirs his audience to make a historical decision.
Excerpt: Henry's speech had stirred up the patriotism of the people, and George Mason, one of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States, was very impressed with the young lawyer's skill as a public speaker. He said about Henry, "He is by far the most powerful speaker I ever heard. Every word he says not only engages but commands the attention, and your passions are no longer your own when he addresses them."

Question: In this excerpt, what is Mason really saying about Henry?
  1. His words aroused feelings that inspired people to take action.
  2. His words commanded people to do something they didn't want to do.
  3. His words were too powerful for the people to understand.
  4. His words angered those people who did not agree with him.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Create a news report based on a selection you have read. Report facts from the selection as well as additional facts you researched from reputable sources.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8B: Reasoning

8B: Reasoning

Description: Reasoning

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-43

I-43

Grade level: 9
Word count: 1906 words
Author: Katherine Menard
Synopsis: During these events each team, called a "colla," builds and dismantles its own human tower.
Excerpt: After Franco's death in 1975, the Catalan people began to make their voices heard again, and Catalan cultural pride resurged. Catalans have continued to assert their determination to be an independent sovereign country, no longer part of Spain. This movement has become particularly strong since the turn of the 21st century. Catalans have tried to work with the Spanish government to claim their right to independence and their pride in their distinct culture and traditions, as well as to seek recognition for their contributions to the economy of Spain.

Question: Why did the death of Francisco Franco lead to a resurgence in the popularity of castell building?
  1. The lifting of restrictions that Franco had imposed allowed for greater expression of the Catalan culture.
  2. The end of the Franco regime made people see that working hard was not that important.
  3. After Franco's death parents were no longer reluctant to permit their young children to participate in physical activities.
  4. After Franco died, the Spanish government was eager to erect buildings in his honor.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Do people learn by studying the past? Use details from a selection you have read, as well as your reasoning skills, to support your answer.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

9A: Comparing/Contrasting

9A: Comparing/Contrasting

Description: Compare, Contrast, and/or Integrate

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: I-46

I-46

Grade level: 9
Word count: 2076 words
Author: Joe Novelli
Synopsis: Nive grew up surrounded by whales, icebergs, and the swirling northern lights, and was motivated to use her talents to create and explore.
Excerpt: Greenland is known for its extreme seasons and the bizarre effects of being positioned so close to the North Pole. Notable among these is the daylight, with the summertime sun never fully disappearing, setting upon the horizon only to rise again a few hours later. The viewer's perception of this is a continuous transition between sunset and sunrise, causing brilliant swathes of color dancing over the sky for hours.

The extreme seasons' flip side is the impenetrable darkness of winter, lasting all day and night with only soft dusk for a few daytime hours. But this harsh period of perpetual night provides an utterly awe-inspiring experience: watching the Northern Lights sweep and spiral across the sky like a celestial ballet of greens and purples. The lights arc from horizon to horizon, bending and swirling around one another at alarming speeds. The motion of the spiraling lights in the center of the arc gives one the perception of a living sky, breathing and pulsing.

Question: How do these two paragraphs work together?
  1. They both illustrate contrasting examples of the uniqueness of Greenland's extreme climate.
  2. They both illustrate similar climatic phenomena and how they effect Greenland's environment.
  3. They both illustrate how Greenland's environment affects its economy and cultural arts.
  4. They both illustrate the aesthetic influence Greenland's environment has on Nive's songwriting.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Use a Venn diagram to compare two non-fiction selections on the same topic.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions