Read the Following Student Editorials About the Presence of Vending Machines at School

READING

PASSAGE 1

Read the following student editorials about the presence of vending machines at school.

Then answer questions 1-9 in your answer booklet.

Student 1 Editorial

During our sixth grade class meeting, our

principal asked all of us to think about ways

we could improve our school. The one thing

that I think would be a tremendous help to all

of the students is to offer only healthy food at

school.

I usually bring my lunch to school because

the meals in the cafeteria have too many fried

foods and starches and not enough fruits

and vegetables. For instance, the last day that

I ate the school lunch, the cafeteria served

hamburgers. For vegetables, we could choose

French fries, macaroni and cheese, or soggy

green beans. I didn't see anybody choose the

beans. Dessert that day was fruit cocktail in

heavy syrup. That is a pretty typical lunch,

but I think we could do a lot better.

Experts who specialize in children's health

recommend that kids have a limited amount

of fried foods, sugary snacks, and fast foods.

Instead, of course, we are supposed to eat

fruits, vegetables, and healthy snacks. We

could do this if they were readily available

here at school, where we spend so much of

our time.

One way to improve the lunches is to

have a salad bar that also offers things like

Vending Machines in School

individual containers of yogurt. Every day

there should be at least one kind of fresh

fruit available. At my old school, we always

at least had apples because the local farmers

offered all the schools a good deal on them.

We also got other fresh fruit and vegetables in

season. Maybe we could check with farmers

in this area.

Also, I think that we should get rid of

the machines that sell soda and junk food.

Some kids don't use them just for snacks;

they spend their lunch money there. Some of

them have too much sugar and then they are

hyperactive in class. Drinking one 12-ounce

soda a day is like eating 10 teaspoons of

sugar, and experts say that drinking one

sweetened soda a day increases a child's

chance of becoming overweight by 60 percent.

Too much caffeine also causes kids to be

jittery. Drinking sodas and eating candy bars

keeps students from eating and drinking the

things that their bodies need in order to work

properly.

It would be nice if there were machines for

those of us who would like to have a granola

bar or a can of fruit juice—real fruit juice,

not sugary, juice-ﬂavored drinks. We should

have milk machines, too. Take, for example,

the commercial on TV that has famous

Grade 6 Reading Item Sampler 2007-2008

READING

people drinking milk. It must be a good idea,

otherwise famous people wouldn't appear

in the commercials. A recent poll indicated

that 8 out of 10 individuals think that the soda

machines should be replaced with machines

for water, milk, and 100% juice. One school

district has already removed all the soda and

junk food machines. Why shouldn't we do the

same thing?

It doesn't do us much good to learn about

proper nutrition in class and then not be

able to buy healthy snacks at school or eat a

nutritious meal in the cafeteria. If we're going

to say that being healthy is important, then

all the choices at school should be healthy

choices. After all, think about how much time

we spend here.

Student 2 Editorial

I definitely have some suggestions about

improvements for this school. However, since

I have to stick to just one suggestion, I've

picked what is most important to me—food!

We really need to do something to improve

the variety of food here. All of my friends

think so.

I think that we should add to the number

of vending machines we have right now. I

have seen a great one that offers different

kinds of ice cream treats. It would be good,

too, if we had a variety of soda machines.

Choosing from the same ones every day gets

really boring. The same thing is true of the

machine for candy and chips. We only get a

few choices when we should have as many as

we have at the store. I've talked to my friends

who go to other schools, and they all have

many more choices than we do here.

The school shouldn't mind adding more

machines because I know that the profit from

the machines is divided up among the school

clubs. We get to feel good every time we buy

a soda or a candy bar because we know we're

helping everyone at school. Also, one of the

clubs at school collects the empty cans and

takes them to recycling. The money from that

is given to charity, so drinking a soda is really

like donating money to a good cause!

The food in the cafeteria is really sad, too.

I kept a record, and we had hamburgers

ten times in the past month. That is

completely boring. Again, what we need

are more choices. I think they should have

hamburgers every day because everybody

likes hamburgers and fries, but they should

have other things, too. They should offer

pizza every day, but they could have different

kinds. Then they could have something like

fried chicken wings or chicken nuggets with

dipping sauce. And they should always

definitely have more than one dessert. I

think there should be a suggestion box in the

cafeteria and people could put in their ideas

for dessert. Then we would have a great

variety. My friends all agree that this is a

good idea.

Obviously, I think we need more variety

in our food choices. That is important because

the ability to make choices will make us

happier and more content to be at school. A

soda or a candy bar gives us quick energy

so that we can be more alert in class, which

makes the teachers happy.

