Grade 8 · English Language Arts · Unit 7 of 12
Text forms, patterns and visual design
Comparing text forms such as editorials, news articles, poems and graphic novels, spotting text patterns like problem-solution and compare-contrast, and judging how features, images and design add to meaning.
Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: General Outcomes 2, 3 · text forms and features
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which words show the writer's purpose?
Dear Editor,
Every morning, dozens of students cross Maple Road to reach our school, but there is no crosswalk. Last month, a driver nearly hit a boy who was running late. A painted crosswalk with a flashing light would cost the town little and could save a life. I urge the council to approve one before someone is hurt.
Sincerely, R. Ahmed
I urge the council to approve one
Hint: Which words ask the reader to take action?
Question 2
Which word signals a contrast?
Printed books and e-books both let readers enjoy stories. A printed book has pages that you hold and turn, and it does not need a battery. An e-book, in contrast, can hold hundreds of titles on one device and lets readers change the size of the text.
However, many readers find that they remember more of what they read on paper. E-books are easier to carry; printed books are easier on the eyes for some people.
However
Hint: Signal words such as however point out a difference.
Question 3
According to the passage, which is an advantage of an e-book?
Printed books and e-books both let readers enjoy stories. A printed book has pages that you hold and turn, and it does not need a battery. An e-book, in contrast, can hold hundreds of titles on one device and lets readers change the size of the text.
However, many readers find that they remember more of what they read on paper. E-books are easier to carry; printed books are easier on the eyes for some people.
It can hold hundreds of titles on one device.
Hint: Find the sentence about e-books holding titles.
Question 4
In many cultures, stories are shared aloud and passed from person to person. What kind of text form is this?
an oral story
Hint: Oral texts are spoken or told rather than written.
Question 5
Which signal words are common in a compare-and-contrast text?
similarly, in contrast, however
Hint: These words show how things are alike or different.
Question 6
Which text form is most likely to have a byline, a headline and a lead paragraph?
a news article
Hint: These are features of newspaper writing.