AS.R.1

Description: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Maps to Reading Plus skills: 1A, 1B, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4C, 5A, 6A, 8A, 8A, 8B, 9A, 9B

Exemplars

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

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

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-12

B-12

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1055 words
Author: R. Bender
Synopsis: A dragon has been taking treasures from people. A king needs help from Prince Sunshine to solve the problem.
Excerpt: "How do you make a dragon go to sleep?" asked the prince.

The owl said, "If you want to see a sleeping dragon, there is only one thing you can do. You must have a beautiful princess sing to it. That will make it fall asleep."

Question: Which character in the selection said, "If you want to see a sleeping dragon, there is only one thing you can do"?
  1. the owl
  2. Prince Sunshine
  3. the king
  4. the princess

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Who is the main character in the selection and why is this character so important?

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3A: Predicting Outcomes

3A: Predicting Outcomes

Description: Predicting Outcomes

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-53

B-53

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1118 words
Author: R. Bender
Synopsis: How did Lazy the squirrel earn his nickname? Ask his neighbors.
Excerpt: "You see," she told him, "how terrible it is not to provide for your future? You must store things that are necessary so you will have them when you need them."

Lazy agreed with her. He told his mother never again would he need to be called "Lazy."

Question: Think about the end of this selection. What would most likely happen next?
  1. The squirrels in the woods would find a new name for Lazy.
  2. Lazy would stop storing food and nuts.
  3. The mother squirrel would stop storing food and nuts.
  4. All the squirrels would eat more food during the summer.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Tell about two clues in the selection that helped you figure out the ending.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8A: Judging Validity

8A: Judging Validity

Description: Judge Validity

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-58

B-58

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1003 words
Author: Kate Carter
Synopsis: The owner of a hotel finds out that it's important to treat all travelers equally.
Excerpt: "No, he is not here," said the hotel owner. "The only man that has been here asking for a place to stay was an old farmer. He was so muddy that you could not see the color of his coat. I sent him to the other hotel. He is staying there."

"Did he have red hair?" asked the well-dressed man. "Did he ride a gray horse?"

"Yes," said the hotel owner. "And he was tall."

"That was the vice president!" said the well-dressed man.

The hotel owner went to the other hotel. There he found the vice president sitting with some friends. They were talking and laughing and having a good time. The vice president was clean and neat. He wore fresh clothes. There was no sign of mud anywhere.

Question: Think about what you read in this selection. Which two of the following statements about Thomas Jefferson are correct?
  1. He had red hair.
  2. He was taller than most men.
  3. He rode a white horse.
  4. He traveled with one set of clothes.
  5. He believed he was better than other men.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe a selection that did not seem real in the beginning but made sense in the end. What did the author do to change your view?

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

Description: Drawing Conclusions, Making Inferences from information in text

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-10

B-10

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1102 words
Author: Kate Carter
Synopsis: How much do you know about the sun? Less than you think.
Excerpt: Certainly our ancestors thought our sun was super. That's why they named our entire solar system after the sun. "Sol" is the ancient Roman word for sun.

Question: Read this excerpt. What does it tell you about the people of ancient Rome?
  1. They thought the sun was powerful and important.
  2. They believed the sun was going to burn out.
  3. They thought the planets were more important than the sun.
  4. They believed people should live on the sun.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe the clues in a selection that 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: B-14

B-14

Grade level: 2
Word count: 934 words
Author: Amie Leavitt
Synopsis: Jane Goodall is an expert on chimps and one of nature's greatest friends.
Excerpt: During her trip, Goodall met a man named Louis Leakey. He was a scientist who studied the natural world. He studied fossils, animals, and plants. Leakey was impressed with Goodall's love of nature. So he hired her to work with his group of scientists.

At first, Goodall worked as a secretary. Then Leakey gave her other tasks to do. He could see that she had great potential as a scientist.

Question: Louis Leakey was most impressed with Goodall's
  1. love of nature.
  2. kindness.
  3. sense of humor.
  4. ability to work with others.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe parts of a selection that held important clues to help you understand what was happening.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3B: Analyzing Plot/Character

3B: Analyzing Plot/Character

Description: Analyzing setting, plot, and character

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-21

B-21

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1150 words
Author: Amie Leavitt
Synopsis: Sister volcanoes: twice the fun, and twice the danger.
Excerpt: Native American groups said the mountain was a sacred place. They did not climb to the top. They were afraid that doing so might upset their gods.

Question: Native Americans did not climb to the top of Mount Rainier because
  1. they thought it might make the gods angry.
  2. English settlers were living at the top.
  3. they thought the mountain was too small to climb.
  4. the mountain constantly erupted with lava.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Explain why you agree or disagree with the behavior of a character.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

4C: Visualizing

4C: Visualizing

Description: Visualizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-8

B-8

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1022 words
Author: Elizabeth Holman
Synopsis: Animals form partnerships as if their lives depend on it--because they do.
Excerpt: When the shrimp digs a hole, it must get rid of the extra sand. That means it must go out into the open sea and dump it. And going out into the open sea means danger. That's when the goby fish helps. The fish will stand guard at the hole while the shrimp takes the sand away. The shrimp always keeps a part of its body touching the fish. If the fish sees trouble on the way, it will start to flap its tail. Then it will dart into the hole.

