RI.8.11.a

Description: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on Grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
Maps to Reading Plus skills: 4A

Exemplars

4A: Interpreting Word Meaning

4A: Interpreting Word Meaning

Description: Interpreting Word Meaning

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: H-19

H-19

Grade level: 8
Word count: 1703 words
Author: Claire O'Connell
Synopsis: People from many cultures adorn their bodies for different reasons.
Excerpt: Tattooing and body piercing spread among the upper classes in Europe in the 19th century, most widely in Great Britain. There was a rumor that even Queen Victoria had a small tattoo. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II, discovered that his mother had a tattoo of a snake around her wrist. She covered her tattoo with a diamond bracelet when she was in "polite" company.

Question: In this excerpt, what does the author mean by the phrase "polite company"?
  1. the well-bred class
  2. the knighted class
  3. the religious class
  4. the merchant class

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