Pick trustworthy sources and credit them
Grade 7 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Use this
“Inspection Report: Larkin Bridge” (report)
Author: Maren Oduya, the county bridge inspector. Publisher: Askew County Roads Office. Date: 18 March 2024. Found at: askewroads.example/larkin.
[1] The Larkin Bridge carries about 3,000 vehicles across Holt Creek each day. [2] County inspectors examined it in February 2024 using the state's standard checklist. [3] I led the inspection team and personally signed the final report.[4] The team measured 14 cracks in the concrete deck and recorded the width of each. [5] Twelve cracks were thinner than a pencil line, and two were wider than a coin. [6] The two wide cracks sit near the east end, where rainwater collects. [7] The steel beams under the deck showed light rust but no measurable loss of thickness.
[8] Based on these measurements, we rate the bridge as safe for all vehicles at this time. [9] We recommend sealing the two wide cracks this summer to keep them from growing. [10] The next full inspection is scheduled for February 2026, unless heavy storms make an earlier check necessary. [11] Photographs of each crack are included in the appendix, along with the measurements.
Source B: blog post “The Larkin Bridge Feels Fine to Me” by Ned Aubrey, a commuter, Drive Time Diary, 2 July 2019. It says: “I cross the bridge twice a day and it has never felt shaky.”Zee is writing about whether the Larkin Bridge is safe today. Which source should Zee trust more, and why?
- Source B: the writer crosses the bridge twice a day, so the writer knows it better than an inspector.
- Source A: the report is longer than the blog post and has a more official-sounding title.
- Source B: the blog post is newer than the report, so it shows how the bridge looks now and not years ago.
- Source A: the writer inspected the bridge with a standard checklist and reports measurements from February 2024.
Use this
“Inspection Report: Larkin Bridge” (report)
Author: Maren Oduya, the county bridge inspector. Publisher: Askew County Roads Office. Date: 18 March 2024. Found at: askewroads.example/larkin.
[1] The Larkin Bridge carries about 3,000 vehicles across Holt Creek each day. [2] County inspectors examined it in February 2024 using the state's standard checklist. [3] I led the inspection team and personally signed the final report.[4] The team measured 14 cracks in the concrete deck and recorded the width of each. [5] Twelve cracks were thinner than a pencil line, and two were wider than a coin. [6] The two wide cracks sit near the east end, where rainwater collects. [7] The steel beams under the deck showed light rust but no measurable loss of thickness.
[8] Based on these measurements, we rate the bridge as safe for all vehicles at this time. [9] We recommend sealing the two wide cracks this summer to keep them from growing. [10] The next full inspection is scheduled for February 2026, unless heavy storms make an earlier check necessary. [11] Photographs of each crack are included in the appendix, along with the measurements.
Ari finds a flyer saying the Larkin Bridge “is covered in cracks, more than 50 of them.” The report says 14. What should Ari write?
- Write that the bridge has more than 50 cracks, since the flyer makes the problem sound urgent.
- Write that inspectors measured 14 cracks, and note that the flyer shows no measurements or method.
- Write that the bridge has about 32 cracks, halfway between the two counts, so both sources are respected.
- Leave out the number of cracks, since two sources give different counts and a reader cannot tell which is right.
Bo wants to use the idea in sentence [5] in a report. Which sentence credits the source correctly?
- Of the 14 cracks in the bridge deck, twelve were “thinner than a pencil line” and two were wider than a coin.
- County bridge inspector Maren Oduya reports that of the 14 cracks, twelve were “thinner than a pencil line.”
- Bridge designer Maren Oduya reports that of the 14 cracks, twelve were “thinner than a pencil line.”
- County bridge inspector Maren Oduya reports that twelve cracks were thinner than a pencil line and two were wider than a coin.
Use this
“The Fall Harvest at the Weigh Station” (web page)
Author: Hale Brandt, the manager of the Vellmoor weigh station. Publisher: Vellmoor Growers Association. Date: 11 November 2023. Found at: vellmoorgrowers.example/harvest.
[1] Every fall, the orchards around Vellmoor send their apples to a single weigh station at the edge of town. [2] I have managed that station for nine seasons. [3] Each basket is weighed on arrival, and the grower's name, the apple variety, and the weight are written in a ledger.[4] This season the ledger shows 4,200 baskets, which is 300 more than last season. [5] An early frost in October damaged some trees, but the late varieties made up the difference. [6] The Growers Association keeps a copy of the ledger, and members may read it at any time.
