Reading Literary (RL)/Informational (RI)
Martha Carey Thomas was born in 1857. Most women do not go to college then. Even if they wanted to go, most colleges would not let them in. Martha Carey Thomas, however, was a woman who got into college. She went to Cornell University in New York. She graduated in 1877. But she was not happy. She thought that all women who wanted to attend college should be given the opportunity.
Martha Carey Thomas attended Johns Hopkins University for graduate work. Then she went to college in France, and then in Switzerland. By 1884, she had completed her education. That year, she helped start Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Bryn Mawr was founded as a college for women. Martha Carey Thomas was president of Bryn Mawr until 1992.
It is likely that:
A.Martha Carey Thomas did not want to help other women get an education.
B.Martha Carey Thomas did all her studying in America.
C.Martha Carey Thomas was a very young person in 1922.
D.Martha Carey Thomas went to multiple colleges for her education.
D.Martha Carey Thomas went to multiple colleges for her education.
What are the three steps to citing textual evidence?
1. State your idea.
2. Cite your textual evidence.
3. Explain how your textual evidence supports your idea.
Standard: ELAGSE7L1b. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. b. Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.
Read this sentence. I went to the spring to get some water, and I saw a deer drinking there. Which type of sentence is this?
A. simple
B. compound
C. complex
D. compound complex
Correct Answer: B
Explanation of Correct Answer: The correct answer is choice (B) compound. The sentence has two independent clauses joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
Choice (A) is incorrect because there is more than one independent clause. Choices (C) and (D) are incorrect because the sentence does not have a subordinate clause.
Time is of the Essence! Explain why.
Students should not spend too much time on any one question.
**BONUS** DOUBLE YOUR POINTS BY EXPLAINING WHY ONE SHOULD NOT SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON ANY ONE QUESTION.
What percent does an average person's left hand do most of the typing (when using the proper position of the hands on the keyboard; Hunting and pecking doesn't count!).
A. 29%
B. 48%
C. 56%
D. 97%
C. 56%
Many museums and zoos rely on docents to help educate their visitors about their collections. Docents may lead guided tours of the facility, answer visitor questions about exhibits, or even support staff members with the routine maintenance of collections. Docents must usually be 15 years or older and be willing to take classes to learn all about the organization’s animals, art, or historical artifacts. They also learn how the institution operates, so they can help visitors find things and assist with safety and security. Although being a docent is not a paid position, most would tell you that the opportunity to work in close proximity to the art, animals, and important objects they love is remarkably rewarding.
Use context clues to determine the definition of artifacts as it is used in the passage.
a. false statements
b. fundraising events
c. interesting objects
d. outward appearances
C “collection of… historical”
**BONUS** DOUBLE YOUR POINTS!
What words or phrases from the text helped you answer this question?
Structure of a paragraph
Topic sentence, supporting sentences and a concluding sentence.
Which sentence uses commas correctly?
A. She was happy with the quick, satisfying results.
B. The group decided to stage the old, original, play.
C. They painted the old barn with a bright, red paint.
D. We went to the beach and built a sturdy, sand tower.
The correct answer is choice (A) She was happy with the quick, satisfying results. A comma is used to separate coordinate adjectives.
Choice (B) is incorrect. The comma between “old” and “original” is correct, but there should not be a comma between “original” and “play.” Choice (C) is incorrect because a comma is not required between the adjectives “bright” and “red.” Choice (D) is incorrect because a comma does not belong between “sturdy” and “sand.”
What is personification?
Personification: When a writer describes an object as if it were a person, he or she is using personification; for example, The trees sighed in the afternoon breeze. The trees cannot really sigh but seemed to as they moved gently in the breeze. (L5)
What is the only known fish that blink with both eyes?
A. Blowfish
B. Shark
C. Catfish
D. Swordfish
B. Shark
What are the organizational structures
Chronological order, cause and effect, compare and contrast, order of importance, and problem and solution. (RI5)
Read the paragraph from a student’s argumentative essay.
This week, our class will vote on how to use the money we raised through our annual Fall Festival. The class will decide whether the money should be spent on a class field trip or on a set of electronic tablets for the library. I think the funds should be spent on tablets. The tablets can be checked out by students for use at home, just like a library book. If the tablets are preloaded with educational games and books, then students will get hours of reading and working on other brain-challenging tasks. Which sentence should be added to the paragraph to acknowledge the opposing claim?
A. Tablets are more convenient to take back and forth to school than heavy books, and the tablets can be updated to include the most current information for any middle-school subject.
B. Our librarian has agreed to load the tablets with educational games and books that are appropriate for any middle-schooler.
C. Some classmates favor the field trip because it will be an unforgettable experience, but that experience lasts only one day, while the experiences offered by tablets will be ongoing.
D. We have raised enough money to purchase at least ten tablets, maybe more, if we use the school account to purchase the tablets in bulk.
The correct answer is choice (C) Some classmates favor the field trip because it will be an unforgettable experience, but that experience lasts only one day, while the experiences offered by tablets will be ongoing. This is the only option that acknowledges a counterclaim, which in this case is that some students would rather the money be spent on a field trip.
Choices (A), (B), and (D) are additional benefits and support for using the money to purchase the tablets.
Which revision of the sentence BEST expresses the ideas clearly and concisely?
The first thing that we need to take care of when we meet during club time for the Spanish Club is figuring out when we will have elections and also finding out who can be available to be working at the booth for the club fair at school.
A. Finding a date for elections and then also finding someone who can work at the Spanish Club booth at the club fair are both things that we need to take care of when we meet during club time.
B. During the time we meet for Spanish club, our most urgent first thing that we should try to take care of is a date for elections and club fair stuff.
C. A thing we may want to take care of in Spanish Club is elections and who can be on hand for the Spanish Club booth at the club fair at school when it happens.
D. During our Spanish Club meeting, we most urgently need to decide on a date for elections and who can work at the Spanish Club booth at the school’s club fair.
The correct answer is choice (D) During our Spanish Club meeting, we most urgently need to decide on a date for elections and who can work at the Spanish Club booth at the school’s club fair. This sentence is both the clearest in meaning and the most concise of the options given.
Choices (A), (B), and (C) are either less clear, less concise, or both.
Elements of a narrative (must name at least six)
Plot, characters, point of view, setting, theme, conflict, style, tone.
The longest one-syllable words in the English language are...
A. beerheided and dreaimeed
B. dreintchead and strengthened
C. cloacthed and watcheaded
D. scraunched and strengthed
What are "scraunched" and "strengthed."?
Eric and his friend Yorin decided to sail the dangerous West Sea in search of the lost island of Krinos. It was there that the wonderful lost treasure of King Kranor was buried.
Eric and Yorin had chosen a special crew for their voyage. Each man was an experienced sailor. Each would not give up no matter how difficult the trip might become.
They sailed for three weeks on the West Sea. The wind was good, and there were no storms. Finally, they saw land. It was an island. “We’ve reached Krinos!” Eric shouted to Yorin and the other men.
Why did Eric and Yorin want to sail to Krinos?
A.King Kranor was living there.
B.They liked sailing.
C.They wanted to find a treasure.
D.They had nothing else to do.
C.They wanted to find a treasure.
Read the paragraph.
1 More than a hundred years ago, Europeans who wanted to drink coffee typically tied up coffee grounds in a little piece of cloth and boiled it in a pot of water. 2 Some grounds usually got through the cloth and mixed with the drink. 3 The coffee also tasted very bitter. 4 Melitta Bentz invented a much better system for brewing coffee that involved using a heavy paper filter and a pot with holes punched in it. 5 When she poured the boiling water through this contraption, the paper held the coffee grounds, water drained through, and the resulting beverage was a ton better.
Which edit should be made to maintain the formal style of the paragraph?
A. Change “a pot of water” to “some water” in sentence 1.
B. Change “mixed” to “stirred” in sentence 2.
C. Change “punched” to “placed” in sentence 4.
D. Change “a ton better” to “much improved” in sentence 5.
The correct answer is choice (D) Change “a ton better” to “much improved” in sentence 5. The formal style requires a more formal turn of phrase, which “much improved” is.
Choices (A), (B), and (C) use formal words/phrases that do not need to be replaced.
What are the two modifiers? Define them.
Misplaced modifier: A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the word it modifies/describes. For example, I found a gold woman’s necklace on the sidewalk. In this sentence, gold is a misplaced modifier. This sentence makes it sound like the woman, instead of the necklace, was gold. (L1c)
Dangling modifier: A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that is not clearly and logically related to the word or words it modifies. For example, Fixed last night, Abby could use her car. In this sentence, Fixed last night is a dangling modifier. The sentence makes it sound like Abby, instead of her car, was fixed last night. (L1c)
Basic Testing Strategy: Give at least two strategies.