Question: A goby fish will warn a shrimp when danger is near. Which two of the following warnings does the fish provide?
  1. The fish moves its tail from side to side.
  2. The fish swims quickly into a hole.
  3. The fish creates bubbles in the water.
  4. The fish swims in circles.
  5. The fish sways its head from side to side.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: List five words in a selection that helped you form a picture in your mind. Do additional research to find a synonym and antonym for each word, and use the word in a sentence.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

5A: Examining Text Structure

5A: Examining Text Structure

Description: Examining Text Structure

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-11

B-11

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1026 words
Author: Tracey Baptiste
Synopsis: What makes a good pet? Loyalty? Friendliness? Fur?
Excerpt: No excerpt is available for this question.
Question: How does the author organize the information in this selection?
  1. Things are compared to see how they are similar or different from one another.
  2. One problem is presented and many possible solutions are described.
  3. Information is presented randomly and is not organized.
  4. Events are described in alphabetical order.

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

6A: Recognizing Author's Intent

6A: Recognizing Author's Intent

Description: Recognizing Author's Purpose

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: HiB-6

HiB-6

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1143 words
Author: Kate Carter
Synopsis: When you adopt a pet from a shelter, you can do a world of good.
Excerpt: Puppy mills became big business. They "make" and sell puppies the way other mills make and sell cotton or flour.

But the trouble is, dogs are not cotton or flour. They're living, breathing creatures. Puppy mill owners care about making money. They don't care about dogs' well being.

Question: In this excerpt, why does the author say that dogs "are not cotton or flour"?
  1. She is pointing out that dogs shouldn't be treated like nonliving things.
  2. She is afraid readers won't know the difference between dogs and cotton or flour.
  3. She thinks it's more important for mills to make and sell cotton and flour.
  4. She believes that cotton and flour can be useful to dogs.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: List all the things you like about a selection. Then explain which of these reasons are based on fact and which are based on opinion.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8A: Judging Validity

8A: Judging Validity

Description: Judge Validity

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-18

B-18

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1107 words
Author: R. Bender
Synopsis: It would be impossible to live without plants. They are very important to our lives. From breathing to eating to brushing our teeth, we use plants throughout the day.
Excerpt: Water moves from the roots of a plant to its leaves. When the water reaches the leaves, it changes into a vapor. You cannot see this vapor but it gets into the air. That water vapor joins with other vapor in the sky. It all comes together to make a cloud. Groups of clouds come together and we get rain. The rain falls to the ground.

Question: According to this selection, which of the following is true about plants?
  1. Plants have a role in the creation of rain water.
  2. Plants are not important for the environment.
  3. Plant pieces are found in most clouds.
  4. Plants can survive if their roots are cut off.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe at least five ways you can tell if a selection is true or not true. Use examples from selections you have read to support your statements.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8B: Reasoning

8B: Reasoning

Description: Reasoning

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-15

B-15

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1069 words
Author: Kate Carter
Synopsis: How to make your school environmentally friendly, one step at a time.
Excerpt: Now that we're outside, let's talk about the best thing you can do to help your school go green. Have a Walk Ride Day each month. That's a day when students, parents, teachers--everyone--agrees to walk, ride a bike, take a bus or subway, or share a ride to school. This is a win for everyone. You get exercise and have fun. Your school's neighborhood gets cleaner air.

Question: How does sharing a ride to school help the environment?
  1. You will use only one car, so you save gas and cause less pollution.
  2. While you ride to school, you can talk to your friends.
  3. Riding in a car is faster than walking or riding a bike, so you will arrive at school earlier.
  4. Riding in a car means you can do your homework on the way to school.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Tell how two (or more) facts from a selection led you to answer a question about the selection.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

9A: Comparing/Contrasting

9A: Comparing/Contrasting

Description: Compare, Contrast, and/or Integrate

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-28

B-28

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1112 words
Author: Michael H. Levitt
Synopsis: A son remembers his favorite trip to Mount Rushmore.
Excerpt: My dad took my older brother James and me camping every summer. We would pack our sleeping bags in our dad's car. We would go to all different parts of the country.

That night at camp we sat around the fire. Dad began to speak. "James, you were right when you said those men were four of our greatest presidents. But they were very good at many different things. Each of them was something other than a president."

Now I take my own kids to see the faces carved in the stone. My children look up at the huge faces in the mountain. I like to tell them the stories about the men who were great presidents. I tell them that these great men were once young children too. These great men had started as young kids with dreams, just like them.

Question: Based on what you read, in which two of the following ways are the author of this selection and his father alike?
  1. Both took their children to places to learn about history.
  2. Both believed it was important to teach their children about the presidents.
  3. Both served as president of the United States.
  4. Both helped carve Mount Rushmore.
  5. Both thought Jefferson was the greatest president.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: How is the life of a character in a selection similar to (or different from) your own life?

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

9B: Classifying

9B: Classifying

Description: Classify

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: B-49

B-49

Grade level: 2
Word count: 1087 words
Author: Barbara Smalley
Synopsis: Hot dogs are one of America's most popular foods.
Excerpt: No excerpt is available for this question.
Question: Hot dogs are popular for many reasons. All of these statements explain why hot dogs are popular EXCEPT
  1. "Hot dogs have a narrow tube shape, and they are usually brown."
  2. "Hot dogs can be easily heated in a pan, on a grill, or in boiling water."
  3. "Hot dogs are available in most places, and they do not cost much money."
  4. "Hot dogs can be served with any kind of topping a person likes."

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Write three headings: Places, Animals, Events. Under these headings, list the names and main ideas of at least 7 non-fiction texts you have read.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions