Combine several sources into one fair answer

Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Four Source Notes on Green Roofs (research notes: four sources on one question)

   Research question: Do green roofs keep the rooms below them cooler in summer?

   Source A: study by Dr. Inez Halvorsen, an engineer at the Velmont Building Science Institute, 2024; primary, measured. [1] Over two summers, Halvorsen's team put sensors on six flat Velmont roofs, three planted with low plants and three covered with black roofing. [2] On hot afternoons, the planted surfaces stayed about 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the black ones, because the plants shaded the roof. [3] Top-floor rooms under the planted roofs averaged about 3 degrees cooler, while rooms two floors lower showed almost no difference. [4] The planted roofs also held back much of the rain from summer storms.

   Source B: report by the Velmont city energy office, 2025; primary, its own analysis of electricity bills. [5] The office compared summer electricity bills for forty buildings before and after green roofs were added between 2019 and 2023. [6] Cooling costs for the top floors fell by about 10 percent, while costs for the lower floors barely changed. [7] Most buildings also got new windows in those years, so the report cannot say how much of the saving came from the roofs. [8] Owners spent about $1,200 a year on weeding, watering and inspections, and several said the roofs also cut the rain pouring into their gutters.

   Source C: interview with building manager Tomas Achebe-Lund, Velmont Courier, 2025; primary, one person's account. [9] Mr. Achebe-Lund said that the roof planted on his building two years ago still feels hot underfoot on July afternoons. [10] He has never measured the temperature on the roof or in the apartments below it. [11] The roof needs weeding every month and watering during dry spells, which is more work than he expected.

   Source D: web page of Larkmoss Roofing, a green-roof installer, 2026; no method given. [12] The page claims that a planted roof stays cool to the touch on summer days, while black roofs bake in the sun. [13] It promises that a green roof will cut a building's cooling bills in half and need almost no care once its plants take root. [14] The page names no buildings, gives no measurements and ends with a form for booking a free estimate.

2. 1.

   Ari lays the four source cards side by side. Which Shared-finding line may go under the cards?

   • Rooms on each floor of a building stay cooler under a green roof (Sources A and B).
   • Top-floor rooms stay cooler, or cost less to cool, under a green roof (Sources A and B).
   • A green roof cuts a building's cooling bills in half once its plants take root (Source D).
   • Velmont buildings have added planted roofs in recent years (Sources B and C).
3. 2.

   Bo checks a draft sentence against the cards: "A planted roof needs regular weeding and watering." Which sources support it?

   • Source C, the manager's interview, with no other card beside it
   • Sources B, C and D, the bill report, the interview and the installer's page
   • Sources A, B and C, the temperature study, the bill report and the interview
   • Sources B and C, the city's bill report and the manager's interview
4. 3.

   Kira tests a draft sentence: "A planted roof's surface stays much cooler than black roofing on hot days." Which sources support it?

   • Sources A, C and D, the study, the manager's interview and the page
   • Source A, the temperature study, with no other card beside it
   • Sources A, B and D, the study, the city's bill report and the page
   • Sources A and D, the temperature study and the installer's page
5. 4.

   For this question, which Strength-and-limit line belongs on Source C's card, as Luz fills it in?

   • Strength: a clear picture of the upkeep a manager should expect. Limit: one building, and nothing was measured.
   • Strength: two summers of roof temperature readings. Limit: one building, with no second roof to compare.
   • Strength: a city newspaper printed it, so it has been checked. Limit: it is an interview, not a report.
   • Strength: a firsthand account of one planted roof in daily use. Limit: one building, and nothing was measured.

6. Four Source Notes on Studying with Music (research notes: four sources on one question)

   Research question: Does background music help high school students study?

   Source A: study by Dr. Ruth Calloway, a psychologist at Hesketh College, 2023; primary, measured. [1] Calloway's team asked 120 college students to read passages and answer questions in silence, with instrumental music, or with songs that had lyrics. [2] Scores with instrumental music were nearly the same as in silence, while scores with lyrics were about 12 percent lower. [3] Loud music lowered scores more than soft music did, whichever kind was playing. [4] Afterward, most students said they had preferred the sessions with music, even when their own scores had dropped.

   Source B: classroom study by two teachers at Corriden High School, 2024; primary, measured, small group. [5] Forty juniors solved algebra problems for twenty minutes on two days, once in silence and once with quiet piano music. [6] They solved about the same number of problems correctly both days, so the music neither helped nor hurt. [7] More than half said, however, that the music made the time seem shorter and more pleasant. [8] Most of the juniors already study with music at home, and all forty came from a single school.

   Source C: survey by the Corriden Lantern, the school's student newspaper, 2025; primary, students' opinions. [9] Of the 300 students who chose to answer, about two-thirds said that music helps them focus on homework. [10] Many turn their music up loud to block out noise at home, and nine in ten study with music at least sometimes. [11] The survey asked what students believe, not how well they actually did on any test.

   Source D: review by science writer Oren Blakewell, Study Habits Monthly, 2026; secondary, summarizes eleven studies. [12] Blakewell found that music with lyrics lowered reading scores in most of the eleven studies, while instrumental music made little difference. [13] Louder music did more harm than softer music in several of the studies. [14] He cautions that nine of the eleven studies tested college students rather than high school students.

7. 5.

   Milo lays the four cards side by side. Which Shared-finding line may go under them?

   • Songs with lyrics tend to lower reading scores (Sources A and D).
   • Many students already do their homework with music playing (Sources B and C).
   • Music makes a study session seem shorter and more pleasant (Source B).
   • Songs with lyrics lower scores on algebra problems (Sources B and D).
8. 6.

   Noah tests a draft sentence: "Loud music seems to do more harm to studying than soft music." Which sources support it?

   • Sources A and D, the reading test and the review of eleven studies
   • Sources A, B and D, the reading test, the algebra study and the review
   • Source A, the reading test, with no other card beside it
   • Sources A, C and D, the reading test, the newspaper's survey and the review
9. 7.

   Pia fills in Source C's Strength-and-limit line for this question. Which line fits?

   • Strength: a school newspaper knows its own students well. Limit: nothing that matters for this question.
   • Strength: the views of 300 high school students. Limit: beliefs, not results, from students who chose to answer.
   • Strength: a clear picture of students' study habits at home. Limit: beliefs, not results, from students who chose to answer.
   • Strength: a test of 300 students' focus during homework. Limit: the students came from one school.
10. 8.

    Ren needs one more Shared-finding line. Which line do two or more of the cards support?

    • Most research on studying with music has tested college students (Sources A and D).
    • Instrumental music makes little difference to scores (Sources A, B and D).
    • About two-thirds of the students who answered say music helps them focus (Source C).
    • Instrumental music raises scores on reading tests (Sources A and D).
11. 9.

    Tala checks this draft sentence: "Music does not raise students' scores, even though many students enjoy it." Which sources support the whole sentence?

    • Sources A, B and D, the reading test, the algebra study and the review
    • Sources A, B and C, the two studies and the newspaper's survey
    • Source B, the algebra study, with no other card beside it
    • Sources A and B, the reading test and the algebra study
12. 10.

    Which Strength-and-limit line belongs on Source D's card for this question, as Zee fills it in?

    • Strength: it suits a study guide for college students, since most studies used them. Limit: it is a magazine summary.
    • Strength: a study magazine prints checked research. Limit: it appeared in 2026, after the other studies.
    • Strength: it sums up eleven studies, not just one. Limit: nine of them tested college students, not high schoolers.
    • Strength: Blakewell ran eleven tests of his own. Limit: nine of them tested college students, not high schoolers.