Remove details that do not belong
Grade 8 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
A Later Start for Ridgeline Middle School (student draft: opinion essay)
[1] Many schools are asking how early the school day should begin. [2] During the teenage years the body's inner clock shifts, so teens feel sleepy later at night and wake up later in the morning. [3] The American Academy of Pediatrics says that middle and high schools should start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., so students can get the eight to ten hours of sleep they need. [4] At Ridgeline Middle School, where classes begin at 7:35, a counselor who asked two hundred eighth graders found that nearly half sleep six hours or less on school nights. [5] Sleep also affects athletes, since coaches have noticed that tired players make more mistakes late in a game.
[6] Schools have many scheduling issues to balance. [7] Bus routes are the biggest obstacle, because the same buses often serve elementary, middle and high schools one group at a time. [8] Ridgeline's district has proposed trading the start times of its elementary and middle schools, a change that would need no extra buses. [9] Seattle moved its high school start times about an hour later in 2016 by reordering its bus routes, and researchers found that students there slept about thirty-four minutes more each night. [10] Some elementary families would have to find earlier morning child care if their children started the day sooner.
[11] A one-year trial would let the district measure attendance and grades before making a permanent change, and the school band has asked to keep its after-school practice time. [12] Costs would be limited to reprinting the bell schedule and telling families, at under two thousand dollars, and the printing contract ends in June. [13] Families who back the change should tell the board at its next meeting. [14] For these reasons, a later start deserves a fair trial.
Jun thinks one sentence in paragraph 1 does not support the claim that middle schools should start later. Which sentence should be cut?
- [3] The American Academy of Pediatrics says that middle and high schools should start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., so students can get the eight to ten hours of sleep they need.
- [4] At Ridgeline Middle School, where classes begin at 7:35, a counselor who asked two hundred eighth graders found that nearly half sleep six hours or less on school nights.
- [5] Sleep also affects athletes, since coaches have noticed that tired players make more mistakes late in a game.
- [2] During the teenage years the body's inner clock shifts, so teens feel sleepy later at night and wake up later in the morning.
Kira wants to cut the part of [11] that does not support the point of paragraph 3 and keep the rest. Which revision does that best?
- A one-year trial would let the district measure attendance and grades, and the band would keep its practice time.
- A one-year trial would let the district measure attendance and grades before making a permanent change, and the school band.
- A one-year trial would let the district measure attendance and grades before making a permanent change.
- The school band has asked to keep its after-school practice time, and the district should hear that request first.
Luz sees that [1] does not match the rest of paragraph 1. Which topic sentence fits [2] to [4] best?
- Bus routes and child care can be rearranged to allow a later start in most districts.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends an 8:30 start for middle schools and high schools.
- Sleep is an important part of staying healthy at any age, for students and adults alike.
- Teenagers' sleep needs and body clocks make a later school start sensible.
Milo thinks one sentence in paragraph 2 does not support the claim that the scheduling problems can be solved. Which sentence should be cut?
- [7] Bus routes are the biggest obstacle, because the same buses often serve elementary, middle and high schools one group at a time.
- [10] Some elementary families would have to find earlier morning child care if their children started the day sooner.
- [9] Seattle moved its high school start times about an hour later in 2016 by reordering its bus routes, and researchers found that students there slept about thirty-four minutes more each night.
- [8] Ridgeline's district has proposed trading the start times of its elementary and middle schools, a change that would need no extra buses.
Noah wants to cut the part of [12] that does not support the point of paragraph 3 and keep the rest. Which revision does that best?
- The printing contract ends in June, so the district could change its bell schedule at that time.
- Costs would be limited to reprinting the bell schedule and telling families, at under two thousand dollars.
- Costs would be limited to reprinting the bell schedule and telling families, at under two thousand dollars, until the printing contract ends.
- Costs would be limited to reprinting the bell schedule and telling families, at under two thousand dollars, and the printing.
