CCS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.6

Description: Craft and Structure Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
Maps to Reading Plus skills: 6A, 6B, 6C

Exemplars

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."

Question: Why does the author include these quotes by Thomas Mayfield?
  1. to highlight the unfair treatment of a man who had served his country
  2. to show that German soldiers were treated fairly as prisoners of war
  3. to promote the need for the Civil Rights Movement in the South
  4. 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

6B: Recognizing Persuasion

6B: Recognizing Persuasion

Description: Recognizing Persuasive Devices

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-7

G-7

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1961 words
Author: Karen Berman
Synopsis: Ruby Bridges was the first and only African American student in her school.
Excerpt: African Americans joined forces with white people who believed in equality between the races. They struggled to overcome prejudice and change unfair laws and customs that allowed discrimination based on race. One goal was to end segregated education. In 1954, the year of Ruby Bridges' birth, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a judgment saying that the education African American children received was not sufficient, and they had to be allowed to integrate white schools.

Question: Based on this excerpt, what does the author do to present an unbiased opinion?
  1. The author mentions those white people who fought to end discrimination.
  2. The author highlights the difficult job of federal marshals.
  3. The author explains disagreements with the Supreme Court ruling.
  4. The author describes people who volunteered to teach in segregated schools.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Write a newspaper editorial or blog post to support an opinion expressed in a selection you read.

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
  1. humor.
  2. confusion.
  3. patriotism.
  4. 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