[7] The most popular variety was the Redstripe, with 1,350 baskets. [8] The Goldencrisp came second with 980 baskets, followed by the Tallow Green. [9] The Redstripe's share of the harvest has grown for three seasons in a row. [10] Growers say that the dry summer made the fruit sweeter than usual.
[11] Next season we will add a scanner so that each basket is logged automatically. [12] Questions may be sent to the weigh station office.
Source B: forum post “Record Year?” by JuneB, a member of the Valley Chatter Board, 12 November 2023. It says: “My neighbor says it was a record year for apples.”Esme needs the number of apple baskets the Vellmoor orchards sent to the weigh station this season. Which source should Esme trust more, and why?
- Source A: the page names three apple varieties, and the forum post names no varieties.
- Source B: the forum post is a day newer, so it has the latest news about the harvest.
- Source B: the poster heard the news from a neighbor who lives near the orchards and talks with the growers.
- Source A: the writer manages the weigh station and records the weight of each basket in a ledger.
Use this
“The Fall Harvest at the Weigh Station” (web page)
Author: Hale Brandt, the manager of the Vellmoor weigh station. Publisher: Vellmoor Growers Association. Date: 11 November 2023. Found at: vellmoorgrowers.example/harvest.
[1] Every fall, the orchards around Vellmoor send their apples to a single weigh station at the edge of town. [2] I have managed that station for nine seasons. [3] Each basket is weighed on arrival, and the grower's name, the apple variety, and the weight are written in a ledger.[4] This season the ledger shows 4,200 baskets, which is 300 more than last season. [5] An early frost in October damaged some trees, but the late varieties made up the difference. [6] The Growers Association keeps a copy of the ledger, and members may read it at any time.
[7] The most popular variety was the Redstripe, with 1,350 baskets. [8] The Goldencrisp came second with 980 baskets, followed by the Tallow Green. [9] The Redstripe's share of the harvest has grown for three seasons in a row. [10] Growers say that the dry summer made the fruit sweeter than usual.
[11] Next season we will add a scanner so that each basket is logged automatically. [12] Questions may be sent to the weigh station office.
Jun finds a travel blog saying Vellmoor sent “over 10,000 baskets” to the station this season. The blog names no source. What should Jun write?
- Write that Vellmoor sent about 7,100 baskets, halfway between the two numbers, so both sources count equally.
- Write that the ledger shows 4,200 baskets, and leave out the blog's number because it names no source.
- Write that Vellmoor sent over 10,000 baskets, since a bigger number shows a bigger harvest.
- Write that the number of baskets cannot be known, since the two sources disagree and neither can be trusted.
Kira wants to use the idea in sentence [4] in a report. Which sentence credits the source correctly?
- Hale Brandt, who manages the Vellmoor weigh station, reports that this season's ledger lists 4,200 baskets.
- Hale Brandt, who manages the Vellmoor weigh station, writes that the ledger shows 4,200 baskets, which is 300 more than last season.
- Hale Brandt, a grower who sells apples at the station, reports that this season's ledger lists 4,200 baskets.
- The ledger lists 4,200 baskets this season, which is 300 more than last season.
Use this
“Which Seed Do Backyard Birds Choose?” (blog post)
Author: Wilhelmina Tosh, a retired science teacher who keeps a daily bird log. Publisher: Tosh Window Notes. Date: 30 January 2024. Found at: toshnotes.example/feeders.
[1] Last winter I tried an experiment at the three feeders outside my kitchen window. [2] One feeder held sunflower seed, one held millet, and one held a mix of the two. [3] Each morning for sixty days I counted every bird that landed on each feeder during one hour, and I wrote the totals in a notebook.[4] The sunflower feeder was the clear winner, with 412 visits during the whole experiment. [5] The mixed feeder had 233 visits, and the millet feeder had just 96. [6] I taught science for thirty years, so I kept the feeders in the same spot and swapped their positions each week, which kept the test fair.
[7] I should be honest about the limits of my results. [8] I watched only one yard in one town, and I counted for just one hour a day. [9] Birds in a forest or a city park might make different choices. [10] I would be glad to see other watchers repeat the experiment and publish what they discover.
[11] If you try it, write down the date and the weather each day. [12] Careful notes like these create a record that other people can trust.
Milo sees a store sign saying birds prefer millet. The post counted 96 visits to millet and 412 to sunflower. What should Milo write?
