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ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1

Description: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
Maps to Reading Plus skills: 1A, 1A, 1B, 1B, 2B, 2B, 3A, 3A, 3B, 3B, 3C, 4C, 6A, 7C, 8A, 8B, 9A

Exemplars

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

Description: Identifying explicit details including character, time, setting and speaker

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-10

G-10

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1735 words
Author: Jack London
Synopsis: Stolen from his home, Buck has to rely on his instincts to survive.
Excerpt: The Judge was at a meeting of the Raisin Growers' Association, and the boys were busy organizing an athletic club, on the memorable night of Manuel's betrayal. No one saw him and Buck go off through the orchard on what Buck imagined was merely a stroll. With the exception of one man, nobody saw them arrive at the little station known as College Park, where the man talked with Manuel, and money changed hands between them.

Question: Based on the selection, which two factors helped the kidnapper get away with Buck undetected?
  1. The Judge was attending a meeting.
  2. The boys were organizing a club.
  3. The gardener's helper didn't show up for work.
  4. The day was cold and snowy.
  5. The train station was far away.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: List two to four supporting characters in a selection and explain their relationship to the selection's main protagonist.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

Description: Drawing Conclusions, Making Inferences from information in text

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-4

G-4

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1872 words
Author: Mike Buchanan and Diane Lang
Synopsis: A teenager learns to view her life in a new light.
Excerpt: "Will you take me to the park again, even though I ran into the street?" he asked.

"Yes, we'll go to the park, but first we're going to talk Mom into getting us a puppy. Then you won't be scared of dogs."

"Puppies are so cute. I want a puppy!" Lucas cried excitedly.

Question: Why does Olivia think a dog would be a good pet for Lucas?
  1. It would cure his fear of dogs.
  2. It would teach him responsibility.
  3. It would help him communicate better.
  4. It would show him the consequences of his actions.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Explain how prior knowledge helped you infer information from a selection.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

Description: Determining Relative Importance

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-8

G-8

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1746 words
Author: Anonymous
Synopsis: Can young Arthur pull the sword from the stone?
Excerpt: Once upon a time, a noble monarch named King Arthur reigned over England. King Arthur was the flower of chivalry, and the founder of the famous order of the Knights of the Round Table. It was a far-off and famous age of chivalry, when the wandering knights sought adventures and performed wonderful deeds throughout the land.

Question: Which were the two major activities of the Knights of the Round Table?
  1. traveling the land seeking adventure
  2. performing good deeds for anyone in need
  3. defeating a monarch and ruling the land
  4. fighting in battles against one another
  5. showing they were capable of feeling mercy

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Create a Facebook fan page for a selection. Include the most important information to share with fans.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3A: Predicting Outcomes

3A: Predicting Outcomes

Description: Predicting Outcomes

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-12

G-12

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1893 words
Author: Anonymous
Synopsis: A plan has been made to trick the Frost King to return the hammer, but will it work?
Excerpt: The hammer was safe once more in Asgard, and you and I know how it came to be there, so someone must have told. I wonder if Loki whispered the tale to some outsider after all.

Question: From this last paragraph, you can conclude that
  1. Loki probably told this story to someone else.
  2. Thor and Loki became best friends.
  3. Loki never played another trick in Asgard.
  4. Thor was sorry he had followed Loki's plan.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe three things that happened in a selection and how they foreshadowed subsequent events.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3B: Analyzing Plot/Character

3B: Analyzing Plot/Character

Description: Analyzing setting, plot, and character

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-13

G-13

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1532 words
Author: Beth Renaud
Synopsis: Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the people and places around her.
Excerpt: After attending a theater performance that featured street gangs on the South Side, Brooks became so inspired by their raw talent that she organized a poetry writing workshop for gang members. In the workshop, she showed them how to write poetry and express their feelings. Soon her home became a meeting place for young people interested in art and politics, particularly those interested in mixing black art with the ideas of Black Power.

Question: This excerpt shows that Brooks was a person who
  1. strived to give back to her community.
  2. earned privileges because of her reputation.
  3. liked to be recognized for her talent.
  4. shined brightest in a college classroom.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe a character with whom you empathize, and explain why you feel this way.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

4C: Visualizing

4C: Visualizing

Description: Visualizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-62

G-62

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1445 words
Author: Idella Bodie
Synopsis: A patriotic symbol helps to keep British troops from taking Fort McHenry.
Excerpt: In the first light of dawn, the rain ceased. Key could see British ships pulling out into the open sea. They'd been unable to take Fort McHenry. Baltimore would not burn.

