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STAAR Question Answer Key & Breakdown
(New 2017 Adopted TEKS)

English I & II Task Cards Mini Set

Card Topic TEKS / CCSS Answer

Inference E1.4.F, E2.4.F / RL.9-10.1 B

1 Text Evidence E1.5.C, E2.5.C / RL.9-10.1 D
Answers will vary.
Inference E1.4.F, E2.4.F / RL.9-10.1
Inference E1.4.F, E2.4.F / RL.9-10.1 C
2 Inference E1.4.F, E2.4.F / RL.9-10.1 D
Answers will vary.
Author’s Purpose E1.8.C, E2.8.C / RL.9-10.6
Author’s Purpose E1.8.A, E2.8.A / RI.9-10.6 A
3 Structure E1.8.B, E2.8.B / RI.9-10.5 D
Answers will vary.
Evidence E1.7.D.ii, E2.7.D.ii / RI.9-10.8
Mood E1.8.F, E2.8.F / RL.9-10.3 B
4 Structure E1.8.B, E2.8.B / RL.9-10.5 C
Answers will vary.
Character E1.6.B, E2.6.B / RL.9-10.3
Text Evidence E1.5.C, E2.5.C / RI.9-10.1 A
5 Author’s Purpose E1.8.C, E2.8.C / RI.9-10.6 B
Answers will vary.
Argumentative E1.7.D.i, E2.7.D.i / RI.9-10.8
Text Evidence E1.5.C, E2.5.C / RL.9-10.1 B
6 Inference E1.4.F, E2.4.F/ RL.9-10.1 C
Answers will vary.
Character E1.6.B, E2.6.B / RL.9-10.3
Setting E1.6.D, E2.6.D / RL.9-10.3 D
7 Plot E1.6.C, E2.6.C / RL.9-10.3 C
Answers will vary.
Inference E1.4.F, E2.4.F / RL.9-10.1
Theme E1.6.A, E2.6.A / RL.9-10.2 A
8 Character E1.6.B, E2.6.B / RL.9-10.3 B
Answers will vary.
Personal Connection E1.4.E, E2.4.E
Verbs E1.9.D.ii, E2.9.D.ii / L.9-10.1b D
9 Punctuation E1.9.D.v, E2.9.D.v / L.9-10.2 C
Its – It’s
Planning E1.9.A, E2.9.A / W.9-10.5 break through -
breakthrough

Revising E1.9.C, E2.9.C / L.9-10.3a A

10 Complete Sentences E1.9.D.i, E2.9.D.i / W.9-10.5 B
Add a comma after
Punctuation E1.9.D.v, E2.9.D.v / L.9-10.2 however,

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INFERENCE 1
Excerpt from Robinson Crusoe By Becky Albertalli
Based on the excerpt, the reader can
I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good
conclude that the narrator’s father -
family, though not of that country, my father being a
foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull. He got a good
estate by merchandise, and leaving off his trade, lived A did not come from a good family
afterwards at York, from whence he had married my mother,
whose relations were named Robinson, a very good family in B was strongly against him going to sea
that country, and from whom I was called Robinson
C had family money and did not work
Kreutznaer; but, by the usual corruption of words in England,
we are now called—nay we call ourselves and write our D did not educate the older brothers
name—Crusoe; and so my companions always called me. I
had two elder brothers, one of whom was lieutenant-colonel
Which phrase suggests the narrator’s story
to an English regiment of foot in Flanders, formerly
commanded by the famous Colonel Lockhart, and was killed
does not end well?
at the battle near Dunkirk against the Spaniards. What
became of my second brother I never knew, any more than A and was killed at the battle near Dunkirk
my father or mother knew what became of me. Being the against the Spaniards
third son of the family and not bred to any trade, my head
B any more than my father or mother knew
began to be filled very early with rambling thoughts. My
father, who was very ancient, had given me a competent what became of me
share of learning, as far as house-education and a country C but I would be satisfied with nothing but
free school generally go, and designed me for the law; but I going to sea
would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea; and my
inclination to this led me so strongly against the will, nay, the D tending directly to the life of misery which
commands of my father, and against all the entreaties and was to befall me
persuasions of my mother and other friends, that there
seemed to be something fatal in that propensity of nature, Short Answer: What inference can you make
tending directly to the life of misery which was to befall me. about the narrator?