- Write that sunflower drew 412 visits to millet's 96 in one yard, and that the sign shows no counts.
- Write that sunflower and millet seem about equally popular with backyard birds in the region.
- Write that birds prefer millet, since a sign in a seed store is meant to inform shoppers.
- Write nothing about seed choice, since the post and the sign disagree and a reader cannot tell which is right.
Noah wants to use the idea in sentence [4] in a report. Which sentence credits the source correctly?
- In Tosh Window Notes, bird researcher Wilhelmina Tosh calls the sunflower feeder “the clear winner” of a sixty-day count.
- In Tosh Window Notes, retired science teacher Wilhelmina Tosh calls the sunflower feeder “the clear winner” of a sixty-day count.
- In Tosh Window Notes, retired science teacher Wilhelmina Tosh calls the sunflower feeder the clear winner, with 412 visits during the whole experiment.
- The sunflower feeder was “the clear winner” of a sixty-day count, with 412 visits.
Use this
“Ridgeway Trail Opens to Visitors” (news report)
Author: Pilar Nwosu, the parks reporter for the Ridgeway Ledger. Publisher: Ridgeway Ledger. Date: 7 August 2023. Found at: p. A4.
[1] The new Ridgeway Park trail opened on Saturday after fourteen months of work. [2] The path is 3.2 miles long and winds from the pond to the old quarry overlook. [3] Parks Director Loreen Castillo cut the ribbon in front of about two hundred visitors.[4] Most of the trail is wide and flat, with gravel packed firmly enough for strollers and wheelchairs. [5] "We wanted a path that every neighbor could use," Castillo told the Ledger. [6] Two steeper stretches near the overlook have handrails and resting benches.
[7] Volunteers from the Ridgeway Walkers Club built the benches in their own workshop. [8] The club raised money for the lumber by selling plants at the spring fair. [9] The total cost of the trail was $310,000, according to the parks budget office, which paid for the gravel, signs, and bridges.
[10] A group of residents asked the council last year to put the trail on the west side of the park instead. [11] The council chose the current route because it avoids a wetland. [12] This reporter walked the full trail on opening day and timed the loop at one hour and ten minutes.
Source B: neighborhood board post “Trail Waste” by GreenAcre22, a resident, 9 August 2023. It says: “I heard the trail cost over a million dollars.”Pia needs to know how much the Ridgeway trail cost. Which source should Pia trust more, and why?
- Source A: the reporter took the cost from the parks budget office, which paid for the gravel, signs and bridges.
- Source B: the post is two days newer than the report, so it shows the final cost of the trail.
- Source B: the poster lives near the park and sees the trail each day, so the poster knows how much was built.
- Source A: the report describes a ribbon-cutting with about two hundred visitors and a quotation from the parks director.
Use this
“Ridgeway Trail Opens to Visitors” (news report)
Author: Pilar Nwosu, the parks reporter for the Ridgeway Ledger. Publisher: Ridgeway Ledger. Date: 7 August 2023. Found at: p. A4.
[1] The new Ridgeway Park trail opened on Saturday after fourteen months of work. [2] The path is 3.2 miles long and winds from the pond to the old quarry overlook. [3] Parks Director Loreen Castillo cut the ribbon in front of about two hundred visitors.[4] Most of the trail is wide and flat, with gravel packed firmly enough for strollers and wheelchairs. [5] "We wanted a path that every neighbor could use," Castillo told the Ledger. [6] Two steeper stretches near the overlook have handrails and resting benches.
[7] Volunteers from the Ridgeway Walkers Club built the benches in their own workshop. [8] The club raised money for the lumber by selling plants at the spring fair. [9] The total cost of the trail was $310,000, according to the parks budget office, which paid for the gravel, signs, and bridges.
[10] A group of residents asked the council last year to put the trail on the west side of the park instead. [11] The council chose the current route because it avoids a wetland. [12] This reporter walked the full trail on opening day and timed the loop at one hour and ten minutes.
Ren wants to use the idea in sentence [11] in a report. Which sentence credits the source correctly?
- The council picked the current route for the trail because it “avoids a wetland.”
- Parks Director Pilar Nwosu writes that the council picked the route because it “avoids a wetland.”
- Ridgeway Ledger reporter Pilar Nwosu writes that the council chose the current route because it avoids a wetland.
- Ridgeway Ledger reporter Pilar Nwosu writes that the council picked the route because it “avoids a wetland.”