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 A: the report is longer than the blog post and has a more official-sounding title.
- Source A: the writer inspected the bridge with a standard checklist and reports measurements from February 2024.
- Source B: the blog post is newer than the report, so it shows how the bridge looks now and not years ago.
- Source B: the writer crosses the bridge twice a day, so the writer knows it better than an inspector.
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?
- Leave out the number of cracks, since two sources give different counts and a reader cannot tell which is right.
- Write that the bridge has about 32 cracks, halfway between the two counts, so both sources are respected.
- 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.
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 A: the writer manages the weigh station and records the weight of each basket in a ledger.
- Source B: the poster heard the news from a neighbor who lives near the orchards and talks with the growers.
- Source B: the forum post is a day newer, so it has the latest news about the harvest.
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 over 10,000 baskets, since a bigger number shows a bigger harvest.
- Write that the ledger shows 4,200 baskets, and leave out the blog's number because it names no source.
- Write that the number of baskets cannot be known, since the two sources disagree and neither can be trusted.
- Write that Vellmoor sent about 7,100 baskets, halfway between the two numbers, so both sources count equally.
Kira wants to use the idea in sentence [4] in a report. Which sentence credits the source correctly?
- Hale Brandt, a grower who sells apples at the station, reports that this season's ledger lists 4,200 baskets.
- 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.
- 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.
Source B: magazine article “Forty Yards, Three Winters” by Dr. Hollis Tran, a bird researcher at Brindle University, Field and Feeder Quarterly, 15 February 2024. It reports counts at feeders in forty yards over three winters.Luz wants to know which seed most backyard birds in the region choose. Which source should Luz trust more, and why?
- Source A: the writer watched the feeders in person each morning for sixty days and wrote down each visit.
- Source B: it appeared in a printed magazine, and printed sources are more accurate than blogs.
- Source B: the researcher watched forty yards over three winters, a larger and wider test than one yard.
- Source A: the writer's blog post is newer than the magazine article, so it has the latest results.
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 nothing about seed choice, since the post and the sign disagree and a reader cannot tell which is right.
- Write that sunflower and millet seem about equally popular with backyard birds in the region.
- Write that sunflower drew 412 visits to millet's 96 in one yard, and that the sign shows no counts.
- Write that birds prefer millet, since a sign in a seed store is meant to inform shoppers.
Noah wants to use the idea in sentence [4] in a report. Which sentence credits the source correctly?
- 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.
- 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, bird researcher Wilhelmina Tosh calls the sunflower feeder “the clear winner” of a sixty-day count.
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?
- 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.
- The council picked the current route for the trail because it “avoids a wetland.”
- Ridgeway Ledger reporter Pilar Nwosu writes that the council picked the route because it “avoids a wetland.”