Reading Plus State Standards Alignment: Exemplars

6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: HiC-23

Excerpt: After school on Friday, Jake asked his mom if she could drive him to tryouts on Saturday morning. Jake's mom gave him a puzzled look. "For what, honey?" she asked.

"I'm trying out for a position on the Roller Derby. I want to surprise Dad."

"He'll be surprised, alright," she sighed.

Question: In this excerpt, Jake's mom says his dad will "be surprised, alright." What does she mean?

He's not going to like what Jake tells him.
He's going to be nervous and lonely.
He's not going to let Jake see his fear.
He's going to be confused and sad.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Give examples of selections you have read that create a mood through the setting, feelings of characters, and choice of words.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8A: Judging Validity

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: C-49

Excerpt: For many hours after the elephant left, the six blind men sat by the side of the road. They argued loudly about the elephant. Each blind man believed that he knew best what the animal was like. Each blind man called the others harsh names because they could not agree if the elephant was like a wall, a spear, a snake, a tree, a fan, or a rope.

Question: Which is true about the six blind men?

They ignored the opinions of other people.
They never left their house because they were afraid.
They refused any help from the wise man.
They did not speak to any of their neighbors.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe at least five ways you can tell if a selection is true or not true. Use examples from selections you have read to support your statements.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8B: Reasoning

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: C-51

Excerpt: Being a teacher in China is different from teaching in the United States. For example, Chinese students usually do not talk to teachers when they are in the classroom. A teacher stands in front of the class and teaches a lesson. The students sit silently. They listen and take notes.

China is one of the most polluted countries in the world. In the city where I teach, pollution makes the skies gray and foggy. Many people have a hard time breathing with all the pollution in the air.

Question: Based on what you read in this selection, which two of the following statements are correct?

The classrooms in China are quieter than the classrooms in America.
Air pollution causes health problems for many people in China.
It is easy to find an empty seat on a bus in China.
American fast food restaurants are the only places to buy a meal in China.
People in China are healthier than people from other places due to clean, fresh air.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Write three "why" questions about a selection and provide evidence from the text on how those questions should be answered.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

9B: Classifying

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: C-15

Excerpt: "There might be," her dad answered. "We can build one, too, if you're really interested. We would need to get a box, a light bulb, a thermometer, and some straw. And then we would need to get some eggs."

Question: To build a successful incubator, you need a

box, a light bulb, and a thermometer.
plant bulb, a box, and a light meter.
box, a book, and a chicken.
thermometer, an egg, and a refrigerator.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: What makes a character a hero or a villain? List the names of characters who are heroes or villains and explain why they belong to that group. The characters can be from fiction or non-fiction texts.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: C-3

Excerpt: In China, the word for rice means food. When Chinese people meet friends, they do not say, "How are you?" They say, "Have you had your rice today?" If you are not Chinese, that question might get you some strange looks.

Question: Why do people in China ask, "Have you had your rice today?"

They want to make sure their friends are well fed and healthy.
They think that people should not eat rice every day.
They want to be invited to a dinner where rice is part of the meal.
They always prepare extra rice for all of their friends and neighbors.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Did the title of this selection provide you with clues about the selection's main idea? Why or why not?

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3A: Predicting Outcomes

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: C-7

Excerpt: A deep-sea vent is like a geyser, but it is on the ocean floor. It may be a mile or several miles below the surface. A deep-sea vent also blows hot water--hotter than boiling. But it blows the water into the cold ocean. That means the water around a deep-sea vent is much warmer than the rest of the ocean.

The temperature of the deep sea is much too cold for animals.

Question: What would most likely happen if all the deep-sea vents suddenly disappeared?

The temperature of deep ocean water would become colder.
More sunlight would reach the deepest part of the ocean.
Sea creatures would have an easier time finding food.
More sea creatures would start living in the deepest part of the ocean.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Write an email to a friend who has not read the selection. Provide enough information about the selection's characters, settings, and events so your friend is able to predict what happened in the selection.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8A: Judging Validity

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: C-58

Excerpt: It was still October but the chilly wind cut through his heavy sweater. All the farmers said the winter of 1777 would be a bad one.

The English colonists left their cows out all winter as they had done in England. But not Johann's family, or the other Pennsylvania Dutch colonists. They came from the Rhineland in Germany where winters were bitter. They believed in the old German saying, "A good cow one expects to find in the barn."

It was hard for Johann to explain ideas in English. He searched for the right words. What does the king know about living in Pennsylvania? It is better to be free to make our own laws."

Question: Which two of the following statements are correct based on what you read?

This setting of this selection is a fall day in Pennsylvania.
English colonists' cows were not as healthy as the cows of the Pennsylvania Dutch colonists.
The Patriots supported the king and wanted him to rule the colonies.
The boys in this selection both speak German.
The cow did not provide any help to Johann.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe at least five ways you can tell if a selection is true or not true. Use examples from selections you have read to support your statements.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

9B: Classifying

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: C-26

Excerpt: There are two kinds of whales. One kind has teeth. The other kind of whale does not have teeth. This kind has something called "baleen."

Question: According to this selection, whales can be divided into two groups. What are these groups?

Whales with teeth and whales with baleen.
Whales with blowholes and whales without blowholes.
Whales that are mammals and whales that are fish.
Whales that breathe air and whales that do not breathe air.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: What makes a character a hero or a villain? List the names of characters who are heroes or villains and explain why they belong to that group. The characters can be from fiction or non-fiction texts.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-6

Excerpt: "My husband has built at least five balloons of different sizes to use as observation posts," explained Mrs. Lowe. "Realizing the need to refuel the balloons frequently, he also invented and operated a portable gas generator that could be transported to positions near the battlefields."

The driver nodded and said, "What did I hear about your sending valuable intelligence reports about Falls Church?"

"That was an exciting encounter. I was in Arlington, Virginia, high above the countryside, and I was able to telegraph intelligence on the Confederate troops so that the Union soldiers could take aim at the enemy and maintain fire on them without even seeing them."

Question: Which two major contributions did Mr. Lowe make to the war effort?

He sent valuable information on enemy troop positions.
He invented a portable gas generator to fuel balloons.
He wounded his arm in a hot air balloon accident.
He fired on the enemy without even seeing them.
He spent most of his time on a barge in the river.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Create a new graphic organizer that indicates a selection's main idea, characters, and supporting details, and how these three areas intersect.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-7

Excerpt: There was clearly nothing to do but throw herself down on the shabby little couch and howl, so Della did. Her cries echoed off the bare walls of the tiny apartment, which was a furnished flat at $8 per week. "Furnished" is a questionable word here, since the apartment was nearly empty, holding only the shabby couch, a sagging bed, and a small dining table with two chairs, all equally worn down with age and use.

Question: From what you have read, you can tell that Della and Jim lived in

a small, worn-down apartment.
a comfortable country cottage.
a large townhouse in the city.
a small room in Della's parents' house.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe how you arrived at conclusions about a selection's main idea and characters if information about these text elements was not directly stated.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-8

Excerpt: Now the Sheriff of Nottingham declared that he himself would bring this knave Robin Hood to justice, and for two reasons. First, he wanted the two hundred pounds. And second, the forester that Robin Hood had killed was of kin to him.

Question: The Sheriff of Nottingham planned to capture Robin because he wanted the

reward.
honor.
power.
deer.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Develop a survey that asks readers to rate different elements (characters, actions, events, motivations, etc.) in a selection according to their importance to the plot.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3A: Predicting Outcomes

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-26

Excerpt: Perhaps some day its mystery will be solved. The U.S. Geologic Survey decided to spend no more time on trying to uncover the mystery of the earth cookie, but the students at the Jefferson Elementary School may still be working on the case. We may be hearing from them yet!

Question: Based on this excerpt, what does the author think might be the outcome of the earth cookie mystery?

It may be solved one day.
It will always remain a mystery.
It will be forgotten by everyone.
It will be proved to have been a hoax.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Propose an alternative ending or conclusion to a selection and provide an argument why your new text is an improvement.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

4C: Visualizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-26

Excerpt: The "something" turned out to be a flat, right-side-up slab of earth. It was about two feet thick, with a pear-shaped crown of mowed grain and wild grass. It was ten feet long at its longest point and almost eight feet at its widest point. Its rim, Rick recalled, had a smooth wall, and it looked as if it had been cut by a giant pear-shaped cookie cutter.

Question: The slab of earth that Rick Timm found in the middle of the wheat field

looked like a giant pear-shaped cookie.
appeared to be made of solid rock.
consisted of a small patch of wild grass.
was shaped like a large dairy cow.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe how you relate scenes you visualize from reading with real life scenes. Give examples.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

7C: Interpreting Images

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-18

Image:

Question: How would this image have looked different 250 million years ago?

Earth would have only one big landform.
The continents would be tiny islands.
There would be more than seven continents.
Earth's surface would be covered in lava.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Choose an image from a fictional selection you have read. Use the image as inspiration to write a new nonfiction piece on the same topic.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-1

Excerpt: The first shoe fad started in the 14th century in Europe. Both men and women wore slippers with long points at the front of the shoes. These slippers were called poulaines. Over time, poulaines were created with longer and longer points until they became a hazard. The wearers tripped over the points!

Question: Read this excerpt from the selection. This example of a shoe fad shows that

some shoes could cause injuries.
men had no interest in fancy footwear.
most people wore a wide-width shoe.
people preferred boots to slippers.

Writing
✓ standard met

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

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-2

Excerpt: Greetings are universal customs, but they are given in many ways. In most major cities around the world, you would never say hello to strangers on the street. Greeting strangers is common in small towns, where not saying hello to everyone you pass might be considered rude. In Muslim countries, however, men and women do not speak unless they already know each other. To do so would be to commit a major etiquette mistake.

Question: Which of the following would be considered an etiquette mistake?

saying hello to strangers on the street in a Muslim country
accompanying a handshake with a smile in South Africa
shaking hands with everyone in the room in Cameroon
asking questions about a person's health in Kenya

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

2C: Summarizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-3

Excerpt: Gie-Ming would take Jeremy and his two brothers to the local YMCA to run drills every day after school. He made them practice the same things over and over to perfect them. Bird's picture-perfect jump shot. Magic's kickout passes. Kareem-Abdul Jabbar's famous overhead skyhook, something very rare for a guard to perfect. Gie-Ming pushed them hard, but the boys were game; they could not wait to hit the gym and keep getting better.

Question: Which saying characterized the training Lin received from his dad on the court?

Practice makes perfect.
First things first.
Nice guys finish last.
It's what on the inside that counts.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Create a news report based on a selection you have read. Report facts from the selection as well as additional facts you researched from reputable sources.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-1

Excerpt: At that time, six people died while mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps, which was partly due to their improper footwear. This inspired a friend of the climbers to create a new shoe sole.

Two years later, he patented his invention of a rubber sole that resisted abrasion and provided superb traction on all sorts of surfaces. In 1954 the first successful climb of K2, the second highest mountain in the world, was made by hikers wearing shoes with these soles.

Question: Based on this selection, which shoe characteristic is most important for mountain-climbers?

traction
length
price
warmth

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

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-4

Excerpt: There are many, many more exoplanets than the eight planets in our solar system. There are 760 so far, and scientists have only just begun to find them. It makes sense to assume that some of these far away planets might be very much like Earth. Some rocky planets probably have plenty of water on their surface, and stay at a temperature between freezing and boiling most of the time. These two conditions could make it possible for Earth-like life to exist.

Question: From what you have read, which of the following is most likely?

Some exoplanets could resemble Earth in their composition and climate.
There are not many more exoplanets than the eight planets in our solar system.
Astronauts are now training for missions to the farthest exoplanet.
We will never know whether exoplanets really exist in our solar system.

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

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-5

Excerpt: Times were anything but easy for Keeth. With all the odds stacked against him and so much sadness in his life, he could have very well quit the sport of fencing, but he was not to be defeated. For Keeth, neither quitting nor failure was an option. He devoted himself to the sport of fencing more intensely than ever. He used the training and competitions to distract himself from his grief, and to prove that his parents were right to get him into the sport in the first place.

Question: Which two details contribute to the reader's understanding of Keeth Smart's character?

He never considered quitting or failing.
He put a lot of effort into his training.
He took a break from competitions.
He never was confident in his skills.
He was slow to recognize his potential.

Writing
✓ standard met

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

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3C: Analyzing Cause/Effect

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-10

Excerpt: Ochoa's Hispanic roots come from her father's side of the family. His parents were Mexican, but he was born in the United States. Her father grew up speaking both Spanish and English, but he did not like to speak Spanish in front of his children. On speaking engagements, Ochoa tells audiences, "When I was growing up, my father believed, as many people did at the time, that there was prejudice against people speaking their native language. It's really too bad, and I'm glad that things have changed in recent years."

Question: Why did Ochoa say her father was reluctant to speak Spanish in front of his children?

He did not want to attract prejudice.
He spend most of his youth in Mexico.
He did not want them to make fun of him.
His children would not listen him.

Writing
✓ standard met

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

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

4C: Visualizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-19

Excerpt: Riding also helps improve a disabled person's confidence. It takes courage for Sarah to get up onto a 1,000-pound animal. Telling that big animal what to do, and then having him actually do it, is really satisfying for Sarah. In just about every other aspect of her life, people are directing Sarah, helping her make decisions, and telling her what she can and can't do.

Question: When Sarah sits up high in the saddle, what kind of expression would you see on her face?

one of confidence and control
one of boldness and self-importance
one of peace and calmness
one of shyness and caution

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

4B: Interpreting Analogies

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-20

Excerpt: As you can see, inspiration comes in many forms, and from many people. It can be the simple words that change the soul of a nation, a stirring song that brings our chin back up, or the actions of a heroic athlete who has chosen to overcome challenges. We are all fortunate that these words, songs, and people exist because they remind us of what individuals are all capable of doing, and that their triumph can become our own.

Question: Based on this excerpt, which sound does the author say can be a source of inspiration?

the singing of an uplifting song
the sound of a race's starting signal
the taunts of the opposing competitors
the rhythm of runners' feet on the track

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Give three examples of how an author used analogies to explain confusing or complex ideas by comparing them to something familiar.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

6B: Recognizing Persuasion

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-13

Excerpt: Only so much can be done about invader species as strong as kudzu and bamboo. It takes a lot of work to remove these plants from anywhere they have taken root. With species invasions this powerful, sometimes the only thing a person can do is learn to live with the invader.

Question: At the end of the selection, what does the author feel is a practical reaction to a strong kudzu invasion?

acceptance
anger
delight
relief

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

9A: Comparing/Contrasting

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-43

Excerpt: The people of ancient China thought an eclipse was a dragon eating the sun. In fact, the ancient Chinese word for eclipse means, "to eat." They also thought this same dragon attacked the moon during a lunar eclipse.

The people of Korea had a myth about eclipses. In this myth, a king ordered two fire dogs to capture the sun or the moon. Each time they took a bite out of the sun or moon, an eclipse took place.

The ancient Vikings of northern Europe thought an eclipse happened when a pair of sky wolves took a bite out of the sun or moon. And the people of Vietnam once believed a similar story, but in their myth a frog or toad ate the moon.

Question: Ancient civilizations created stories to explain what happened to the sun during an eclipse. A common theme among these stories is

an animal ate the sun.
the sun grows stronger.
humans ran away from the sun.
a god scared away the sun.

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

9B: Classifying

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: F-67

Excerpt: One of Babbage's marvels was the "Silver Dancer," a beautiful metal automaton (a doll moved by clockwork) that danced on a table holding a flapping metal bird. Visitors loved to watch it twirl, but Ada was more interested in the machinery inside.

People called his ideas "thinking machines," but few really understood how they would perform. Ada was an exception. She asked for copies of the plans so she could examine them. Babbage, in turn, was impressed by Ada, calling her "The Enchantress of Numbers." They took long walks together, discussing science and math.

Question: From these two excerpts, you could describe Ada and Charles Babbage in which two of the following ways?

inquisitive
analytical
unconcerned
traditional
unprolific

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Make a list of selections you have read and classify them under the headings: Mystery, Nature, Sports, History.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: J-11

Excerpt: "Okay, ladies and gents," Mr. Crawford began, "in our last class we discussed some of Henry David Thoreau's ideas about nature as expressed in his book, 'Walden,' particularly the notion Thoreau had of Walden pond as an eye -- 'intermediate in its nature between land and sky.' As you might recall, Thoreau's self-built one-room cabin was on his good friend Ralph Waldo Emerson's land, where he experimented in living independently as he sought self-fulfillment and closure over his brother's death."