Then he spotted the flag. A faint wind unfurled the red and white stripes and the blue square with stars. Deeply touched, Key took a letter from his pocket and, on the back, scribbled words that came to him: by the dawn's early light . . .

Question: What did Francis Scott Key see that inspired him to write the words that would become "The Star-Spangled Banner"?
  1. the stripes and stars unfurling in the light of dawn
  2. the British battleships pulling out into the open sea
  3. the sparks from fire as Baltimore burned to the ground
  4. the letter he received while stationed at Fort McHenry

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Pick an event from a selection and describe how you would make it into a scene for a movie.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

6A: Recognizing Author's Intent

6A: Recognizing Author's Intent

Description: Recognizing Author's Purpose

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-4

G-4

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1872 words
Author: Mike Buchanan and Diane Lang
Synopsis: A teenager learns to view her life in a new light.
Excerpt: Olivia peered into her closet for something different to wear. She searched for an outfit that would make her less visible and selected a plain white tee shirt and blue, straight-legged jeans.

"Well," her mother said at breakfast, "I like the new look."

"I made a decision to change my appearance, big deal."

Question: The author mentions that Olivia changed her style of dress to show that she
  1. did not want to stand out and become a target for mean comments.
  2. wanted her mother to like the way she was dressing for school.
  3. did not care what her friends thought about her clothes.
  4. needed her mother to realize that her clothes were outdated.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Write a paragraph about a selection that changed your opinion about a person, topic, or event.

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: 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: In recognition of their great courage and skill, the African American airmen were honored with many medals and awards. Their ground-breaking feats paved the way for the desegregation of the U.S. military. Moreover, they helped remove racial barriers for all African Americans.

Question: What were the two most significant contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen?
  1. They paved the way for desegregation in the military.
  2. They helped remove barriers based on racial prejudice.
  3. They served in non-combat missions during the war.
  4. They inspired the creation of a popular movie.
  5. They attended a famous military base in Alabama.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Create a website for a non-fiction selection you read. Include the main idea and supporting details. Include images that would help viewers of your website better understand the topic.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

Description: Drawing Conclusions, Making Inferences from information in text

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-23

G-23

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1834 words
Author: Luke Cooper
Synopsis: Your taste buds work hard to help you enjoy your food.
Excerpt: A sweet taste is produced by sugars and a few other things in the food and is mostly regarded as a pleasant taste. That is one of the reasons why ice cream tastes so good. It has a lot of sugar in it! A sour taste is produced by the acid in the food and is mostly found in fruits such as lemons, grapes, and grapefruit. A salty taste is produced by salt and other things in the food. A bitter taste is mostly regarded as a sharp and unpleasant taste, which is present in poisonous plants as well as in foods such as coffee, cocoa, and olives.

Question: How can the sense of taste protect people from harm?
  1. A bitter taste can warn people a food may be poisonous.
  2. A sweet taste can induce people to finish their meals.
  3. A sour taste can attract people to eating healthy fruits.
  4. A salty taste can make people want to drink more fluids.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Explain how prior knowledge helped you infer information from a selection.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

Description: Determining Relative Importance

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: As Ruby's first day of school approached, Judge Wright began to fear that white segregationists might try to harm the children. He also knew they could not depend on city police, because they often sided with white people, no matter what. Judge Wright requested federal marshals, who were police officers from the U.S. government, to keep the children from being harmed. They drove Ruby to school that first day and for most of the following year.

Question: You can tell that ending segregation was dangerous mostly because
  1. federal marshals were brought in to enforce the court ruling.
  2. all students rode buses to their newly integrated schools.
  3. Ruby's mother had to stay with her all day in the classroom.
  4. Ruby had to eat her lunch alone in the school cafeteria.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Create a Facebook fan page for a selection. Include the most important information to share with fans.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3A: Predicting Outcomes

3A: Predicting Outcomes

Description: Predicting Outcomes

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-16

G-16

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1578 words
Author: Nancy McCloskey
Synopsis: A former slave gives his master something to think about.
Excerpt: Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin's to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living.

Question: Read this excerpt. When the former slave master read Jourdan's letter, he probably was
  1. outraged.
  2. appreciative.
  3. proud.
  4. hopeful.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe three things that happened in a selection and how they foreshadowed subsequent events.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3B: Analyzing Plot/Character

3B: Analyzing Plot/Character

Description: Analyzing setting, plot, and character

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-17

G-17

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1876 words
Author: Barack Obama
Synopsis: The future of America depends on what students are learning today.
Excerpt: That's why today I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education -- and do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending some time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community.

