Build a paragraph: point, evidence, explanation
Grade 7 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Saturday Hours at the Cedar Hill Library (notes)
[1] For years, the Cedar Hill Library closed its doors at noon on Saturdays, even though many families were free in the afternoon. [2] Last fall, the town council voted to keep the library open until five o'clock for a three-month trial. [3] Librarians tracked every visit during the trial and compared the totals with the same months of the year before.
[4] Saturday visits rose from about 120 to about 310. [5] More than half of the new Saturday visitors were families with children under twelve. [6] The librarians also hosted a craft hour on three of the Saturdays, and about thirty children came each time.
[7] The extra staff hours cost the town about nine hundred dollars a month. [8] Some visitors said the building felt warmer and friendlier in the afternoon sun, when light fills the reading room. [9] After the trial ended, the council voted to keep the longer hours for good.
Plan card
Point: The longer Saturday hours worked especially well for families with children.
Evidence: two sentences from the notes
Explanation: (still to write)Ari needs two pieces of evidence for the point on the card. Which pair of sentences backs it up best?
- Sentences [5] and [6]
- Sentences [7] and [8]
- Sentences [2] and [3]
- Sentences [4] and [5]
Saturday Hours at the Cedar Hill Library (notes)
[1] For years, the Cedar Hill Library closed its doors at noon on Saturdays, even though many families were free in the afternoon. [2] Last fall, the town council voted to keep the library open until five o'clock for a three-month trial. [3] Librarians tracked every visit during the trial and compared the totals with the same months of the year before.
[4] Saturday visits rose from about 120 to about 310. [5] More than half of the new Saturday visitors were families with children under twelve. [6] The librarians also hosted a craft hour on three of the Saturdays, and about thirty children came each time.
[7] The extra staff hours cost the town about nine hundred dollars a month. [8] Some visitors said the building felt warmer and friendlier in the afternoon sun, when light fills the reading room. [9] After the trial ended, the council voted to keep the longer hours for good.
Plan card
Point: Longer Saturday hours helped families with children.
Evidence: More than half of the new Saturday visitors were families with children under twelve [5].
Explanation: ____Bo has the point and the evidence. Which sentence explains how the evidence supports the point?
- So many families with children under twelve came to the library on Saturdays.
- Families with young children are often busy on weekdays, so afternoon hours let them visit when they could not before.
- This shows that the longer hours were good for families.
- Soon most children in Cedar Hill will read above grade level because of Saturdays.
Saturday Hours at the Cedar Hill Library (notes)
[1] For years, the Cedar Hill Library closed its doors at noon on Saturdays, even though many families were free in the afternoon. [2] Last fall, the town council voted to keep the library open until five o'clock for a three-month trial. [3] Librarians tracked every visit during the trial and compared the totals with the same months of the year before.
[4] Saturday visits rose from about 120 to about 310. [5] More than half of the new Saturday visitors were families with children under twelve. [6] The librarians also hosted a craft hour on three of the Saturdays, and about thirty children came each time.
[7] The extra staff hours cost the town about nine hundred dollars a month. [8] Some visitors said the building felt warmer and friendlier in the afternoon sun, when light fills the reading room. [9] After the trial ended, the council voted to keep the longer hours for good.
Plan card
Point: The longer Saturday hours made the library work better for the town.
Evidence: ____
Explanation: A rise that large means many people who had stayed away came once the doors stayed open.Esme's paragraph is missing a part. Which sentence from the notes belongs in the empty evidence box?
- Some visitors said the building felt warmer and friendlier in the afternoon sun.
- Saturday visits rose from about 120 to about 310 during the trial.
- More people visited because the library stayed open when they were free.
- More than half of the new Saturday visitors were families with children under twelve.
Trees and Hot Sidewalks (notes)
[1] A seventh-grade science class wondered whether trees really cool a street or only make it look nicer. [2] On a sunny afternoon in July, the class set one thermometer in the shade of an oak tree and another in full sun, three meters away. [3] Both thermometers sat on the same sidewalk, and each was read every ten minutes for an hour.
[4] The thermometer in the shade averaged 84 degrees Fahrenheit. [5] The thermometer in the sun averaged 97 degrees, a difference of 13 degrees. [6] The class also noticed that the shaded patch of sidewalk felt cool under bare feet, while the sunlit patch felt hot.
[7] A parent in the class said that oak trees are her favorite kind of tree. [8] Trees also give shade to people waiting at a bus stop, and they make the street more pleasant to walk along. [9] At the end of the hour, the class concluded that one oak tree can make a sidewalk noticeably cooler.
Plan card
Point: Thermometer readings showed that shade made the spot cooler.
Evidence: two sentences from the notes
Explanation: (still to write)Jun needs two pieces of evidence for the point on the card. Which pair of sentences backs it up best?
- Sentences [2] and [3]
- Sentences [4] and [5]
- Sentences [5] and [6]
- Sentences [7] and [8]
Trees and Hot Sidewalks (notes)
[1] A seventh-grade science class wondered whether trees really cool a street or only make it look nicer. [2] On a sunny afternoon in July, the class set one thermometer in the shade of an oak tree and another in full sun, three meters away. [3] Both thermometers sat on the same sidewalk, and each was read every ten minutes for an hour.
[4] The thermometer in the shade averaged 84 degrees Fahrenheit. [5] The thermometer in the sun averaged 97 degrees, a difference of 13 degrees. [6] The class also noticed that the shaded patch of sidewalk felt cool under bare feet, while the sunlit patch felt hot.
[7] A parent in the class said that oak trees are her favorite kind of tree. [8] Trees also give shade to people waiting at a bus stop, and they make the street more pleasant to walk along. [9] At the end of the hour, the class concluded that one oak tree can make a sidewalk noticeably cooler.
Plan card
Point: The oak tree's shade made the sidewalk cooler.
Evidence: The shaded thermometer averaged 84 degrees, and the sunny one averaged 97 degrees [4, 5].
Explanation: ____Kira has the point and the evidence. Which sentence explains how the evidence supports the point?
- Planting oak trees along streets everywhere will end summer heat waves.
- The shaded thermometer averaged 84 degrees, and the sunny one averaged 97 degrees.
- Because both thermometers sat on the same sidewalk for the same hour, the 13-degree gap points to the shade, not to a different spot.
- So the oak tree's shade made the sidewalk cooler.
Trees and Hot Sidewalks (notes)
[1] A seventh-grade science class wondered whether trees really cool a street or only make it look nicer. [2] On a sunny afternoon in July, the class set one thermometer in the shade of an oak tree and another in full sun, three meters away. [3] Both thermometers sat on the same sidewalk, and each was read every ten minutes for an hour.
[4] The thermometer in the shade averaged 84 degrees Fahrenheit. [5] The thermometer in the sun averaged 97 degrees, a difference of 13 degrees. [6] The class also noticed that the shaded patch of sidewalk felt cool under bare feet, while the sunlit patch felt hot.
[7] A parent in the class said that oak trees are her favorite kind of tree. [8] Trees also give shade to people waiting at a bus stop, and they make the street more pleasant to walk along. [9] At the end of the hour, the class concluded that one oak tree can make a sidewalk noticeably cooler.
Plan card
Point: ____
Evidence: The shaded thermometer averaged 84 degrees, and the sunny one averaged 97.
Explanation: Both sat on the same sidewalk during the same hour, so the 13-degree gap comes from the shade.Luz's paragraph is missing a part. Which sentence belongs in the empty point box?
- The shaded thermometer averaged 84 degrees.
- Oak trees cool streets better than any other kind of tree.
- The class read both thermometers at ten-minute intervals for an hour.
- Shade from one oak tree made the sidewalk cooler.
Why Some Roman Roads Still Exist (notes)
[1] The ancient Romans built thousands of miles of roads to link their distant towns with the armies that protected them. [2] Today, parts of some of those roads can still be walked, and a few are still driven on. [3] Their lasting power was no accident, because Roman builders followed a careful series of steps.
[4] First, workers dug a deep trench and filled it with layers of stone, gravel, and sand. [5] These layers made a firm base that did not sink easily under heavy loads. [6] Next, they laid flat paving stones on top and shaped the surface so it curved gently upward in the middle.
[7] Rain ran off the curve into ditches at the sides, so water did not sit on the road and soften it. [8] Some roads ran in nearly straight lines for many miles, which kept travel between towns as short as possible. [9] Travelers today can still see worn grooves made by cart wheels in some of the old stones.