Question: According to Mr. Crawford, for which two reasons did Thoreau conduct his "experiment" at Walden Pond?

to seek self-fulfillment
to find closure over his brother's death
to spend time with his friend Emerson
to understand more about nature
to learn how to build a cabin

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: The setting of a selection includes not only place but also time. Describe a selection you have read in which the historical time period was critical to the plot. For example, Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities.'

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: J-17

Excerpt: Jokers would make him tell the story of "the piece of string" to amuse them, just as you make a soldier who has been on a campaign tell his story of the battle. His mind kept growing weaker and about the end of December he took to his bed.

He passed away early in January, and, in the ravings of death agony, he protested his innocence, repeating, "A little bit of string -- a little bit of string. See, here it is, M'sieu le Mayor."

Question: What happens to Hauchecorne at the end of this selection?

He is driven to insanity and eventually death due to the false charges brought against him.
He is vindicated in court and regains his reputation as an honest man.
He is granted revenge when he becomes mayor and jails Malandain for making false accusations.
He is found guilty by a jury of his peers and is sentenced to jail even though he is innocent.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe how you arrived at conclusions about a selection's main idea and characters if information about these text elements was not directly stated.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: J-37

Excerpt: Before I embarrassed myself further, the musician directed me into a small conference room. "Son, I get you, cuz I was you once. Jazz saved my life, and it's going to save yours, so talk to me, dude."

For some inarticulate reason, I opened up to this jive-talking songster. I told this hep artiste about my momma and my fears about her death; I described my aunt and uncle and their struggles; I related my fears of getting caught up in neighborhood violence, and I expressed how hard it was to find any joy or hope in my present situation.

Question: What is the most important aspect of mentoring?

open communication
quality time
consistent feedback
shared interests

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Imagine you are an attorney cross-examining the characters in a selection. What questions would you ask them to elicit the most important details about the plot?

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

4C: Visualizing

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: J-17

Excerpt: The peasants examined the cows, went off, came back, well acquainted with the workings of the market and always in doubt for fear of being cheated, never quite daring to decide, looking the seller square in the eye in the effort to discover the tricks of the man and the defect in the beast.

Question: Reread this excerpt. What is the underlying mood of the people in the marketplace?

distrustful
industrious
optimistic
exhausted

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Describe how you relate scenes you visualize from reading with real life scenes. Give examples.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8A: Judging Validity

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: J-31

Excerpt: Harald was going to the new western world called the Wonderstrands, which his brothers had discovered but left without sufficient exploration. The name implied it was an unusual land. First, however, he was to stop at Greenland, which his father had first discovered.

Erik the Red had chosen the name "Greenland" because, as he said, it was inevitable that people would be attracted there if it had a good name.

Question: Which is correct?

Vikings used descriptive names for the lands they discovered and explored.
Harald was the only son of Viking explorer Erik the Red.
The Viking who conquered Wonderstrands has never been identified.
Vikings were small, malnourished people but they were fiercely brave.

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: Imagine you are developing a new app to determine if a text is true or not true. What text clues would the app need to search for to judge validity? Provide examples.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8B: Reasoning

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: J-31

Excerpt: The myths and classic tales of Vikings portray these people as aggressive warriors who left destruction wherever they landed, pillaging whatever goods they found.

So Harald left his home with his father, Erik the Red, in a gigantic galley called the "Sea-serpent." They sailed through the Mediterranean Sea.

The oars were 20 feet long, and were put through oar holes, and the rudder, shaped like a large oar, was not at the end, but was attached to a projecting beam on the starboard side. The ship was to be called a "Dragon," and was painted to look like one, having a gilded dragon's head at the bow and a gilded tail on the stern. The moving oars would look like legs; and the row of red and white shields, hung along the side of the boat, would resemble the scales of a dragon; and the great square sails, red and blue, would look like wings.

Question: Based on what you have read about Vikings, what is the main reason they designed their boats to look like dragons?

to intimidate enemies
to entertain themselves
to honor their gods
to imitate competitors

Writing
✓ standard met

Writing prompt: What motivates people? Use details from a selection you have read, as well as your reasoning skills, to support your answer.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

9A: Comparing/Contrasting

SeeReader
✓ standard met

Selection: J-31

Excerpt: The Vikings discovered and settled lands far from their Scandinavian home. Most experts agree that the Vikings landed in North America long before Columbus set sail for the New World.

The myths and classic tales of Vikings portray these people as aggressive warriors who left destruction wherever they landed, pillaging whatever goods they found. Some of this is true, but there was far more complexity to the Viking culture. For example, most men living in Scandinavia at that time were farmers, fishermen, or craftsmen, not warriors.

When the youth returned to his father, he found Erik the Red directing the construction of one of the great Viking galleys, nearly 80 feet long and 17 feet wide and only six feet deep. The boat had 20 ribs, and the frame was fastened together by ropes made of roots. The oaken planks were held by iron rivets.

The oars were 20 feet long, and were put through oar holes, and the rudder, shaped like a large oar, was not at the end, but was attached to a projecting beam on the starboard side. The ship was to be called a "Dragon," and was painted to look like one, having a gilded dragon's head at the bow and a gilded tail on the stern. The moving oars would look like legs; and the row of red and white shields, hung along the side of the boat, would resemble the scales of a dragon; and the great square sails, red and blue, would look like wings.

Question: The first excerpt is from the website of a history program on TV, and the second is from the selection you just read. Based on the information provided in them, what conclusion can be drawn?

Much of the success of Viking explorers can be attributed to the skill of craftsman who never left their home country.
Viking ship-building was inferior to ship-building in other countries.
The strength and agility of Viking sailing vessels described in myths is baseless.
Viking ships were beautiful to look at, but failed miserably when on the open sea.

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

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

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Selection: J-34

Excerpt: Hitchcock had a distinctive and decidedly visual style, always emphasizing imagery over dialogue. Critics praised his ability to generate suspense through innovative visual effects, such as montage, oblique camera angles, and cross-cutting between objective shots of a scene and subjective views from an actor's perspective.

Question: According to the selection, Hitchcock's filmmaking style could be considered "distinctive and decidedly visual" due to his use of which two of the following visual effects?

montage
cross-cutting
fish-eye
perspective
zoom

Writing
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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

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Selection: J-1

Excerpt: In 1943 the Allies were fighting in North Africa and had a heavy troop commitment there. It was clear that the time and cost of regrouping and transporting troops to Northern Europe for an invasion were impossible. An invasion would have to take place across the Mediterranean, from North Africa, where troops were amassed, to the southern shores of the European continent. British Intelligence assessed possible penetration points in France, Greece, and Italy.

Question: Based on this excerpt, British Intelligence identified France, Greece, and Italy as possible European invasion points because

these countries were in the proximity of North Africa.
these countries were sympathetic to the Germans.
none of these countries had an army of its own.
there were few German troops stationed in these countries.

Writing
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Writing prompt: Write a question about one additional fact you would have liked to learn from a selection you read. Answer the question by using the Internet or other research tools to find the necessary information.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2C: Summarizing

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Selection: J-14

Excerpt: Americans were greatly affected by the oil embargo of the 1970s, when a group of oil-exporting countries agreed to curtail oil production and shipment. Prices at American gas pumps jumped, which had a dramatically negative effect on the U.S. economy.

Question: America's dependence on foreign energy sources

is potentially devastating to the U.S. economy.
helps foster positive diplomatic relations between nations.
was a problem, but no longer threatens U.S. industries.
has insignificant implications for growing businesses.

Writing
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Writing prompt: Create a news report based on a selection you have read. Report facts from the selection as well as additional facts you researched from reputable sources.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

5B: Examining Sequence

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Selection: J-38

Excerpt: If you pursued a career as a mathematician you would need to have at least a bachelor's degree, although a master's degree or doctorate are almost always essential for more advanced positions. The median salary for this career is just above $100,000 per year.

The typical statistician can expect to earn about $75,000 per year.

The median yearly salary for this career is about $95,000, and the U.S. Department of Labor predicts employment of actuaries will grow much faster than the average for all occupations.

If you are interested in pursuing electrical engineering, you will need to take courses in physics and mathematics, including algebra, trigonometry, and calculus. Entry-level jobs in this field require a bachelor's degree, and median salaries for this vocation are about $88,000.

Question: Place the following careers in order according to their salaries, with the highest-paying career first.

mathematician
actuary
electrical engineer
statistician

Writing
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Writing prompt: Think about the selections you have read that explain how something happens or is done. Explain the process in complete detail in your own words, so that people reading your instructions are able to understand or perform the entire process successfully on their own.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

8B: Reasoning

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Selection: J-24

Excerpt: No excerpt is available for this question.

