Skill and Form Number: Accessing Information #1

Accessing Information

1. Based upon the information above, where would you go to find this book?

Mississippi River Stories Section
Main 1-A
The Library
The Fiction Section

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2. Based upon the information above, what subject would The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn fall under?

Fiction
Mississippi River Stories
Short Stories
Mark Twain

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Excerpt from the diary of Brigadier-General Marcus Joseph Wright, C.S.A.

Friday March 14, 1862. My wife and children came up from Memphis. Received orders and went by rail to Jackson where I left my family with Mr. Welch. Arrived at Bethel Station on the night of the 14 and was ordered to Purdy, my old home and birthplace, where the remains of my Father and Mother and many dear relatives lie buried.
April 5th. Left Purdy at daylight, marched 23 miles and encamped in line of battle.
April 6th and 7th. The Battle of Shiloh was fought. I was in command of my regiment from 12 o'clock the 6th during the remainder of the two days engagement. I received a slight wound on my right knee. A ball passed through my saddle and into my horse. Killed, wounded, and missing in my regiment 198: Killed, 26, wounded 163, missing 9.
Late in the evening of the 7th the army withdrew from the field and marched to Michie's Cross Road and on the 9th marched to Corinth.
Retreat from Corinth; Thursday 29, May, 1862. The army under Gen. Beauregard moved out from its position at Corinth at night, the rear of the army getting out at daylight. Marched 12 miles and encamped about 3 p.m. the 30th. Moved forward at 5 o'clock a.m. the 31st and marched 20 miles to Baldwin. Left Baldwin the 7th June and marched eight miles to Guntown and from there to Tupelo.

3. How can the reader tell that this passage is a primary source?

It was written by a soldier after the Civil War was over.
It was written by someone who saw the events happen.
It gives a detailed account of the writer's life.
It provides information about the Civil War.

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Williams County Man Gets Buzzed

When Brett Sentry moved into his lush home with 23 acres, he knew he would have some interesting neighbors since his home borders a wildlife preserve.
"Every night, I'd go to sleep with the sounds of lions roaring, but I got used to it," Sentry said.
What he wasn't prepared to do was to share his home with said wildlife. While Sentry didn't have lions stretching out in his living room, he had a much larger, much noisier problem on his hands and in his walls—bees.
More than half a million bees living in the walls of Sentry's home began to move their hive to the inside of Sentry's home. Soon, he and his nephew found themselves being stung and forced to spend a few nights in a motel.
"The sound was incredible," Sentry said. "It was as if a million people were cracking their knuckles at once."
Local beekeepers from Williams County were called in to help remove the hive.
"It would have continued to grow until the walls collapsed," said Williams County Beekeepers Association President Brock Metzger. "It probably started as a small hive and grew into a series of colonies."
The bees will be split up among the beekeepers.

4. Which sentence from the article serves as an example of the author's use of a primary source?

When Brett Sentry moved into his lush home with 23 acres, he knew he would have some interesting neighbors since his home borders a wildlife preserve.
"It would have continued to grow until the walls collapsed," said Williams County Beekeepers Association President Brock Metzger.
More than half a million bees living in the walls of Sentry's home began to move their hive to the inside of Sentry's home.
While Sentry didn't have lions stretching out in his living room, he had a much larger, much noisier problem on his hands and in his walls—bees.

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W.While studying chimps, Jane Goodall discovered that they were capable of making and using tools to gather food. Before her discovery, people believed that humans' ability to make tools was what separated them from animals.
X.Jane Goodall met anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey in 1957. He was an important colleague for Jane Goodall. Dr. Leakey was the person who proposed a long-term study on wild chimpanzees. He thought that by observing first-hand the actions of chimps, scientists could understand more about human evolution.
Y.Jane, as a child, had a very good relationship with her mother. Their good relationship continued, even as Jane fought her way to Africa, when no one else said she could do it.
Z.Since I last wrote, an awful lot has happened. For one thing I have had a great deal of work, now happily disposed of into various files and envelopes. Friday was my nicest day in Kenya. Here in Nairobi is one of the best Natural History Museums there is, with all the most up-to-date and modern methods of showing and arrangements, etc. The curator, who is responsible for all this, is a man called Dr. Leakey.

5. Which of the paragraphs above most likely comes from a primary source?

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6. Martin is writing a paper about the Great Depression. He’s researched several history books and has taken notes from several journals. He then remembers that he has a great uncle who was a child during the Great Depression, so he decides to interview him.
Which of the following question would be best for Martin to ask?

In what years did the Great Depression take place?
How did you survive the Great Depression?
How did the Great Depression end?
What was the cause of the Great Depression?

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7. A proposal to the school board has been made to institute school uniforms at all of the elementary and middle schools in the district. The school board says that school uniforms are a good way to end violence in schools, improve students’ grades, and increase attendance. Administrators, teachers, parents, and students are divided on the issue.
Roman is writing an article for his school paper criticizing the proposal since he disagrees with the school board’s proposal. In doing so, he is scheduled to sit down with the school district’s supervisor to discuss the issue.
Which of the following would be an appropriate question for Roman to ask the school’s supervisor?

Isn’t it true that the school uniform idea is a waste of time?

How do school uniforms lead to better grades?
How do you expect students to wear the same thing?
What are you thinking?

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8. Darren is interviewing his state's senator for his school’s newspaper. She is running for reelection, and Darren is supposed to ask questions about her campaign. However, during the course of the interview, the line of questioning gets sidetracked, and she starts to discuss the White House and the president's term. Darren only has an hour of interview time, and the hour is almost finished, and they have barely discussed her campaign.
What should he do?

Listen to her responses and start thinking of a new way to reshape the article.
Interrupt the senator in mid-sentence and ask a follow up question about the taxes.
Hope she finishes her point, so he can get the interview back on track.
Stop her from drifting into other subjects.

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9. Darla is interviewing director Steven Spielberg for her school’s newspaper. He has a new movie that is currently being filmed, and Darla is supposed to ask questions about this new film. However, during the course of the interview, the line of questioning gets sidetracked, and he starts to discuss his favorite movies of all time. She only has an hour of interview time, and the hour is almost finished, and they have barely discussed the new movie. What should she do?

Interrupt him mid-sentence and ask a follow up question about the new movie.
Stop him from listing his favorite movies.
Listen to his responses and start thinking of a new way to reshape the article.
Hope he finishes his point, so she can get the interview back on track.

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10. After being assigned to write a review of the latest Steven Spielberg movie, George is asked to interview Spielberg. She has watched all of his movies. Most of the questions she has in mind have to do with the making of the newest movie.
After asking Spielberg how long it took to film a certain scene, what would be a good follow up question?

How many children do you have?
What is the title of your most current movie?
What were the challenges in making the newest film?
How do you feel about movie ticket prices?

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Answers

1. B
2. B
3.B
4.B
5.A
6.B
7.B
8.A
9.C
10. C

1. Main 1-A
2. Mississippi River Stories
3. It was written by someone who saw the events happen.
4. "It would have continued to grow until the walls collapsed," said Williams County Beekeepers Association President Brock Metzger.
5. Z
6. How did you survive the Great Depression?
7. How do school uniforms lead to better grades?
8. Listen to her responses and start thinking of a new way to reshape the article.
9. Listen to his responses and start thinking of a new way to reshape the article.
10. What were the challenges in making the newest film?

Explanations

1. If you look at the card catalogue, the LOCATION line tells where the book is kept.

2. If you look at the card catalogue, the subject line has two items listed next to it: Mississippi River Stories and Humorous Stories.

3. Primary sources are original materials from a specific place and time. A diary is primary source document because it is written by someone who observed events as they occurred in history. In this diary, Brigadier-General Wright describes events as they unfolded each day.

4. Primary sources are original materials from a specific place and time. Direct quotes are the easiest way to include a primary source in your writing. The quotes are gathered from interviews of people who are involved in a situation as it occurs.

5. Primary sources are original materials from a specific place and time. The incorrect answer choices are entries from encyclopedias or biographies. The correct answer is a letter from Goodall herself. It can be found in her autobiography Africa in My Blood: An Autobiography in Letters, The Early Years.

6. Since Martin has already done basic research, he would know the answers to half of these questions. Getting a personal testimony about the Great depression is something that cannot be found in usual books and encyclopedias.

7. Since Roman is writing an article that criticizes school uniform policies, the best question to ask would be the one that gets the school board’s opinion. By doing this, he can criticize their response, which is much more effective than attacking them with opposite opinions. If Roman were to ask any of the other questions of the supervisor, the supervisor might be less inclined to actually want to do the interview, and he might refuse to answer questions.

8. Since Darren only has a limited time in which to interview the senator, if she starts to become talkative, Darren should keep in mind how much time he has left. However, Darren does not want to interrupt her as she’s liable to not talk for the rest of the interview. His best bet is to keep in mind that the nature of the interview is changed. Darren might have to change the main idea of his article if this happens.

9. Since she only has a limited time in which to interview the director, if he starts to become talkative, she should keep in mind how much time she has left. However, she doesn’t want to interrupt him as he’s liable to not talk for the rest of the interview. Her best bet is to keep in mind that the nature of the interview is changed. She might have to change the main idea of her article if this happens.

10. Asking about the filming of a certain scene from the new movie and asking about the challenges of the new film would be appropriate. To ask about any of the other choices would be off topic or redundant.