Question: When it comes to goals, President Obama recommends that students should set goals that are
  1. simple and helpful.
  2. impractical and unreachable.
  3. easy and informal.
  4. unclear and imprecise.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Think about the characters in a selection. What motivates these characters to act the way they do?

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3C: Analyzing Cause/Effect

3C: Analyzing Cause/Effect

Description: Analyzing Cause and Effect

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-18

G-18

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1668 words
Author: Mary R. Dunn
Synopsis: Nature has been busy creating shimmering sculptures deep in the Earth.
Excerpt: Years later, in the same Cave of Crystals, workers found another room filled with sparkling crystals. This new chamber had glistening cauliflower-shaped forms, so they named it the Ice Palace. Although it is a wonder to see, no visitors are allowed inside this cave because it gets so hot.

Question: The Ice Palace mentioned in this selection does not allow visitors because
  1. its hot temperature is life threatening.
  2. it is more than 100 miles long.
  3. it is so cold that the floors are covered with ice.
  4. its stalactites are in danger of falling.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe the cause and effect relationship in a selection you read.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

7C: Interpreting Images

7C: Interpreting Images

Description: Intepreting Images and Maps

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-14

G-14

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1718 words
Author: Peter Kupfer
Synopsis: Cesar Chavez led the fight to improve conditions for migrant farm workers.
Image:
Question image failed to load
Question: Migrant farm workers in this selection described this tool as a
  1. back-breaker.
  2. time-saver.
  3. money-maker.
  4. soil-scraper.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe how images used in a text added to the mood or overall understanding of the text. Use images and details from a selection you have read to illustrate and explain your answer.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8A: Judging Validity

8A: Judging Validity

Description: Judge Validity

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-20

G-20

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1713 words
Author: Tamara Ellis Smith
Synopsis: Derrick Redmond becomes a hero, with his father's help.
Excerpt: Derrick Redmond, a British runner, is one of these hopeful athletes. Born on September 3, 1965, he had been training for this day in Barcelona for the last 20 years. Jim Redmond, Derrick's father, was a tremendous supporter of his son, and they were exceptionally close. Jim attended all of Derrick's meets, and he encouraged his son's aspirations.

Question: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that indicates the dedication needed to win an Olympic gold medal.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: What can you do to verify statements made by an author if he or she does not include supporting facts in the selection? What would you do if you found conflicting sources?

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8B: Reasoning

8B: Reasoning

Description: Reasoning

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-21

G-21

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1583 words
Author: Mike Buchanan
Synopsis: Convincing others that the Sun was the center of the solar system was not easy.
Excerpt: Well, almost five centuries ago, that's exactly what happened to the scientist Galileo Galilei. At that time, scientific research was not a common pursuit. Many people got their information from religious authorities, who based their claims on scripture. In the end, his story is one of tragedy and triumph. It took hundreds of years for his vindication and he now is considered "The Father of Modern Science."

Question: Choose the two sentences in this excerpt that explain why Galileo's heliocentric theory was so severely criticized.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: How would you apply what you learned in a selection to your own life?

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

9A: Comparing/Contrasting

9A: Comparing/Contrasting

Description: Compare, Contrast, and/or Integrate

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: G-33

G-33

Grade level: 7
Word count: 1677 words
Author: Lionel Beasley
Synopsis: Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova had different personalities and styles of play, but their matches thrilled millions of tennis fans.
Excerpt: Navratilova charged the net behind a powerful serve. She was superior to Evert on the courts that played to these strengths, such as the lawn at Wimbledon or the types of carpets used on the indoor courts. Evert was known for her baseline game, and she avoided the net in favor of sharp ground stokes. She was superior to Navratilova on the courts that favored her game, such as the clay courts used by the U.S. and French Open tournaments.

A comparison of personalities shows similar contrasts. Evert showed little emotion during matches. Navratilova was known for her explosive nature. She argued with the judges over calls, chatted with the courtside fans, and scolded herself over errors. Their differences even extended to the hands they favored. Evert was right handed and Navratilova was a lefty. What they had in common was a drive to be the very best in the game.

Question: What can you conclude from these two excerpts about Evert and Navratilova?
  1. They had different personalities and strengths on the court.
  2. They had absolutely nothing in common when it came to tennis.
  3. They used the same proven strategies to outplay each other.
  4. They preferred playing matches indoors rather than in outdoor stadiums.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe how the world today compares and contrasts with the setting of a selection that takes place in the past. Include at least three examples.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions