Remove details that do not belong

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. 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.

2. 1.

   Jun thinks one sentence in paragraph 1 does not support the claim that middle schools should start later. Which sentence should be cut?

   • [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.
   • [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.
   • [5] Sleep also affects athletes, since coaches have noticed that tired players make more mistakes late in a game.
   • [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.
3. 2.

   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 before making a permanent change.
   • A one-year trial would let the district measure attendance and grades, and the band would keep its practice time.
   • The school band has asked to keep its after-school practice time, and the district should hear that request first.
   • A one-year trial would let the district measure attendance and grades before making a permanent change, and the school band.
4. 3.

   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.
   • [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.
5. 4.

   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, 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.
   • Costs would be limited to reprinting the bell schedule and telling families, at under two thousand dollars.
6. 5.

   Pia sees that [6] does not match the rest of paragraph 2. Which topic sentence fits [7] to [9] best?

   • Bus schedules are the main obstacle to a later start, but districts can rearrange them.
   • Seattle moved its high school start times later in 2016 and studied the results afterward.
   • Teenagers' sleep needs and body clocks make a later school start sensible for many students.
   • Running a school district takes careful planning from many people throughout the school year.

7. 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.

8. 6.

   Ren thinks one sentence in paragraph 1 does not support the claim that Roman aqueducts moved water by gravity. Which sentence should be cut?

   • [5] By the third century, Rome got its water from eleven aqueducts, and its public fountains became popular meeting places.
   • [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.
9. 7.

   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, using stone from the quarries near Tivoli.
   • 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.
10. 8.

    Zee sees that [6] is too general for paragraph 2. Which topic sentence fits [7] to [9] best?

    • Roman engineers protected the water and kept it flowing along its route.
    • Roman aqueducts were among the most impressive public works of the ancient world.
    • Roman engineers moved water over long distances using gravity and a gentle slope.
    • Settling tanks let sand and silt sink to the bottom before the water reached the city.
11. 9.

    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, and the Pont du Gard.
    • Engineers still study the arches because they show how well lime mortar stands up to weather and draw visitors.
    • 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.
12. 10.

    Esme sees that [1] is too general for paragraph 1. Which topic sentence fits [2] to [4] best?

    • The aqueduct serving Nîmes dropped by about seventeen meters over fifty kilometers.
    • Roman engineers protected the water and kept it flowing along its route to the city.
    • The Romans built roads, bridges and aqueducts that people still admire today.
    • Roman aqueducts moved water over long distances using only gravity.