Having a better selection of food in the

cafeteria and in the vending machines is a

win-win situation. Nobody loses.

Grade 6 Reading Item Sampler 2007-2008

READING

MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS

A.2.4.1

What is the main idea of the first

editorial?

* B

B.3.3.1

3. How is the first editorial organized?

Improving the school is important.

Healthier food results in healthier

students.

Vending machines should offer

more choices.

Learning about proper nutrition is

helpful.

* C

A.2.3.1

Why does the author of the first

editorial mention famous people in the

TV commercials for milk?

* A

by giving reasons kids prefer fried

foods and sugary snacks at school

by describing the effects of

unhealthy food choices at school

by explaining the problem of

unhealthy foods at school and how

it should be solved

by giving questions about

unhealthy food choices at school

followed by answers

A.2.1.1

Read the dictionary entry for mind.

mind (mīnd) v. 1. To recall; remember.

2. To become aware of; notice.

3. To object to; dislike. 4. To take care

of; look after.

Which definition of mind is used in the

second editorial?

* C

definition 1

definition 2

definition 3

definition 4

so the reader will think drinking milk

is important

so the reader will know milk

commercials are on TV

so the reader will understand that

milk makes a person popular

so the reader will believe that milk

makes a person famous

Grade 6 Reading Item Sampler 2007-2008

READING

B.1.2.1

5. What is the purpose of both editorials?

B.1.2.1

What can be inferred about the school

from reading both editorials?

* B

to inform the reader about vending

machine choices

to persuade the reader to agree

with a viewpoint about vending

machines

to inform the reader about what

food choices the school offers in

the cafeteria vending machines

to persuade the reader to use

vending machines at the school

* C

The school helps students make

healthy food choices.

The school will stop serving

hamburgers.

The school values the opinions of

students.

The school gives the students lots

of variety.

B.3.2.1

Read the excerpt from the Student 2

Editorial.

" . . . they should have hamburgers every

day because everybody likes hamburgers

and fries."

Why does Student 2 most likely include

exaggeration in the editorial?

* A

B.1.2.1

What conclusion can be made about

the authors of both editorials?

* D

They did extensive research.

They approve of cafeteria food.

They believe salad bars should be

added.

They feel strongly about the topic.

to sway the reader to the author's side

of the argument

to add credibility to the author's

argument

to explain to the reader why the

author's argument is important

to draw attention to details of the

author's argument

Grade 6 Reading Item Sampler 2007-2008

ITEM-SPECIFIC SCORING GUIDELINE

Item #9

This item will be reported under Category B, Interpretation and Analysis of Fictional and Nonfictional Text.

Assessment Anchor:

B.1 Understand components within and between texts.

Specific Eligible Content addressed by this item:

B.1.2.1 Identify, interpret, compare, describe, and/or analyze connections between texts.

Scoring Guide:

Score

Non-

scorable

In response to this item, the student—

demonstrates complete knowledge of making connections between texts by stating which

editorial is more convincing and by using at least three examples from the editorials to

explain the response.

demonstrates partial knowledge of making connections between texts by stating which

editorial is more convincing. (Example: Student states which editorial is more convincing

and supports the response by using two examples from the editorials.)

demonstrates incomplete knowledge of making connections between texts by stating

which editorial is more convincing. (Example: Student uses one example from one of the

editorials to imply which editorial is more convincing without explicitly stating which

editorial is more convincing.)

gives a response that provides insufficient material for scoring or is inaccurate in all

aspects.

BLK (blank)...No response or written refusal to respond or too brief to determine response

OT ..................Off task/topic

LOE................Response in a language other than English

IL....................Illegible

Example—Top Scoring Response (3 Points):

Explanation and Examples

I think Student 2's editorial is more convincing because the students's money goes to helping one of the

clubs at school do things like donating money to a charity. Also the other schools in Student 2's district

have more choices, so student 2's school should have the same advantages. My last reason is that teachers

like students to have energy and be alert in class. Vending machines provide snacks so students who need a

boost can get a snack in order to help them learn more.

Grade 6 Reading Item Sampler 2007-2008

READING

OPEN-ENDED ITEM RESPONSES

B.1.2.1 Response Score: 3

Which editorial is more convincing? Use at least three examples from the editorials

to explain your response.

The student has given a complete answer to the task by identifying which editorial is

more convincing ("the first editorial is more convincing") and by using at least three

examples from the editorials ("she tell what caffeine and sugar does to the kids,"

"explains that instead of having soda and candy bar machines they should have real

fruit juice. . . " and "says that most specialists want children to limit their amount of

fried foods. . . ") to explain the response.

Grade 6 Reading Item Sampler 2007-2008