**BONUS** ANOTHER TEAM MAY CHALLENGE FOR DOUBLE THE POINTS, BUT MUST BE ABLE TO GIVE ALL OF THE STRATEGIES. THERE ARE FOUR!
• Read the test question or statement carefully at least twice.
• Read all of the answer choices.
• Select the one that best answers the questions.
• If you don’t know the best answer, use the process of elimination (P.O.E.)
There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous", what are they?
What are tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
Select the option that best describes the above excerpt.
A. The characters in this passage are likely students and a teacher who are involved in discussion behind stage after a successful school play.
B. This passage involves several colleagues, Marlena, August, Jacob and Rosie. They are some sort of business associates who are about to take the elevator to one of the top floors of a tall building. They are celebrating a successful business deal.
C. This passage is about circus performers.
D. This passage is about a young child who appears to be carried on her father’s shoulders on a farm.
C is Correct
First, the title includes “elephants” and no circus is complete without an elephant, right? Also, Marlena slides down from Rosie’s head. Rosie then needs to be guided somewhere. This should provide ample evidence that Rosie is likely an elephant. There is then instruction for Marlena to be ready to perform with horses, next. And finally, “big top” is mentioned, which is the common term for the main event location of the circus.
Read the paragraph from a student’s narrative.
1 Jennifer sat in the last row, waiting for her name to be called. 2 She had heard three speeches so far, and she knew her competitors were first-rate. 3 Jennifer looked for the thousandth time at her notes. 4 She knew she didn’t need them, but it reassured her to see the words on the cards. Which sentence should be added between sentence 2 and sentence 3 to establish the context of the paragraph?
A. This was the final round of the state finals in public speaking, and Jennifer had already competed against some outstanding competitors to win her spot in the finals.
B. Jennifer had been imagining this day for weeks, and she wanted nothing more than to stay calm and remember her key points when her turn came.
C. The wait was practically unbearable, but Jennifer hoped to win, and to do that, she needed to study her competition.
D. Jennifer had plenty of experience as a speaker, but as she waited for her turn, she felt a flutter in her stomach and her hands were trembling.
The correct answer is choice (A) This was the final round of the state finals in public speaking, and Jennifer had already competed against some outstanding competitors to win her spot in the finals. This is the only option that explicitly establishes the context of a state finals competition for public speaking.
Choice (B) is incorrect because, while the sentence includes details about how Jennifer is feeling, it does not establish the context of a public speaking contest. Choice (C) is incorrect because, while the sentence mentions having competition, it does not establish how Jennifer is feeling or the context of a public speaking contest. Choice (D) is incorrect because the sentence indicates Jennifer is nervous to speak, but it does not establish the context of a public speaking contest.
What are simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences?
Simple sentence: A simple sentence expresses a single complete thought and contains a subject and a verb; for example, The child rode his bicycle to school. The sentence expresses a single thought and contains the subject child and the verb rode. (L1b)
Compound sentence: A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a conjunction. An independent clause is a part of a sentence that can stand alone because it expresses a complete thought and has a subject and a verb. For example, The child rode his bicycle to school, so he made it to his first class on time. The sentence contains two independent clauses joined by the conjunction so. (L1b)
Complex sentence: A complex sentence contains an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A dependent clause is a part of a sentence that cannot stand alone because it does not express a complete thought. For example, After the child rode his bicycle to school, he decided to stop for breakfast in the cafeteria. The sentence is a complex sentence because After the child rode his bicycle to school is a dependent clause joined to the independent clause he decided to stop for breakfast in the cafeteria. (L1b)
Compound-complex sentence: A compound-complex sentence has two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. For example, After the child rode his bicycle to school, he decided to stop for breakfast in the cafeteria, but he still made it to class on time. The sentence contains the dependent clause After the child rode his bicycle to school, followed by two independent clauses. (L1b)
What is figurative language?
Figurative language: To understand figurative language, you need to distinguish between literal and figurative meanings of words and phrases. Literal refers to the actual meaning of a word or phrase. For example, if someone tells you to open the door, you can open a physical door. If someone tells you to open the door to your heart, you are not expected to find a door in your chest. Instead, you open up your feelings and emotions. (L5)
**BONUS** DOUBLE YOUR POINTS!! Get it wrong, lose it all! DO YOU DARE?
What are the different types of figurative language?
Most people fall asleep in:
A. 7 minutes
B. 10 minutes
C. 4 minutes
D. 13 minutes
A. 7 minutes