How Roman Aqueducts Delivered Water (student draft: informative)
[1] The Romans were remarkable builders. [2] Roman engineers moved water from distant springs into cities by letting it flow downhill through channels with a very gentle slope. [3] The aqueduct serving Nîmes, in what is now southern France, dropped by about seventeen meters over roughly fifty kilometers, a slope the surveyors had to hold with great care. [4] Where valleys got in the way, builders raised the channel on arches, as they did at the Pont du Gard, which still stands today. [5] By the third century, Rome got its water from eleven aqueducts, and its public fountains became popular meeting places.
[6] Water was important in Roman cities. [7] Most of each channel ran underground, where its stone and concrete lining kept the water safe from sunlight and dust. [8] Settling tanks along the route let sand and silt sink, so the water that reached the city was much clearer. [9] Inspectors walked the channels to chip away the hard mineral crusts that slowly narrowed the flow. [10] Wealthy citizens sometimes paid to join a private pipe to the public supply, which gave their homes running water.
[11] Many aqueducts served for centuries because crews fixed cracked stone and cleared blocked channels, and some stone in the arches came from quarries near Tivoli. [12] Engineers still study the arches because they show how well lime mortar stands up to weather, and the Pont du Gard draws more than a million visitors a year. [13] The system's success depended on careful measuring more than on any complicated machine. [14] A simple idea, applied with patience, kept water flowing to cities for centuries.
Ren thinks one sentence in paragraph 1 does not support the claim that Roman aqueducts moved water by gravity. Which sentence should be cut?
- [2] Roman engineers moved water from distant springs into cities by letting it flow downhill through channels with a very gentle slope.
- [4] Where valleys got in the way, builders raised the channel on arches, as they did at the Pont du Gard, which still stands today.
- [3] The aqueduct serving Nîmes, in what is now southern France, dropped by about seventeen meters over roughly fifty kilometers, a slope the surveyors had to hold with great care.
- [5] By the third century, Rome got its water from eleven aqueducts, and its public fountains became popular meeting places.
Tala wants to cut the part of [11] that does not support the point of paragraph 3 and keep the rest. Which revision does that best?
- Many aqueducts served for centuries because crews fixed cracked stone and cleared blocked channels, and some stone.
- Many aqueducts served for centuries because crews fixed cracked stone and cleared blocked channels.
- Some stone in the arches came from quarries near Tivoli, which helped the aqueducts to last.
- Many aqueducts served for centuries because crews fixed cracked stone and cleared blocked channels, using stone from the quarries near Tivoli.
Zee sees that [6] is too general for paragraph 2. Which topic sentence fits [7] to [9] best?
- Settling tanks let sand and silt sink to the bottom before the water reached the city.
- Roman aqueducts were among the most impressive public works of the ancient world.
- Roman engineers protected the water and kept it flowing along its route.
- Roman engineers moved water over long distances using gravity and a gentle slope.
Ari thinks one sentence in paragraph 2 does not support the claim that engineers protected the water and kept it flowing. Which sentence should be cut?
- [7] Most of each channel ran underground, where its stone and concrete lining kept the water safe from sunlight and dust.
- [9] Inspectors walked the channels to chip away the hard mineral crusts that slowly narrowed the flow.
- [8] Settling tanks along the route let sand and silt sink, so the water that reached the city was much clearer.
- [10] Wealthy citizens sometimes paid to join a private pipe to the public supply, which gave their homes running water.
Bo wants to cut the part of [12] that does not support the point of paragraph 3 and keep the rest. Which revision does that best?
- Engineers still study the arches because they show how well lime mortar stands up to weather.
- Engineers still study the arches because they show how well lime mortar stands up to weather, and the Pont du Gard.
- The Pont du Gard draws more than a million visitors a year, which shows how well it has lasted.
- Engineers still study the arches because they show how well lime mortar stands up to weather and draw visitors.
