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NJSLSA.R4

Description: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
Maps to Reading Plus skills: 4B, 4C, 5A, 6A, 6C, 6C

Exemplars

5A: Examining Text Structure

5A: Examining Text Structure

Description: Examining Text Structure

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-8

G-8

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1746 words
Author: Anonymous
Synopsis: Can young Arthur pull the sword from the stone?
Excerpt: "I am not your father nor related to you," said Sir Hector. "I must now reveal the secret I long have kept. You were brought to me in infancy, and I and my wife have raised you as our own son. Who you truly are I cannot say. Only Merlin the magician knows, but I feel certain you are of nobler blood than I can boast."

Question: Which quote represents an important change in the plot?
  1. "I am not your father nor related to you."
  2. "My brother Kay shall not be without a sword."
  3. "There is fraud or magic in this."
  4. "Rise, I pray. It pains me deeply to see you like that."

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Explain an author's use of description in a selection, and how the description shaped the way you viewed and understood the person, object, or event described.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone

6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone

Description: Recognizing Mood and Tone

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-9

G-9

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1662 words
Author: Anonymous
Synopsis: Will a plan to fly out of prison be successful?
Excerpt: That was a joyous day for father and son. The father had never before drunk deeper of the intoxicating wine of Success. For the lad it was all pure joy. Never before had he known freedom and power so utterly glorious. As a little child he had watched birds fly far away over the blue hills to where the sun was setting. He had longed for wings that he might follow them in their flight.

Question: In this excerpt, the author creates a mood of
  1. jubilation.
  2. nervousness.
  3. outrage.
  4. suspicion.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: What kinds of language or other text structure elements (tone) are used to create an excited or adventurous mood? Use details from a selection you have read to illustrate and explain your answer.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

4B: Interpreting Analogies

4B: Interpreting Analogies

Description: Interpreting Analogies

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-42

G-42

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1959 words
Author: Diane Lang
Synopsis: A "philosopher" inspires a community project to restore courage and kindness to the school.
Excerpt: I told Mr. Matas about my desire to be a doctor and repair deformities like mine, so other kids wouldn't be ridiculed or beaten like me. Mr. Matas inquired about my schoolwork and then asked about the boys who taunted me. Because he was so kind, I described my dismal situation, but admitted I was reluctant to request assistance from my parents and teachers.

"Stay strong," he urged. "Withered plants will eventually revive with sufficient watering."

Question: In this excerpt, when Mr. Matas uses the phrase "withered plants," he is really talking about the
  1. bullies at Jordi's school.
  2. parents in Mamelodi.
  3. flowers in his employer's garden.
  4. teachers at Jordi's school.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Write short paragraphs that demonstrate use of simile, metaphor, idiom, and hyperbole.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

4C: Visualizing

4C: Visualizing

Description: Visualizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-25

G-25

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1587 words
Author: Kathryn Oliva
Synopsis: When car shopping, it's good to research your options.
Excerpt: How does a hybrid-electric car work? A hybrid-electric car is partly powered by a gasoline engine that is both lighter in weight and smaller in size than a standard gasoline engine. It also is partly powered by an electric motor and a battery. These power sources run at the same time, but not equally.

Question: If you saw two engines, one from a hybrid car and one from a standard car, how could you tell which one belonged to the hybrid?
  1. The hybrid car engine would be smaller.
  2. The hybrid car engine would be heavier.
  3. The standard car engine would be lighter.
  4. The standard car engine would be smaller.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe an example of a particularly vivid scene from a selection. Explain what technique the author used to create such a clear picture of the setting or event you found memorable.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

6A: Recognizing Author's Intent

6A: Recognizing Author's Intent

Description: Recognizing Author's Purpose

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-6

G-6

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1606 words
Author: Peter Kupfer
Synopsis: The African Americans who served as Tuskegee airmen deserve our respect and thanks.
Excerpt: When Thomas Mayfield returned to his base in Kentucky, for example, he and the other African American pilots were barred from mixing with the white officers. The pilots were even denied access to the areas where the German prisoners were allowed to walk freely.

"It hurt. We had done our jobs," Mayfield recalled. "The thing is, we had faced discrimination for years during the war. Then we came back and the people we were fighting got more privileges than we had."

Question: Why does the author include these quotes by Thomas Mayfield?
  1. to highlight the unfair treatment of a man who had served his country
  2. to show that German soldiers were treated fairly as prisoners of war
  3. to promote the need for the Civil Rights Movement in the South
  4. to defend the actions of soldiers who protested racial segregation

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: How effective were the words and writing style used by the author of a selection? Explain why.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone

6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone

Description: Recognizing Mood and Tone

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-15

G-15

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1597 words
Author: Nancy McCloskey
Synopsis: Young people take their good ideas and make them a reality.
Excerpt: Chester's hometown has earned the title "Ear Muff Capital of the World." It celebrates the birthday of the inventor and his invention every December with a parade. Most of the parade watchers are probably wearing ear muffs.

Question: The author probably added the last sentence to this paragraph to insert some
  1. humor.
  2. confusion.
  3. patriotism.
  4. mockery.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: What kinds of language or other text structure elements (tone) are used to create a dramatic or fearful mood? Use details from a selection you have read to illustrate and explain your answer.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions