R.ELA.8.12
Description:
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in an informational text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
1A, 6A, 6B, 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
6B: Recognizing Persuasion
6B: Recognizing Persuasion
Description:
Recognizing Persuasive Devices
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
H-29
H-29
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1848 words
Author: Joanna May Thach
Synopsis: It's a challenge to keep city trees healthy and make residents aware of their benefits.
Excerpt:
But a single type of tree in a neighborhood can be boring. Urban foresters continually recommend that a neighborhood have different species of trees. In the climate of New York City, the Callery pear is an alternative to the London plane tree. The name Callery pear may give the impression of messy fruit but that is not the case.
Question:
Choose the sentence in this excerpt that states the author's opinion.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Use the Internet and other research tools to find evidence that refutes an idea, belief, or theme presented in a 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:
H-1
H-1
Grade level: 8
Word count: 1899 words
Author: Tamara Ellis Smith
Synopsis: A boy and his father fight the waves and wind to escape an epic storm.
Excerpt:
Zavion turned his head and saw his house, or what was remaining of his house, which now appeared as a receding, tattered box in the distance. Damaged beams gave the impression of legs buckled at the knees. Then more tiles flew off the collapsing roof, like seagulls crashing into waves to snatch their dinner.
Zavion decided to grab two shattered shingles as they drifted by.
Zavion decided to grab two shattered shingles as they drifted by.
Question:
What does Zavion grab from his house as he departs?
- shingles from the roof
- one of his dad's paintings
- a box of juice
- a roll of canvas
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Describe a selection you have read that has an untrustworthy narrator and explain how you know the narrator is untrustworthy.
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