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INFERENCE 2
Excerpt from The War of the World By H. G. Wells

The planet Mars, I scarcely need remind the reader,
revolves about the sun at a mean distance of
140,000,000 miles, and the light and heat it receives
from the sun is barely half of that received by this
world. It must be, if the nebular hypothesis has any
truth, older than our world; and long before this
earth ceased to be molten, life upon its surface
must have begun its course. The fact that it is
scarcely one seventh of the volume of the earth
must have accelerated its cooling to the
temperature at which life could begin. It has air
and water and all that is necessary for the support
of animated existence. Yet so vain is man, and so
blinded by his vanity, that no writer, up to the very
end of the nineteenth century, expressed any idea
that intelligent life might have developed there far,
or indeed at all, beyond its earthly level. Nor was it
generally understood that since Mars is older than
our earth, with scarcely a quarter of the superficial
area and remoter from the sun, it necessarily follows
that it is not only more distant from time’s beginning
but nearer its end.
Which word best describes the narrator’s
opinion toward man?
A Unproductive
B Visionless
C Self-important
D Uncreative
The narrator’s description of Mars suggests it
is –
A a possible place for human settlement
B more like earth then people think
C out of time and the planet is dying
D impossible to think there was no life
Short Answer: What is the author’s primary
purpose?
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AUTHOR’S PURPOSE 3
Digital Piracy By David Trilling

Most of us wouldn’t walk into a shop and pocket a DVD without What is the primary purpose of the
paying for it. But research shows many have few qualms about article?
stealing intangible items – downloading pirated copies of movies
or music, for example. A 2016 paper in Social A To explain the change in the
Neuroscience found less brain activity in an area typically entertainment industry
associated with moral questions when people imagined illegally
downloading copyrighted material than when they imagined B To describe how streaming videos
stealing a physical object. Piracy wasn’t much of a problem for and music work
the entertainment industry until the 1990s and the birth of Napster, C To make an argument for streaming
which allowed web users to share music files. Napster was
D To detail how piracy is a problem
stopped by court order in 2001, but other peer-to-peer sharing
platforms steadily eroded the entertainment industry’s profits.
These days, streaming offers an alternative. Users subscribe to a The author includes Napster to -
service like Netflix and watch movies over the internet much as
they would on YouTube, but with a higher resolution and no A analyze a person’s moral code
advertisements. Spotify, a music-streaming service, has two B suggest people tend to steal
business models: a free option with advertisements between
C address music piracy
every few songs, like on the radio, and a subscription with a
monthly fee of about $10. Thanks to streaming, 2016 may D explain where streaming came from
become the second year in a row (since CD sales peaked in the
late 1990s) when the music industry sees a bump in revenues, Short Answer: What other helpful
according to a September 2016 Bloomberg story: “U.S. streaming information should the author include
revenue grew 57 percent to $1.6 billion in the first half of 2016 and in the article?
accounted for almost half of industry sales.” But despite the
hopes of some artists and industry executives, new research
suggests streaming is no panacea for piracy.
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AUTHOR’S PURPOSE 4
Excerpt from Ice-Maiden By Hans Christian Andersen
Although so young and such a little fellow, Rudy had travelled a great deal. He What mood is conveyed in the
was born in the canton of Valais, and brought to his grandfather over the
mountains. He had walked to Staubbach—a little town that seems to flutter in the
excerpt?
air like a silver veil—the glittering, snow-clad mountain Jungfrau. He had also
been to the great glaciers; but this is connected with a sad story, for here his A Bitterness
mother met her death, and his grandfather used to say that all Rudy's childish
merriment was lost from that time. His mother had written in a letter, that before B Mournful
he was a year old he had laughed more than he cried; but after his fall into the
C Resigned
snow-covered crevasse, his disposition had completely changed. The
grandfather seldom spoke of this, but the fact was generally known. Rudy's father D Scornful
had been a postilion, and the large dog which now lived in his grandfather's
cottage had always followed him on his journeys over the Simplon to the lake of
Geneva. Rudy's relations, on his father's side, lived in the canton of Valais, in the
valley of the Rhone. His uncle was a chamois hunter, and a well-known guide. The boy’s story is significant
Rudy was only a year old when his father died, and his mother was anxious to because it -
return with her child to her own relations, who lived in the Bernese Oberland. Her
father dwelt at a few hours' distance from Grindelwald; he was a carver in wood,
and gained so much by it that he had plenty to live upon. She set out A suggests he is going to be
homewards in the month of June to Grindelwald. They had crossed high ridges, special
and traversed snow-fields; they could even see her native valley, with its familiar
wooden cottages. They had only one more glacier to climb. Some newly fallen B describes why he is alone
snow concealed a cleft which, though it did not extend to the foaming waters in C explains why he does not smile
the depths beneath, was still much deeper than the height of a man. The young
woman, with the child in her arms, slipped upon it, sank in, and disappeared. Not D highlights why he is alive
a shriek, not a groan was heard; nothing but the whining of a little child. More
than an hour elapsed before her two companions could obtain from the nearest
house ropes and poles to assist in raising them; and it was with much exertion
that they at last succeeded in raising from the crevasse what appeared to be Short Answer: How would you
two dead bodies. Every means was used to restore them to life. With the child describe the boy?
they were successful, but not with the mother; so the old grandfather received his
daughter's little son into his house an orphan.

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TEXT EVIDENCE
Excerpt from How does Technology Affect our Day to Day Lives?
By Emmanuela
Through reading one of George Orwell’s classic and most
well-known pieces of literature, Orwell’s prediction relating
to technology plays a similar and an important role not only
in the book itself but to our personal lives, where day to day
we are surrounded by technology and being connected to
the web. Orwell forms an idea and understanding that
technology causes an infringement of an individuals
privacy, where almost every move is monitored by some
device system. This works similar to a tracking system.
Nothing goes unseen, and in most cases, technology seems
to be what ends up hooking us to our social media, losing a
true sense and experience of the world surrounding us.
Though his ideas were quite spot on with what is happening
around us today, I definitely believe there was no
realization to what extreme level and extent it is at this
current time. Forms of technology such as Siri or even
Amazon’s Alexa operate with the human feature to talk
and socialize such as if you are carrying a conversation
with another human being. Conversations regarding asking
questions, and finding today’s weather such as the
temperature outside can be carried with a touch of a
button. But, this comes at a tole creating a history where
previous things you have searched remain visible to look
back to. Orwell’s characters struggle with finding and
settling to a place where there is not a way to be traced or
tracked down. There is no true form of being alone.
Everything is monitored.
TEXT EVIDENCE
Excerpt from The War of the Worlds By H. G. Wells
I clambered into the pit and fancied I heard a faint
movement under my feet. The top had certainly ceased
to rotate. It was only when I got thus close to it that the
strangeness of this object was at all evident to me. At the
first glance it was really no more exciting than an
overturned carriage or a tree blown across the road. Not
so much so, indeed. It looked like a rusty gas float. It
required a certain amount of scientific education to
perceive that the grey scale of the Thing was no common
oxide, that the yellowish-white metal that gleamed in the
crack between the lid and the cylinder had an unfamiliar
hue. “Extra-terrestrial” had no meaning for most of the
onlookers. At that time it was quite clear in my own mind
that the Thing had come from the planet Mars, but I
judged it improbable that it contained any living
creature. I thought the unscrewing might be automatic.
In spite of Ogilvy, I still believed that there were men in
Mars. My mind ran fancifully on the possibilities of its
containing manuscript, on the difficulties in translation
that might arise, whether we should find coins and models
in it, and so forth. Yet it was a little too large for assurance
on this idea. I felt an impatience to see it opened. About
eleven, as nothing seemed happening, I walked back, full
of such thought, to my home in Maybury. But I found it
difficult to get to work upon my abstract investigations.
5
In which sentence does the author seem to
accept that technology has gone too far?
A I definitely believe there was no realization to
what extreme level and extent it is at this
current time.
B Siri or even Amazon’s Alexa operate with the
human feature to talk and socialize such as if
you are carrying a conversation with another
human being.
C But, this comes at a tole creating a history
where previous things you have searched
remain visible to look back to.
What is the primary purpose of the article?
A To convince readers to disconnect
B To make readers think more about technology
C To describe a world without technology
D To emphasize the novel by George Orwell
Short Answer: Do you think the author made valid
arguments in the article?
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6
What detail best supports the narrator's
belief that the Thing is from another planet?
A It required a certain amount of scientific
education to perceive that the grey
scale of the Thing was no common oxide,
B that the yellowish-white metal that
gleamed in the crack between the lid
and the cylinder had an unfamiliar hue.
C “Extra-terrestrial” had no meaning for
most of the onlookers.
D At that time it was quite clear in my own
mind that the Thing had come from the
planet Mars.
Details about the narrator imply that he -
A lost interest in the Thing from Mars
B studies objects from outer space
C has a science background
D believes there are people on Mars
Short Answer: What three words would best
describe the narrator?
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LITERARY ELEMENTS 7
Excerpt from Robinson Crusoe By Daniel Defoe
By this time it blew a terrible storm indeed; and now I began to see terror How does the setting influence the
and amazement in the faces even of the seamen themselves. The master, plot?
though vigilant in the business of preserving the ship, yet as he went in and
out of his cabin by me, I could hear him softly to himself say, several times,
A The wild winds create a conflict.
“Lord be merciful to us! we shall be all lost! we shall be all undone!” and
the like. I was lying still in my cabin, which was in the steerage, and cannot B The rough water gives the
describe my temper: I could ill resume the first penitence which I had so narrator something to fear.
apparently trampled upon and hardened myself against: I thought the
bitterness of death had been past, and that this would be nothing like the C The violent waves make the
first; but when the master himself came by me, as I said just now, and said narrator feel upset.
we should be all lost, I was dreadfully frightened. I got up out of my cabin D The storm mirrors the narrator’s
and looked out; but such a dismal sight I never saw: the sea ran mountains
fear of death.
high, and broke upon us every three or four minutes; when I could look
about, I could see nothing but distress round us; two ships that rode near
us, we found, had cut their masts by the board; and our men cried out Which of the following best
that a ship which rode about a mile ahead of us was foundered. Two describes the plot structure?
more ships, being driven from their anchors, were run out of the Roads to
sea, at all adventures, and that with not a mast standing. The light ships A Exposition
fared the best, as not so much laboring in the sea; but two or three of
them drove, and came close by us, running away with only their spritsail
B Rising Action
out before the wind. Towards evening the mate and boatswain begged C Climax
the master of our ship to let them cut away the fore-mast, which he was
very unwilling to do; but the boatswain protesting to him that if he did not D Falling Action
the ship would founder, he consented; and when they had cut away the
fore-mast, the main-mast stood so loose, and shook the ship so much, they Short Answer: What do you think
were obliged to cut that away also, and make a clear deck. Any one may the narrator means in the final
judge what a condition I must be in at all this, who was but a young sailor, line?
and who had been in such a fright before at but a little.

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LITERARY ELEMENTS 8
Aesop’s Fable The Plane Tree

Two Travelers, walking in the noonday sun, What theme is explored in the story?
sought the shade of a wide spreading tree
to rest. As they lay looking up among the A People take things they have for granted.
pleasant leaves, they saw that it was a B Beauty is only on the outside.
Plane Tree. C Appreciate what you have.
D Misery comes to those who are ungrateful.
"How useless is the Plane!" said one of
them. "It bears no fruit whatever, and only The Plane Tree can best be described as -
serves to litter the ground with leaves.”
A annoyed
"Ungrateful creatures!" said a voice from B wounded
the Plane Tree. "You lie here in my cooling C distressed
shade, and yet you say I am useless! Thus
D infuriated
ungratefully, O Jupiter, do men receive
their blessings!" Short Answer: In what way does this lesson
connect to your life?

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EDITING 9
Excerpt from Stuff Matters By Mark Miodownik

(1) At some point humans made the discovery that What change, if any, needs to be made in
would end the Stone Age and open the door to a sentence 6?
seemingly unlimited supply of the stuff. (2) They
discovered that a certain greenish rock, when put into A Change have to has
a very hot fire and surrounded by red-hot embers turns
into a shiny piece of metal. (3) This greenish rock was B Change reliably to relaibly
malachite, and the metal was, of course, copper. (4) It C Insert a comma before but
must have been the most dazzling revelation. (5)
Suddenly the discoverers were surrounded not by D No change needs to be made in
dead inert rock but by mysterious stuff that had an sentence 6
inner life. (6) They would have been capable of
performing this transformation with only a few
particular types of rock, such as malachite because What change should be made in
getting it to work reliably depends not just on sentence 2?
identifying these rocks but also on carefully controlling
the chemical conditions of the fire. (7) But they must A Change They to We
have suspected that those rocks that didn’t work, that
B Delete the comma after rock
remained obstinately rock-like however hot the fire
became, had hidden secrets. (8) They were right. (9) Its C Insert a comma after embers
a process that works for many minerals, although it
D Change shiny to shinny
would be thousands of years before an understanding
of the chemistry required (controlling the chemical
reactions between the rock and the gases created in
the fire) led to the next real break through in smelting. Short Answer: Find two changes that need
to be made in sentence 9.
Changes were made to the text for teaching purposes.

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EDITING
Abstract of Analyzing How People Orient to and Spread Rumors in Social
Media By Arkaitz Zubiaga
(1) As breaking news unfolds people increasingly
rely on social media to stay alongside of the
latest updates. (2) The use of social media in such
situations comes with the caveat that new
information being released piecemeal may
encourage rumors, many of which remain
unverified long after their point of release. (3)
Little is known however about the dynamics of
the life cycle of a social media rumor. (4) In this
paper we present a methodology that has
enabled us to collect, identify and annotate a
dataset of 330 rumor threads (4,842 tweets)
associated with 9 newsworthy events. (5) We
analyze this dataset to understand how users
spread, support, or deny rumors that are later
proven true or false, by distinguishing two levels of
status in a rumor life cycle i.e., before and after its
veracity status is resolved. (6) The identification of
rumors associated with each event. (7) As well as
the tweet that resolved each rumor as true or
false. (8) Was performed by journalist members
of the research team who tracked the events in
real time. (9) Our study shows that rumors that are
ultimately proven true tend to be resolved faster
than those that turn out to be false.
Changes were made to the text for teaching purposes.
10
The author has not used the most appropriate word in
sentence 1. Which word best replaces alongside?
A abreast C educated
B level D enlightened
What is the best way to rewrite sentences 6 - 8?
A The identification of rumors associated with each
event, as well as the tweet that resolved each rumor
as true or false. Was performed by journalist members
of the research team who tracked the events in real
time.
B The identification of rumors associated with each
event, as well as the tweet that resolved each rumor
as true or false, was performed by journalist members
of the research team who tracked the events in real
time.
C The identification of rumors associated with each
event. As well as the tweet that resolved each rumor
as true or false, was performed by journalist members
of the research team who tracked the events in real
time.
Short Answer: Correct the punctuation in sentence 3.

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Name: Date: Class:
Read the text on each task card and record your
answer to each question on the recording sheet below.
Card Multiple
Number
Choice Short Answer Responses
Answers

1
2

3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

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INFERENCE 1
Excerpt from Robinson Crusoe By Becky Albertalli
Based on the excerpt, the reader can
I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good
conclude that the narrator’s father -
family, though not of that country, my father being a
foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull. He got a good
estate by merchandise, and leaving off his trade, lived A did not come from a good family
afterwards at York, from whence he had married my mother,
whose relations were named Robinson, a very good family in B was strongly against him going to sea
that country, and from whom I was called Robinson
C had family money and did not work
Kreutznaer; but, by the usual corruption of words in England,
we are now called—nay we call ourselves and write our D did not educate the older brothers
name—Crusoe; and so my companions always called me. I
had two elder brothers, one of whom was lieutenant-colonel
Which phrase suggests the narrator’s story
to an English regiment of foot in Flanders, formerly
commanded by the famous Colonel Lockhart, and was killed
does not end well?
at the battle near Dunkirk against the Spaniards. What
became of my second brother I never knew, any more than A and was killed at the battle near Dunkirk
my father or mother knew what became of me. Being the against the Spaniards
third son of the family and not bred to any trade, my head
B any more than my father or mother knew
began to be filled very early with rambling thoughts. My
father, who was very ancient, had given me a competent what became of me
share of learning, as far as house-education and a country C but I would be satisfied with nothing but
free school generally go, and designed me for the law; but I going to sea
would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea; and my
inclination to this led me so strongly against the will, nay, the D tending directly to the life of misery which
commands of my father, and against all the entreaties and was to befall me
persuasions of my mother and other friends, that there
seemed to be something fatal in that propensity of nature, Short Answer: What inference can you make
tending directly to the life of misery which was to befall me. about the narrator?

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INFERENCE 2
Excerpt from The War of the World By H. G. Wells

The planet Mars, I scarcely need remind the reader,
revolves about the sun at a mean distance of
140,000,000 miles, and the light and heat it receives
from the sun is barely half of that received by this
world. It must be, if the nebular hypothesis has any
truth, older than our world; and long before this
earth ceased to be molten, life upon its surface
must have begun its course. The fact that it is
scarcely one seventh of the volume of the earth
must have accelerated its cooling to the
temperature at which life could begin. It has air
and water and all that is necessary for the support
of animated existence. Yet so vain is man, and so
blinded by his vanity, that no writer, up to the very
end of the nineteenth century, expressed any idea
that intelligent life might have developed there far,
or indeed at all, beyond its earthly level. Nor was it
generally understood that since Mars is older than
our earth, with scarcely a quarter of the superficial
area and remoter from the sun, it necessarily follows
that it is not only more distant from time’s beginning
but nearer its end.
Which word best describes the narrator’s
opinion toward man?
A Unproductive
B Visionless
C Self-important
D Uncreative
The narrator’s description of Mars suggests it
is –
A a possible place for human settlement
B more like earth then people think
C out of time and the planet is dying
D impossible to think there was no life
Short Answer: What is the author’s primary
purpose?
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AUTHOR’S PURPOSE 3
Digital Piracy By David Trilling

Most of us wouldn’t walk into a shop and pocket a DVD without What is the primary purpose of the
paying for it. But research shows many have few qualms about article?
stealing intangible items – downloading pirated copies of movies
or music, for example. A 2016 paper in Social A To explain the change in the
Neuroscience found less brain activity in an area typically entertainment industry
associated with moral questions when people imagined illegally
downloading copyrighted material than when they imagined B To describe how streaming videos
stealing a physical object. Piracy wasn’t much of a problem for and music work
the entertainment industry until the 1990s and the birth of Napster, C To make an argument for streaming
which allowed web users to share music files. Napster was
D To detail how piracy is a problem
stopped by court order in 2001, but other peer-to-peer sharing
platforms steadily eroded the entertainment industry’s profits.
These days, streaming offers an alternative. Users subscribe to a The author includes Napster to -
service like Netflix and watch movies over the internet much as
they would on YouTube, but with a higher resolution and no A analyze a person’s moral code
advertisements. Spotify, a music-streaming service, has two B suggest people tend to steal
business models: a free option with advertisements between
C address music piracy
every few songs, like on the radio, and a subscription with a
monthly fee of about $10. Thanks to streaming, 2016 may D explain where streaming came from
become the second year in a row (since CD sales peaked in the
late 1990s) when the music industry sees a bump in revenues, Short Answer: What other helpful
according to a September 2016 Bloomberg story: “U.S. streaming information should the author include
revenue grew 57 percent to $1.6 billion in the first half of 2016 and in the article?
accounted for almost half of industry sales.” But despite the
hopes of some artists and industry executives, new research
suggests streaming is no panacea for piracy.
Created by Custom Classroom by Angela Copyright © 2021

AUTHOR’S PURPOSE 4
Excerpt from Ice-Maiden By Hans Christian Andersen
Although so young and such a little fellow, Rudy had travelled a great deal. He What mood is conveyed in the
was born in the canton of Valais, and brought to his grandfather over the
mountains. He had walked to Staubbach—a little town that seems to flutter in the
excerpt?
air like a silver veil—the glittering, snow-clad mountain Jungfrau. He had also
been to the great glaciers; but this is connected with a sad story, for here his A Bitterness
mother met her death, and his grandfather used to say that all Rudy's childish
merriment was lost from that time. His mother had written in a letter, that before B Mournful
he was a year old he had laughed more than he cried; but after his fall into the
C Resigned
snow-covered crevasse, his disposition had completely changed. The
grandfather seldom spoke of this, but the fact was generally known. Rudy's father D Scornful
had been a postilion, and the large dog which now lived in his grandfather's
cottage had always followed him on his journeys over the Simplon to the lake of
Geneva. Rudy's relations, on his father's side, lived in the canton of Valais, in the
valley of the Rhone. His uncle was a chamois hunter, and a well-known guide. The boy’s story is significant
Rudy was only a year old when his father died, and his mother was anxious to because it -
return with her child to her own relations, who lived in the Bernese Oberland. Her
father dwelt at a few hours' distance from Grindelwald; he was a carver in wood,
and gained so much by it that he had plenty to live upon. She set out A suggests he is going to be
homewards in the month of June to Grindelwald. They had crossed high ridges, special
and traversed snow-fields; they could even see her native valley, with its familiar
wooden cottages. They had only one more glacier to climb. Some newly fallen B describes why he is alone
snow concealed a cleft which, though it did not extend to the foaming waters in C explains why he does not smile
the depths beneath, was still much deeper than the height of a man. The young
woman, with the child in her arms, slipped upon it, sank in, and disappeared. Not D highlights why he is alive
a shriek, not a groan was heard; nothing but the whining of a little child. More
than an hour elapsed before her two companions could obtain from the nearest
house ropes and poles to assist in raising them; and it was with much exertion
that they at last succeeded in raising from the crevasse what appeared to be Short Answer: How would you
two dead bodies. Every means was used to restore them to life. With the child describe the boy?
they were successful, but not with the mother; so the old grandfather received his
daughter's little son into his house an orphan.

Created by Custom Classroom by Angela Copyright © 2021

TEXT EVIDENCE
Excerpt from How does Technology Affect our Day to Day Lives?
By Emmanuela
Through reading one of George Orwell’s classic and most
well-known pieces of literature, Orwell’s prediction relating
to technology plays a similar and an important role not only
in the book itself but to our personal lives, where day to day
we are surrounded by technology and being connected to
the web. Orwell forms an idea and understanding that
technology causes an infringement of an individuals
privacy, where almost every move is monitored by some
device system. This works similar to a tracking system.
Nothing goes unseen, and in most cases, technology seems
to be what ends up hooking us to our social media, losing a
true sense and experience of the world surrounding us.
Though his ideas were quite spot on with what is happening
around us today, I definitely believe there was no
realization to what extreme level and extent it is at this
current time. Forms of technology such as Siri or even
Amazon’s Alexa operate with the human feature to talk
and socialize such as if you are carrying a conversation
with another human being. Conversations regarding asking
questions, and finding today’s weather such as the
temperature outside can be carried with a touch of a
button. But, this comes at a tole creating a history where
previous things you have searched remain visible to look
back to. Orwell’s characters struggle with finding and
settling to a place where there is not a way to be traced or
tracked down. There is no true form of being alone.
Everything is monitored.
TEXT EVIDENCE
Excerpt from The War of the Worlds By H. G. Wells
I clambered into the pit and fancied I heard a faint
movement under my feet. The top had certainly ceased
to rotate. It was only when I got thus close to it that the
strangeness of this object was at all evident to me. At the
first glance it was really no more exciting than an
overturned carriage or a tree blown across the road. Not
so much so, indeed. It looked like a rusty gas float. It
required a certain amount of scientific education to
perceive that the grey scale of the Thing was no common
oxide, that the yellowish-white metal that gleamed in the
crack between the lid and the cylinder had an unfamiliar
hue. “Extra-terrestrial” had no meaning for most of the
onlookers. At that time it was quite clear in my own mind
that the Thing had come from the planet Mars, but I
judged it improbable that it contained any living
creature. I thought the unscrewing might be automatic.
In spite of Ogilvy, I still believed that there were men in
Mars. My mind ran fancifully on the possibilities of its
containing manuscript, on the difficulties in translation
that might arise, whether we should find coins and models
in it, and so forth. Yet it was a little too large for assurance
on this idea. I felt an impatience to see it opened. About
eleven, as nothing seemed happening, I walked back, full
of such thought, to my home in Maybury. But I found it
difficult to get to work upon my abstract investigations.
5
In which sentence does the author seem to
accept that technology has gone too far?
A I definitely believe there was no realization to
what extreme level and extent it is at this
current time.
B Siri or even Amazon’s Alexa operate with the
human feature to talk and socialize such as if
you are carrying a conversation with another
human being.
C But, this comes at a tole creating a history
where previous things you have searched
remain visible to look back to.
What is the primary purpose of the article?
A To convince readers to disconnect
B To make readers think more about technology
C To describe a world without technology
D To emphasize the novel by George Orwell
Short Answer: Do you think the author made valid
arguments in the article?
Created by Custom Classroom by Angela Copyright © 2021
6
What detail best supports the narrator's
belief that the Thing is from another planet?
A It required a certain amount of scientific
education to perceive that the grey
scale of the Thing was no common oxide,
B that the yellowish-white metal that
gleamed in the crack between the lid
and the cylinder had an unfamiliar hue.
C “Extra-terrestrial” had no meaning for
most of the onlookers.
D At that time it was quite clear in my own
mind that the Thing had come from the
planet Mars.
Details about the narrator imply that he -
A lost interest in the Thing from Mars
B studies objects from outer space
C has a science background
D believes there are people on Mars
Short Answer: What three words would best
describe the narrator?
Created by Custom Classroom by Angela Copyright © 2021
LITERARY ELEMENTS 7
Excerpt from Robinson Crusoe By Daniel Defoe
By this time it blew a terrible storm indeed; and now I began to see terror How does the setting influence the
and amazement in the faces even of the seamen themselves. The master, plot?
though vigilant in the business of preserving the ship, yet as he went in and
out of his cabin by me, I could hear him softly to himself say, several times,
A The wild winds create a conflict.
“Lord be merciful to us! we shall be all lost! we shall be all undone!” and
the like. I was lying still in my cabin, which was in the steerage, and cannot B The rough water gives the
describe my temper: I could ill resume the first penitence which I had so narrator something to fear.
apparently trampled upon and hardened myself against: I thought the
bitterness of death had been past, and that this would be nothing like the C The violent waves make the
first; but when the master himself came by me, as I said just now, and said narrator feel upset.
we should be all lost, I was dreadfully frightened. I got up out of my cabin D The storm mirrors the narrator’s
and looked out; but such a dismal sight I never saw: the sea ran mountains
fear of death.
high, and broke upon us every three or four minutes; when I could look
about, I could see nothing but distress round us; two ships that rode near
us, we found, had cut their masts by the board; and our men cried out Which of the following best
that a ship which rode about a mile ahead of us was foundered. Two describes the plot structure?
more ships, being driven from their anchors, were run out of the Roads to
sea, at all adventures, and that with not a mast standing. The light ships A Exposition
fared the best, as not so much laboring in the sea; but two or three of
them drove, and came close by us, running away with only their spritsail
B Rising Action
out before the wind. Towards evening the mate and boatswain begged C Climax
the master of our ship to let them cut away the fore-mast, which he was
very unwilling to do; but the boatswain protesting to him that if he did not D Falling Action
the ship would founder, he consented; and when they had cut away the
fore-mast, the main-mast stood so loose, and shook the ship so much, they Short Answer: What do you think
were obliged to cut that away also, and make a clear deck. Any one may the narrator means in the final
judge what a condition I must be in at all this, who was but a young sailor, line?
and who had been in such a fright before at but a little.

Created by Custom Classroom by Angela Copyright © 2021

LITERARY ELEMENTS 8
Aesop’s Fable The Plane Tree

Two Travelers, walking in the noonday sun, What theme is explored in the story?
sought the shade of a wide spreading tree
to rest. As they lay looking up among the A People take things they have for granted.
pleasant leaves, they saw that it was a B Beauty is only on the outside.
Plane Tree. C Appreciate what you have.
D Misery comes to those who are ungrateful.
"How useless is the Plane!" said one of
them. "It bears no fruit whatever, and only The Plane Tree can best be described as -
serves to litter the ground with leaves.”
A annoyed
"Ungrateful creatures!" said a voice from B wounded
the Plane Tree. "You lie here in my cooling C distressed
shade, and yet you say I am useless! Thus
D infuriated
ungratefully, O Jupiter, do men receive
their blessings!" Short Answer: In what way does this lesson
connect to your life?

Created by Custom Classroom by Angela Copyright © 2021

EDITING 9
Excerpt from Stuff Matters By Mark Miodownik

(1) At some point humans made the discovery that What change, if any, needs to be made in
would end the Stone Age and open the door to a sentence 6?
seemingly unlimited supply of the stuff. (2) They
discovered that a certain greenish rock, when put into A Change have to has
a very hot fire and surrounded by red-hot embers turns
into a shiny piece of metal. (3) This greenish rock was B Change reliably to relaibly
malachite, and the metal was, of course, copper. (4) It C Insert a comma before but
must have been the most dazzling revelation. (5)
Suddenly the discoverers were surrounded not by D No change needs to be made in
dead inert rock but by mysterious stuff that had an sentence 6
inner life. (6) They would have been capable of
performing this transformation with only a few
particular types of rock, such as malachite because What change should be made in
getting it to work reliably depends not just on sentence 2?
identifying these rocks but also on carefully controlling
the chemical conditions of the fire. (7) But they must A Change They to We
have suspected that those rocks that didn’t work, that
B Delete the comma after rock
remained obstinately rock-like however hot the fire
became, had hidden secrets. (8) They were right. (9) Its C Insert a comma after embers
a process that works for many minerals, although it
D Change shiny to shinny
would be thousands of years before an understanding
of the chemistry required (controlling the chemical
reactions between the rock and the gases created in
the fire) led to the next real break through in smelting. Short Answer: Find two changes that need
to be made in sentence 9.
Changes were made to the text for teaching purposes.

Created by Custom Classroom by Angela Copyright © 2021

EDITING
Abstract of Analyzing How People Orient to and Spread Rumors in Social
Media By Arkaitz Zubiaga
(1) As breaking news unfolds people increasingly
rely on social media to stay alongside of the
latest updates. (2) The use of social media in such
situations comes with the caveat that new
information being released piecemeal may
encourage rumors, many of which remain
unverified long after their point of release. (3)
Little is known however about the dynamics of
the life cycle of a social media rumor. (4) In this
paper we present a methodology that has
enabled us to collect, identify and annotate a
dataset of 330 rumor threads (4,842 tweets)
associated with 9 newsworthy events. (5) We
analyze this dataset to understand how users
spread, support, or deny rumors that are later
proven true or false, by distinguishing two levels of
status in a rumor life cycle i.e., before and after its
veracity status is resolved. (6) The identification of
rumors associated with each event. (7) As well as
the tweet that resolved each rumor as true or
false. (8) Was performed by journalist members
of the research team who tracked the events in
real time. (9) Our study shows that rumors that are
ultimately proven true tend to be resolved faster
than those that turn out to be false.
Changes were made to the text for teaching purposes.
10
The author has not used the most appropriate word in
sentence 1. Which word best replaces alongside?
A abreast C educated
B level D enlightened
What is the best way to rewrite sentences 6 - 8?
A The identification of rumors associated with each
event, as well as the tweet that resolved each rumor
as true or false. Was performed by journalist members
of the research team who tracked the events in real
time.
B The identification of rumors associated with each
event, as well as the tweet that resolved each rumor
as true or false, was performed by journalist members
of the research team who tracked the events in real
time.
C The identification of rumors associated with each
event. As well as the tweet that resolved each rumor
as true or false, was performed by journalist members
of the research team who tracked the events in real
time.
Short Answer: Correct the punctuation in sentence 3.

Created by Custom Classroom by Angela Copyright © 2021

Click the link below for the Google Forms version.

Task Cards MINI SET

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1wNvb1m0ON5cs7VBhj5DSrtjc5bnRut7oZt3jtT7wqQQ/copy?usp=sharing

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

Angela
customclassroombyangela@gmail.com
Using Google Forms

See below for simple instructions for using Google Forms. I highly recommend watching
this video tutorial to get more familiar with the process if you are new to Google
Forms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm3KyqbaMJA&t=360s
1. Once you click the link, you will be asked to make a copy. (You might need to copy and paste
the link if you have any trouble.)

2. Click copy and the resource is now in your Google Drive. You can edit and use it as you wish.
You can rename, change color, manipulate questions, change point values, etc.

5. Hit Send in the upper right corner to distribute to your students through email.

6. Students will receive an email and all they need to do is hit Fill out Form.

7. Students won’t get their scores until you release them.

8. To see the finished quizzes go back into the form in Google Drive.

9. Click Responses near the top to see the scores by individuals or as a group (multiple choice
questions are auto-graded). *Short Answers – require teacher feedback - see the next page*

10. Release scores to students.

11. Students will get an email with their scores and be able to see which ones they missed along
with the correct answers.

12. Export scores if you would like.

Created by Custom Classroom by Angela Copyright © 2021

How to grade short answer questions?

1. Click on Responses near the top.

2. Then click on Individual.

3. The multiple-choice questions will already be graded. All the short answer
questions will be in red with a red X until you read over them and assign a
point value. (You will see the point value blank.)

4. Read the student’s response. If they are completely correct assign the
maximum point values, 3 points. If they are partially correct you can assign 2
or 1 point. If they are incorrect assign 0 points.

5. Save the changes you made. If you assigned the maximum point value, the
question will come up green. Any amount lower will appear red.

6. Now you can release the scores for students.

Created by Custom Classroom by Angela Copyright © 2021

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