Plan card
Point: The way Romans built the road bed kept their roads from sinking.
Evidence: two sentences from the notes
Explanation: (still to write)Milo needs two pieces of evidence for the point on the card. Which pair of sentences backs it up best?
- Sentences [6] and [9]
- Sentences [4] and [5]
- Sentences [1] and [2]
- Sentences [5] and [7]
Why Some Roman Roads Still Exist (notes)
[1] The ancient Romans built thousands of miles of roads to link their distant towns with the armies that protected them. [2] Today, parts of some of those roads can still be walked, and a few are still driven on. [3] Their lasting power was no accident, because Roman builders followed a careful series of steps.
[4] First, workers dug a deep trench and filled it with layers of stone, gravel, and sand. [5] These layers made a firm base that did not sink easily under heavy loads. [6] Next, they laid flat paving stones on top and shaped the surface so it curved gently upward in the middle.
[7] Rain ran off the curve into ditches at the sides, so water did not sit on the road and soften it. [8] Some roads ran in nearly straight lines for many miles, which kept travel between towns as short as possible. [9] Travelers today can still see worn grooves made by cart wheels in some of the old stones.
Plan card
Point: Good drainage protected Roman roads.
Evidence: Rain ran off the curve into ditches at the sides, so water did not sit on the road and soften it [7].
Explanation: ____Noah has the point and the evidence. Which sentence explains how the evidence supports the point?
- A road that stays dry keeps its firm surface, so the curve and ditches helped the stones stay in place.
- The Romans knew more about rain than any scientist alive today.
- Drainage clearly protected the roads.
- Rain ran off the curved surface into ditches at the sides, so water did not sit on the road and soften it.
Scraps in the Cafeteria at Birch Lane School (notes)
[1] Last year, Birch Lane School began sorting the food scraps from lunch into a green bin instead of throwing them away. [2] Before this change, all of the scraps from the cafeteria went into the regular trash, along with paper, wrappers, and napkins. [3] The custodian weighed the trash cans every Friday for ten weeks before the change and for ten weeks after it.
[4] Before the green bin, the school threw away about 85 pounds of trash each week. [5] After the green bin, the weekly trash fell to about 52 pounds. [6] The food scraps were collected by a local farm, where they were turned into compost for the fields.
[7] Students at the school voted to name the green bin Big Bin, and the name now appears on a sign above the lid. [8] The custodian also reported that the trash cans smelled less, because wet scraps were no longer sitting in them. [9] The school plans to teach each grade how to sort its scraps correctly next fall, so that the green bin stays clean.
Plan card
Point: The green bin helped the school in more than one way.
Evidence: two sentences from the notes
Explanation: (still to write)Ren needs two pieces of evidence for the point on the card. Which pair of sentences backs it up best?
- Sentences [5] and [8]
- Sentences [7] and [9]
- Sentences [1] and [2]
- Sentences [4] and [5]
Scraps in the Cafeteria at Birch Lane School (notes)
[1] Last year, Birch Lane School began sorting the food scraps from lunch into a green bin instead of throwing them away. [2] Before this change, all of the scraps from the cafeteria went into the regular trash, along with paper, wrappers, and napkins. [3] The custodian weighed the trash cans every Friday for ten weeks before the change and for ten weeks after it.
[4] Before the green bin, the school threw away about 85 pounds of trash each week. [5] After the green bin, the weekly trash fell to about 52 pounds. [6] The food scraps were collected by a local farm, where they were turned into compost for the fields.
[7] Students at the school voted to name the green bin Big Bin, and the name now appears on a sign above the lid. [8] The custodian also reported that the trash cans smelled less, because wet scraps were no longer sitting in them. [9] The school plans to teach each grade how to sort its scraps correctly next fall, so that the green bin stays clean.
Plan card
Point: ____
Evidence: The school threw away about 85 pounds of trash each week before the green bin, and about 52 pounds after.
Explanation: The scraps no longer went into the trash cans, so the trash weighed less each week.Zee's paragraph is missing a part. Which sentence belongs in the empty point box?
- The green bin made the school's weekly trash lighter.
- Taking out the wet scraps left the trash cans with less to carry.
- Recycling programs solve the trash problem for schools everywhere.
- The school threw away about 52 pounds of trash each week after the green bin.