8.9.A
Description:
Explain the author's purpose and message within a text.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
5A, 6A, 6A, 7C
Exemplars
6A: Recognizing Author's Intent
6A: Recognizing Author's Intent
Description:
Recognizing Author's Purpose
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-26
H-26
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1706 words
Author: Guinevere Tobias
Synopsis: The tomato was once thought to be poisonous.
Excerpt:
A crowd of thousands gathered to watch Johnson eat himself to death. He didn't die, of course, and his feat gave many people the courage to try the fruit. This story may or may not be true; in some versions, President Thomas Jefferson was the one who ate the tomatoes. Whether or not anybody actually ate a basket of tomatoes in public, we do know for sure that more and more people started eating tomatoes in the 1800s.
Question:
The author's purpose in writing this selection was
- to entertain readers with tales and truths about the tomato.
- to provide readers with scientific research on the tomato.
- to encourage readers to consume more tomato products.
- to substantiate health claims made by the tomato industry.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
How does the author progress a selection to its conclusion? Provide three examples.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
5A: Examining Text Structure
5A: Examining Text Structure
Description:
Examining Text Structure
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-7
H-7
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1853 words
Author: Karen Berman
Synopsis: An immigrant takes a grueling voyage to improve her life.
Excerpt:
Sheyna was apprehensive as she boarded the ship, noticing that it looked bigger than her entire village! Beautiful ladies in feathered hats and gentlemen with walking sticks were boarding on another gangway. They were traveling in first class, which was for rich people. Her third-class steerage ticket entitled her to a bunk in a large room far below deck, where hundreds of bunks were stacked four high and her fellow passengers' possessions were crammed into every corner.
Question:
How does the author highlight the poor conditions experienced by third-class passengers during their voyage?
- by contrasting them with the privileges of first-class passengers
- by exaggerating the effects of severe weather conditions
- by comparing them to the poor conditions of the ship's crew
- by noting that most third-class passengers did not speak English
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Explain why an author chose to organize a selection's plot in an unconventional way. What benefits or disadvantages resulted from the action being presented in this way?
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
6A: Recognizing Author's Intent
6A: Recognizing Author's Intent
Description:
Recognizing Author's Purpose
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-4
H-4
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1968 words
Author: Anonymous
Synopsis: Things go wrong when Cupid wounds himself with his own arrow.
Excerpt:
Cupid, beholding her as she lay in the dust, stopped his flight for an instant, saying, "Oh foolish Psyche, is it thus you repay my love? After I disobeyed my mother's commands and made you my wife, will you think me a monster and cut off my head? Go, and return to your sisters, whose advice you seem to think preferable to mine. I inflict no other punishment on you than to leave you forever. Love cannot dwell with suspicion."
Question:
The author uses Psyche's decision to see her husband's face to show
- a betrayal of trust.
- an act of kindness.
- a declaration of love.
- a sign of strength.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Choose a fictional selection you read and rewrite it from the antagonist's point of view.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
7C: Interpreting Images
7C: Interpreting Images
Description:
Intepreting Images and Maps
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-18
H-18
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1736 words
Author: Mira Kadushin
Synopsis: Different cultures have rituals to mark a person's passage from childhood to adulthood.
Image:
Question:
The author uses the structure pictured in this image as a symbol for
- a transition to a new life phase.
- a celebration of homecoming.
- an invitation to join a community.
- a separation from society.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Choose an image from a fictional selection you have read. Use the image as inspiration to write a new nonfiction piece on the same topic.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions