RI.11-12.4
Description:
Craft and Structure
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in various genres, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
4A, 4B, 5A, 5C
Exemplars
4A: Interpreting Word Meaning
4A: Interpreting Word Meaning
Description:
Interpreting Word Meaning
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-16
K-16
Grade level: 11
Word count: 2073 words
Author: Kate Scoville
Synopsis: Many companies target their marketing to toddlers, tweens, and teens, who are considered lucrative consumer groups.
Excerpt:
Young people are one particularly lucrative consumer group that many companies seek to exploit. Marketers first developed propaganda directed toward youngsters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since then, the permeation of such propaganda into children's everyday lives has progressively intensified. Today, American businesses spend over $15 billion per year to deliver over 40,000 advertisements to children and teens through television alone.
Question:
In this excerpt, what is the meaning of the word "permeation"?
- infiltration
- deficiency
- suppression
- extraction
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Describe three or more words that you learned recently by reading Non-fiction texts about a certain topic. Explain why knowing these words has helped you better understand the topic.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
4B: Interpreting Analogies
4B: Interpreting Analogies
Description:
Interpreting Analogies
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-13
K-13
Grade level: 11
Word count: 2110 words
Author: Katherine Menard
Synopsis: A growing segment of the population is becoming more knowledgeable about food sources and purchasing produce directly from local farmers.
Excerpt:
One of the most significant elements of CSAs is the concept of shared risk. This is most obvious in the way a CSA operation is financed. Shareholders' up-front payments, like all investments, are based on potential, not actuality. Nobody can predict with certainty how much the farm will produce in a given year.
Question:
When a consumer joins a CSA, the process can be compared to
- buying a stock whose profitability is determined by future conditions.
- joining a club that requires members to spend a certain amount on food.
- taking a part-time job that helps people in your community.
- coaching a sports team to get the best results during the season.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Describe how metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or personification is used in a selection and explain how it enhances or distracts from the selection.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
5A: Examining Text Structure
5A: Examining Text Structure
Description:
Examining Text Structure
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-39
K-39
Grade level: 11
Word count: 1650 words
Author: Christopher Morley
Synopsis: If you have ever been asked to write a certain number of words on a topic, you'll certainly understand the frustration expressed by the newspaper reporter who penned this essay.
Excerpt:
(We ask you to observe our self-restraint. We might have said "drenching downpour of silver Long Island rain," or something of that sort, and thus got several words nearer our necessary total of 1100. But we scorn, even when writing against time, to take petty advantages. Let us be brief, crisp, packed with thought. Let it stand as drench, while you admire our proud conscience.)
Question:
Irony occurs when words are used to convey a meaning that is the opposite their usual meaning. What is ironic about this part of the essay?
- Morley says he is writing succinctly, yet he rambles on for a paragraph about doing so.
- Morley describes a drenching downpour, yet there is no proof it has rained.
- Although he meets his own deadlines, Morley encourages others to take more time to write.
- While he has a talent for writing, Morley has decided to seek work that does not require any writing.
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
5C: Examining Genre
5C: Examining Genre
Description:
Examining Genre
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-45
K-45
Grade level: 11
Word count: 2261 words
Author: Kate Scoville
Synopsis: Mules, dolphins, and dogs are well suited to carry out military operations.
Excerpt:
No excerpt is available for this question.
Question:
The genre of this selection is best described as
- nonfiction.
- historical fiction.
- realistic fiction.
- biography.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Choose an expository piece, such as a speech or an essay. Describe how the author uses language to relay information, or make (or respond) to an argument.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions