Is the evidence good enough?
Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
A Speech for the Mill Creek Footbridge (article)
[1] Members of the council, I ask you tonight to fund a footbridge over Mill Creek, where our children have no safe way across. [2] Right now, children from the Eastgate homes must walk two miles around the creek to reach school, along a road with no sidewalk for most of the way. [3] In a survey of forty Eastgate families, thirty-two said their children are late at least once a week. [4] Last winter, one child slipped on the icy shoulder of the road while walking around the creek, and was fortunate to be unhurt.
[5] A footbridge would cut the walk from two miles to a quarter mile. [6] Everyone in Eastgate is counting on you tonight. [7] A similar footbridge in the next town cost $60,000, which fits within this council's yearly budget for roads.
[8] If we do nothing, more children will arrive late and miss the start of the school day, when the most important lessons are taught. [9] I urge the council to vote yes, and to do it tonight.
Pia reads the speech as a listener would. Which evaluation is fair?
- The speech has relevant numbers, but sentence [6] presses the council instead of giving evidence.
- Each sentence adds evidence, so the case for the footbridge is complete.
- The speech is strong, because forty families are enough to speak for the whole town.
- The speech is weak, because a speech uses feelings and feelings are not evidence.
Ren wants to make the evidence more convincing. Which addition would help most?
- School records of late arrivals, compared with children who live near the school.
- A letter from a parent saying how much the family wants a footbridge.
- A promise that a footbridge will end lateness at the school.
- A list of the parking lots the town has built over the last ten years, with their sizes.
A Speech to the Swim Parents (article)
[1] Thank you all for coming tonight, and for giving up an evening to listen. [2] I am asking you to support a third weekly practice for our swim team. [3] Last season, the team lost four meets by less than one second per race, and every one of those races was close. [4] Swimmers who attended each practice last season improved their times by an average of three seconds, according to our timing sheets.
[5] The pool is free on Thursday afternoons, so no new fees are needed from the team or from the parents. [6] I have coached for twenty years, and I know what a team needs. [7] Some parents worry that a third practice will cut into homework time.
[8] But the Thursday practice would end at five o'clock, leaving the evening free for dinner and homework. [9] I hope you will support the change, and I will answer any questions you have.
Zee reads the speech as a listener would. Which evaluation is fair?
- The speech is strong, because the team lost four meets and that alone shows the need.
- The numbers support the request, but sentence [6] offers experience, not evidence.
- The speech is weak, because the coach is the person who wants more practice.
- The speech is complete, because sentence [8] answers the worry parents might have.
Ari wants to make the evidence more convincing. Which addition would help most?
- Race times for the whole team, compared with swimmers who skipped practices.
- A list of the awards the coach has won over twenty years.
- A promise that a third practice will win the team a championship.
- A letter from swimmers saying they would love to have another weekly practice at the pool.
Bo looks for the weak point. Which sentence leans on the speaker's experience instead of on evidence?
- [8] But the Thursday practice would end at five o'clock, leaving the evening free.
- [6] I have coached for twenty years, and I know what a team needs.
- [5] The pool is free on Thursday afternoons, so no new fees are needed from the team or from the parents.
- [4] Swimmers who attended each practice last season improved their times by an average of three seconds, according to our timing sheets.
Closing Main Street on Saturdays (article)
[1] Our town should close Main Street to cars on Saturdays during the summer. [2] Last June, the town closed Main Street for one Saturday during its summer festival, and shops reported 20 percent more sales than on a usual Saturday. [3] The street filled with walkers, bikes, and musicians, and children drew pictures on the pavement with chalk. [4] Shop owners who were interviewed that day said they were pleased with the crowds and hoped the street would stay closed again.
[5] A survey of walkers found that most of them would come again. [6] Closing the street on Saturdays would cost the town about $400 a week in signs and cones. [7] The mayor drives down Main Street every day on the way to work.
[8] Critics say that drivers will be angry about the change and will take other roads through the quiet neighborhoods nearby. [9] But one successful Saturday shows that the idea works.
Jun wants the evidence to be enough. Which addition would help most?
- A history of how often the mayor drives down Main Street.
- A promise that closed Saturdays will keep raising sales by 20 percent.
- More shop owners saying they were pleased with the closed street that day.
- Sales from several closed Saturdays, compared with usual Saturdays.
Kira looks for the stretch. Which sentence claims more than the evidence shows?
- [9] But one successful Saturday shows that the idea works.
- [6] Closing the street on Saturdays would cost the town about $400 a week in signs and cones.
- [2] Last June, the town closed Main Street for one Saturday during its summer festival, and shops reported 20 percent more sales than on a usual Saturday.
- [5] A survey of walkers found that most of them would come again.
A Late Bus on Wednesdays (article)
[1] Fellow students, our school needs a late bus on Wednesdays, and I am here to explain why. [2] Twenty-six students in the robotics club told me they miss the bus home after meetings that end at 4:30, because the last bus leaves at 4:15. [3] Their families have to drive them, which many parents cannot do on a workday, and some students walk home alone in the dark. [4] About sixty students in all belong to clubs that meet after school.
[5] The district already runs late buses at three other middle schools, so the schedule and the cost are not new problems. [6] A late bus would cost the district about the same as one extra hour of an ordinary route. [7] Some students say that no one would ride a late bus.
[8] But the robotics club alone has twenty-six members who would ride it. [9] A late bus would make our school fairer for every student.
Luz reads the speech. Which evaluation is fair?
- The evidence is complete, because it shows a late bus would be fairer for the whole school.
- The evidence is strong, because a speaker who is a student knows what students need.
- The numbers are relevant, but most come from one club, not the whole school.
- The evidence is weak, because other schools are not this school.
Milo wants the evidence to cover the whole school. Which addition would help most?
- A statement that a late bus would fix the problems of after-school clubs.
- A count of students in other clubs who also miss the bus home.
- A petition of students who say they would like a late bus.
- A list of the sports that the district's other middle schools offer.
Noah looks for the stretch. Which sentence claims more than the evidence shows?
- [2] Twenty-six students in the robotics club told me they miss the bus home after meetings that end at 4:30.
- [5] The district already runs late buses at three other middle schools, so the schedule and the cost are not new problems.
- [7] Some students say that no one would ride a late bus.
- [9] A late bus would make our school fairer for every student.
