Reading original short passages and answering questions about theme, tone, word choice, structure and the author's purpose, using evidence from the text.
Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 9.1.4.1; 9.1.4.2 · strong textual evidence, and how themes emerge and are shaped
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
Theme is the insight about life a text develops. Support it with specific evidence.
Ask why an author includes a detail: to show change in a character, set a mood or limit a claim.
Word choice carries meaning: “spongy” soil suggests it soaks up water.
Example: Why might an author mention that Noor “had stopped checking her phone”? Earlier, the phone held her attention. Now she is noticing something else: the people around her. Answer: To show she has become interested in the people around her
Close Reading in Minnesota
In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 1 of 12 in 9th grade English Language Arts, before Literary Elements.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
The tone of this passage is best described as…
Is a Four-Day School Week Worth It?
Some school districts in North America have tried a four-day week, usually with longer days on Monday to Thursday. Supporters claim the change saves money on transportation and heating, and gives students and teachers a day for appointments, work or rest.
Critics point out that research is mixed. Several studies found small drops in test scores, especially in math, while others found no change at all. Parents who work on Fridays may struggle to find child care, and the longer days can leave younger students tired by the afternoon.
The strongest case for the change may be in rural districts, where long bus rides make every school day expensive. In larger cities with many working parents, the costs may outweigh the benefits. A decision like this probably depends less on a single rule than on the needs of the community.
bored and uninterested
silly and sarcastic
balanced and thoughtful
angry and one-sided
balanced and thoughtful
Hint: The author presents both supporters and critics and avoids strong emotions.
Question 2
Why does the author mention rural districts?
Is a Four-Day School Week Worth It?
Some school districts in North America have tried a four-day week, usually with longer days on Monday to Thursday. Supporters claim the change saves money on transportation and heating, and gives students and teachers a day for appointments, work or rest.
Critics point out that research is mixed. Several studies found small drops in test scores, especially in math, while others found no change at all. Parents who work on Fridays may struggle to find child care, and the longer days can leave younger students tired by the afternoon.
The strongest case for the change may be in rural districts, where long bus rides make every school day expensive. In larger cities with many working parents, the costs may outweigh the benefits. A decision like this probably depends less on a single rule than on the needs of the community.
To list all school districts
To criticize bus drivers
To prove cities are better
To show where the benefits are strongest
To show where the benefits are strongest
Hint: The passage says the case is strongest where “long bus rides make every school day expensive.”
Question 3
What kind of evidence does the author use in the second paragraph?
Is a Four-Day School Week Worth It?
Some school districts in North America have tried a four-day week, usually with longer days on Monday to Thursday. Supporters claim the change saves money on transportation and heating, and gives students and teachers a day for appointments, work or rest.
Critics point out that research is mixed. Several studies found small drops in test scores, especially in math, while others found no change at all. Parents who work on Fridays may struggle to find child care, and the longer days can leave younger students tired by the afternoon.
The strongest case for the change may be in rural districts, where long bus rides make every school day expensive. In larger cities with many working parents, the costs may outweigh the benefits. A decision like this probably depends less on a single rule than on the needs of the community.
A famous quotation
Research findings that disagree with each other
A single personal story
A joke
Research findings that disagree with each other
Hint: “Several studies found small drops… others found no change.”
Question 4
Which sentence best states the author's overall position?
Is a Four-Day School Week Worth It?
Some school districts in North America have tried a four-day week, usually with longer days on Monday to Thursday. Supporters claim the change saves money on transportation and heating, and gives students and teachers a day for appointments, work or rest.
Critics point out that research is mixed. Several studies found small drops in test scores, especially in math, while others found no change at all. Parents who work on Fridays may struggle to find child care, and the longer days can leave younger students tired by the afternoon.
The strongest case for the change may be in rural districts, where long bus rides make every school day expensive. In larger cities with many working parents, the costs may outweigh the benefits. A decision like this probably depends less on a single rule than on the needs of the community.
Test scores always go up.
A four-day week never works.
The four-day week may suit some communities better than others, depending on their needs.
Every school should switch to four days.
The four-day week may suit some communities better than others, depending on their needs.
Hint: The last paragraph says the decision “depends … on the needs of the community.”
Question 5
Which theme is best supported by the passage?
The Quiet Season
Every winter, the town of Alder Creek went quiet. The loggers headed south, the tourists vanished, and the only sound along Main Street was snow sliding off tin roofs.
Some people called it boring. Odile called it honest. In summer, the town performed: banners on lampposts, a fiddler in the park, shopkeepers smiling at strangers. In winter, you saw what the town was when nobody was watching: a handful of neighbors shoveling each other's walks, a lit window at the library, a pot of soup passed over a fence.
“You can't see a place properly when it's showing off,” Odile liked to say. She had lived there for seventy years and had never once wanted to leave during the quiet season.
Summers are better than winters.
Tourists ruin small towns.
Small towns should be left.
The most meaningful parts of a community may be found in quiet, everyday kindness.
The most meaningful parts of a community may be found in quiet, everyday kindness.
Hint: Look at the details Odile values: neighbors shoveling, a lit library window, soup passed over a fence.
Question 6
What does Odile mean by calling the quiet season “honest”?
The Quiet Season
Every winter, the town of Alder Creek went quiet. The loggers headed south, the tourists vanished, and the only sound along Main Street was snow sliding off tin roofs.
Some people called it boring. Odile called it honest. In summer, the town performed: banners on lampposts, a fiddler in the park, shopkeepers smiling at strangers. In winter, you saw what the town was when nobody was watching: a handful of neighbors shoveling each other's walks, a lit window at the library, a pot of soup passed over a fence.
“You can't see a place properly when it's showing off,” Odile liked to say. She had lived there for seventy years and had never once wanted to leave during the quiet season.
Winter is the cheapest season.
Nobody speaks in winter.
The town shows its true character when it isn't performing for visitors.
The town never tells lies.
The town shows its true character when it isn't performing for visitors.
Hint: She contrasts summer's “performance” with winter, when the town isn't “showing off.”