Day 8.5 / Name:
Meet the Challenge 8.5 Re-Teaching Materials
Recommendations:
You have three practice passages.
- Do one together. Read it together, figure out the multiple choice question together by going back to the text. Work together to construct a strong answer for the short response question, making reference to the rubric.
- Let students do the second one in pairs. Come back together to discuss their answers.
- Have students do the third prompt individually. Again, discuss the answers.
Scoring Rubric for the Short Answer Questions
Score / Description2 / Response is a thorough answer to the question with relevant information from the text(s)
1 / Response is limited with only vague references to the text(s)
0 / Response is totally irrelevant or incorrect for this question
Passage One:
How Does Our Memory Work?
You can always remember to watch your favorite television show, but somehow your cousin’s birthday escapes you. Though memories seem to be an assortment of experiences stored away in the brain for later use, the physiology behind our information stockroom is much more complex.
Memory is divided into three stages of learning, beginning with sensory memory. Aural, optic and oral stimuli enter the nervous system, which creates a record of these experiences in the brain. The brain’s cognitive areas choose the data most worthy of transfer to short-term memory also known as working memory. The brain temporarily stores the data for quick retrieval and also allows us to compare new information, like a familiar face, with old information, like the face of a classmate 20 years ago. This old information is long-term memory, which is encoded and stored in a safe, stable location within the brain.
Passage Two:
Who Says Cows Lack Direction?
Cows seem to have a built-in compass and know instinctively how to find north and south, say researchers who studied satellite photos of thousands of cows around the world. Most grazing or resting cattle tended to align their bodies north to south, a team of German and Czech researchers reports. And the findings held true regardless of what continent the cattle were on. “The magnetic field of the Earth has to be considered as a factor,” the scientists said.
Multiple Choice: (1 point)
Who would most likely use the information in these two passages?
a. construction workers
b. scientists
c. children
d. doctors
Short Answer Question: (0-2 points)
Using information from both passages, would cows rely on memory to find north and south? Support your answer with information from the passages.
______Score: _____ Comments:
Passage 2:
An Italian court has decided that Friday is a perfectly good name for a day of the week, but for kids, not so much. The judge refused to let parents name their son Venerdi (Friday), saying the “ridiculous” name would make the boy’s life miserable. Here are some other interesting monikers:
- In New Zealand, a nine-year-old went to court to have her name changed. Her new one wasn’t released, but her old moniker was: Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii.
- George Garratt decided his name was a tad ho-hum. So the 19-year-old Brit changed it to the far less staid Captain Fantastic Faster than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine The Hulk and the Flash Combined.
Multiple Choice: (1 point each)
How does the author of this passage present information about names?
a. Gives a history of names
b. Gives information about Italian naming traditions.
c. Provides three examples of unusual names
d. Explains why people should not be able to give unusual names.
An antonym for “monikers” would be which word?
- name
- nickname
- alias
- none of the above
Short Answer Question: (0-2 points)
Do you think it is good for a person to have an unusual name? Support your answer with information from the passage.
______Score: _____ Comments:
Passage Three:
Read the following passage and answer the questions.
I think vending machines should be allowed in schools to help schools raise money. There never seems to be enough money for education, and no one wants to pay more taxes. If a school was permitted to keep a certain percentage of its vending machine money, that amount would add up over the school year. The money could be used for programs that the school couldn’t afford otherwise, like extra-curricular activities. This would be a way to raise money without raising taxes, and students and teachers would feel good about buying food or drinks from the machines, knowing that part of their money was going toward school expenses.
Multiple Choice: (1 point each)
What information is not mentioned in this passage?
a. the purpose of having vending machines in schools
b. The desire not to raise taxes
c. actual dollar amount of profit
d. the chance to help pay school expenses
What phrase from the passage shows the author’s bias for vending machines?
- no one wants to pay taxes
- extra-curricular activities
- would feel good about buying food and drinks
- education
Short Answer Question: (0-2 points)
If the article were to continue, what would most likely come next? Support your answer with information from the text.
______Score: _____ Comments: