7.9.A
Description:
Explain the author's purpose and message within a text.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
6A, 6B, 6C
Exemplars
6B: Recognizing Persuasion
6B: Recognizing Persuasion
Description:
Recognizing Persuasive Devices
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
G-5
G-5
Grade level: 7
Word count: 1647 words
Author: Mary R. Dunn
Synopsis: A boy gets pulled into the chaos of a historic workers' strike.
Excerpt:
"Stay on that barge and go back where you came from!" another mill worker shouted. "Let us settle this with Mr. Frick who thinks he can withhold our pay and replace us with cheaper labor. Turn your boats around and head for safety if you know what is good for you."
Question:
How does the author convince the reader that the steel workers' demands were reasonable?
- She mentions the injustices experienced by the workers.
- She shows that the union members are stronger than the Pinkertons.
- She explains how unions were formed to make workers rich.
- She describes the failures of the Industrial Revolution.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Retell a selection you have read using your own voice and perspective.
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."
"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?
- to highlight the unfair treatment of a man who had served his country
- to show that German soldiers were treated fairly as prisoners of war
- to promote the need for the Civil Rights Movement in the South
- 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
- humor.
- confusion.
- patriotism.
- 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