Question: Why do many people feel compelled to tell cautionary types of urban legends like that of "Pop Rocks and Soda Pop"?

to inform others about a potentially dangerous condition
to show their knowledge of common facts of life
to demonstrate that they have a good sense of humor
to describe something surprising that happened to a friend

Writing
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Writing prompt: Do people learn by studying the past? Use details from a selection you have read, as well as your reasoning skills, to support your answer.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

SeeReader
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Selection: C-12

Excerpt: Soon Baucis came out to tell them their dinner was ready. "It is not very much of a dinner," she said. "There is some bread and cheese, and a pitcher with some milk, and some small purple grapes.

Question: Which two of the following items are offered to the strangers for dinner?

cheese
grapes
apples
ham
potatoes

Writing
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Writing prompt: Describe how you felt when you read a selection. Were you happy, sad, or did you feel something else? Explain why the selection made you feel this way.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

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Selection: C-36

Excerpt: "Really? Is that so?" Ben asked. "Oh, come now. Let me just try, only just a little. I'd let you, if you was me, Tom."

"Ben, I'd like to. Really, I would. But Aunt Polly likes it done just so. Jim wanted to do it, but she wouldn't let him. Sid wanted to do it, but she wouldn't let Sid. Now, don't you see my problem? If you were to tackle this fence and anything was to happen to it?"

"Oh, come on! I'll be just as careful," Ben said eagerly. "Now let me try. Say, I'll give you a piece of my apple."

"No, Ben."

Ben said, "Okay. I'll give you all of it!"

Question: Which of the following was the most unusual thing that happened in this selection?

Tom was able to get other boys to do his work and to pay him to do so.
Tom had an aunt who needed help whitewashing a fence.
Tom had many friends who lived in his neighborhood.
Tom hoped his friends would not make fun.

Writing
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Writing prompt: Describe parts of a selection that held important clues to help you understand what was happening.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

3A: Predicting Outcomes

SeeReader
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Selection: C-44

Excerpt: The next exhibit they searched was the safari exhibit. This was Marco's favorite place in the whole zoo. They hopped on the safari train again. Marco and his dad were so happy that they nearly forgot about the lost keys.

Question: In the selection, Marco rides on the safari train two times. When he rides on the train, what kind of expression would you probably see on his face?

a smile
a frown
anger
surprise

Writing
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Writing prompt: Write an email to a friend who has not read the selection. Provide enough information about the selection's characters, settings, and events so your friend is able to predict what happened in the selection.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

4C: Visualizing

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Selection: C-24

Excerpt: "Well," he said, "the old lighthouse had been here for many years. It was not as big as this one. It did not have electrical equipment. The light was from a fire that the lighthouse keeper had to tend. The light wasn't as strong as it is today, so boats at a great distance couldn't see it. But the signal never failed to warn boats away from the rocks."

Question: The old sailor said that the old lighthouse differed from the new lighthouse in which two of the following ways?

The old lighthouse was smaller.
The old lighthouse needed a fire to create light.
The old lighthouse was taller.
The old lighthouse was damaged by a boat that crashed into it.
The old lighthouse had a more powerful light that could be seen from great distances.

Writing
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Writing prompt: List words and phrases in a selection that helped you form a picture of a place, object, or event in a selection.

Evaluator

Organization: Certica Solutions

R.1

Exemplars

6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone

6C: Recognizing Mood/Tone

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HiC-23

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8A: Judging Validity

8A: Judging Validity

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C-49

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8B: Reasoning

8B: Reasoning

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C-51

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9B: Classifying

9B: Classifying

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C-15

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1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

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C-3

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3A: Predicting Outcomes

3A: Predicting Outcomes

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C-7

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8A: Judging Validity

8A: Judging Validity

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C-58

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9B: Classifying

9B: Classifying

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C-26

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Evaluator

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

1A: Recalling Explicit Details

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F-6

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Evaluator

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

1B: Analyzing Implicit Details

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F-7

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2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

2B: Analyzing Relative Importance

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F-8

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3A: Predicting Outcomes

3A: Predicting Outcomes

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F-26

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4C: Visualizing

4C: Visualizing

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F-26

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