RL.4.2

Description: Key Ideas and Details Determine a theme or author’s message or purpose of a story, drama, or poem using details and evidence from the text as support; summarize main ideas or events, in correct sequence, including how conflicts are resolved.
Maps to Reading Plus skills: 2C, 5B, 6A

Exemplars

2C: Summarizing

2C: Summarizing

Description: Summarizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: D-51

D-51

Grade level: 4
Word count: 1175 words
Author: Daniel Varnell
Synopsis: When a family gets stuck on a faraway planet, they must ask aliens for help.
Excerpt: No excerpt is available for this question.
Question: The theme of a story is its message or "big idea." Which of the following phrases best summarizes the theme of this selection.
  1. only the truth matters
  2. always show kindness
  3. use your manners
  4. never talk to strangers

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Use your own words to describe the ending of a selection.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

5B: Examining Sequence

5B: Examining Sequence

Description: Examining Sequence of Ideas and Events

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: D-15

D-15

Grade level: 4
Word count: 1303 words
Author: Joyce C. Trygstad
Synopsis: The aquarium's dolphin is unhappy. Can scientists figure out how to help him?
Excerpt: When the scientists noticed that the dolphin rarely came to the surface to get air, and showed no interest in eating, they began to worry.

They'd put microphones in and above the pen to increase the volume of the sounds Whittles made.

Midnight Maid pushed Whittles up several times while he breathed.

Then he played the recording at a slow speed. At the regular speed, the recording sounded like the familiar clicks and whistles. At the slower speed, however, the dolphins' sounds were similar to the sounds of human language.

Question: Put the following events in the order in which they occurred, from first to last.
  1. Whittles stopped eating his food.
  2. Scientists put microphones in and above Whittles' pen.
  3. Midnight Maid pushed Whittles up to the surface of the water.
  4. The scientists listened to slowed-down recordings of Whittles and Midnight Maid.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe a selection's beginning, middle, and end.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

6A: Recognizing Author's Intent

6A: Recognizing Author's Intent

Description: Recognizing Author's Purpose

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: D-19

D-19

Grade level: 4
Word count: 1073 words
Author: Christine Venzon
Synopsis: While watching a baseball game, Adrian finds out the sport has its own special language.
Excerpt: No excerpt is available for this question.
Question: The author's purpose for writing this selection is to
  1. amuse.
  2. frighten.
  3. argue against.
  4. criticize.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Explain the reason why an author wrote a selection. Be sure to use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions