Is the reasoning sound?
Grade 8 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Phones at Alder Creek (argument)
[1] Alder Creek Middle School should keep its rule that phones stay in lockers until the last bell. [2] Teachers logged each phone interruption for one month before the rule began and for one month after it. [3] The log shows thirty-one interruptions before the rule and six after, in the same classes with the same teachers. [4] The school's lockers were installed in 2015 and are painted green, which matches the school colors.
[5] One counselor reports that two students told her they feel calmer and more able to focus without a phone buzzing in their pocket. [6] Some parents ask for lunchtime access so they can text their children. [7] The office can already reach any student within a few minutes, and it has done so whenever a family needed to send an urgent message.
[8] If students may check phones at lunch, soon they will check them in class, then they will stop listening, and then the school's grades will fall. [9] Letting one rule slip would hurt every part of the school community. [10] The simplest way to protect learning is to leave the rule exactly as it is.
Zee marks sentence [8] as not sound. Which statement says what is wrong with its reasoning?
- It offers just two choices, a full ban or open use, and ignores any plan in between.
- It supports its prediction with a fact about the lockers, which has nothing to do with phones in class.
- It stretches what two students told a counselor into a rule about how phones affect students in the whole school.
- It predicts a series of harms, from lunch phones to falling grades, and gives no evidence that any step leads to the next.
Phones at Alder Creek (argument)
[1] Alder Creek Middle School should keep its rule that phones stay in lockers until the last bell. [2] Teachers logged each phone interruption for one month before the rule began and for one month after it. [3] The log shows thirty-one interruptions before the rule and six after, in the same classes with the same teachers. [4] The school's lockers were installed in 2015 and are painted green, which matches the school colors.
[5] One counselor reports that two students told her they feel calmer and more able to focus without a phone buzzing in their pocket. [6] Some parents ask for lunchtime access so they can text their children. [7] The office can already reach any student within a few minutes, and it has done so whenever a family needed to send an urgent message.
[8] If students may check phones at lunch, soon they will check them in class, then they will stop listening, and then the school's grades will fall. [9] Letting one rule slip would hurt every part of the school community. [10] The simplest way to protect learning is to leave the rule exactly as it is. Labels. Strong: relevant, and large and fair enough for what it says. Off topic: true, but it does not help show the claim. Too small: relevant, but too few cases to carry the claim. Faulty step: the reasoning from the evidence to the claim has a flaw.
Luz sorts four rows of the matrix, using the labels. Which sort is right?
- [3] strong, [4] too small, [5] too small, [8] faulty step.
- [3] strong, [4] off topic, [5] strong, [8] faulty step.
- [3] strong, [4] off topic, [5] too small, [8] strong.
- [3] strong, [4] off topic, [5] too small, [8] faulty step.
The Pinewood Reading Hour (argument)
[1] Pinewood School should keep its daily quiet reading hour. [2] Students log what they read each day, and the logs show that the average student reads twenty-two more minutes a week than before the hour began. [3] The county's first public library opened in 1894, in a room above a hardware store. [4] Two sixth-grade teachers say their classes now ask for book suggestions every Friday, which they had not done before.
[5] Since the hour began in September 2023, Pinewood's average reading score has risen nine points, so the reading hour is raising scores. [6] In that same school year, Pinewood also hired two reading tutors, who work with small groups three days a week. [7] The tutors started in October and work with students who fell behind in earlier grades.
[8] A few families say the hour takes valuable time from math and science. [9] The school schedule shows that the hour replaces a study period, not a class. [10] The hour costs the school nothing to run and gives every student time to read for pleasure.
Noah marks sentence [5] as not sound. Which statement says what is wrong with its reasoning?
- It claims that reading will lead to higher scores, then to success in later grades, with no evidence for the steps.
- It credits the reading hour for the rise in scores, although tutors who started the same year could explain it.
- It supports the claim with test scores, which measure a different thing from reading for pleasure.
- It stretches one school's scores into a rule that a reading hour raises scores everywhere.
Ari wants to repair the reasoning in sentence [5]. Which addition would help most?
- More reading logs from Pinewood students for the same months.
- The number of books on the shelves of the Pinewood library.
- A letter from the principal saying the reading hour has been a great success.
- Scores from a similar school that hired reading tutors in the same year but has no reading hour.
A Later Bell at Eastgate (argument)
[1] Eastgate Middle School should start its day at 8:45 instead of 7:50. [2] In a survey of four hundred Eastgate students, three hundred ten said they get less than eight hours of sleep on school nights. [3] Doctors say that teenagers need eight to ten hours of sleep each night. [4] One science teacher kept notes for a week and says her first-period class looked sleepy on four of five days.
[5] A study of three hundred office workers found that people who start work at nine are less tired than people who start at seven, so students will be less tired at nine too. [6] The school's gym floor was replaced in 2016 and is used for games on Friday nights.
[7] Some families worry that a later bell would shorten after-school practice. [8] The athletic director says teams could practice in the early evening, when the fields are lit. [9] Bus drivers say their routes can fit a later start if the district keeps the same number of drivers. [10] A later bell is the best way to help students feel awake and ready to learn during the first class of the day.
Milo marks sentence [5] as not sound. Which statement says what is wrong with its reasoning?
- It offers just two start times, seven o'clock or nine, as if no other time were possible.
- It uses a study of office workers to make a claim about students, who were not in the study.
- It claims that later starts lead to better sleep, then to better attention, then to better grades, with no evidence.
- It stretches the answers of a few workers into a rule that fits people of any age.
Esme wants to repair the reasoning in sentence [5]. Which addition would help most?
- A study of six hundred office workers instead of three hundred.
- A sleep study of students at a school that moved its start time to a later hour.
- A list of the bus routes the district runs before and after the bell.
- A letter from a student saying that a nine o'clock start would feel much better.
A Later Bell at Eastgate (argument)
[1] Eastgate Middle School should start its day at 8:45 instead of 7:50. [2] In a survey of four hundred Eastgate students, three hundred ten said they get less than eight hours of sleep on school nights. [3] Doctors say that teenagers need eight to ten hours of sleep each night. [4] One science teacher kept notes for a week and says her first-period class looked sleepy on four of five days.
[5] A study of three hundred office workers found that people who start work at nine are less tired than people who start at seven, so students will be less tired at nine too. [6] The school's gym floor was replaced in 2016 and is used for games on Friday nights.
[7] Some families worry that a later bell would shorten after-school practice. [8] The athletic director says teams could practice in the early evening, when the fields are lit. [9] Bus drivers say their routes can fit a later start if the district keeps the same number of drivers. [10] A later bell is the best way to help students feel awake and ready to learn during the first class of the day. Labels. Strong: relevant, and large and fair enough for what it says. Off topic: true, but it does not help show the claim. Too small: relevant, but too few cases to carry the claim. Faulty step: the reasoning from the evidence to the claim has a flaw.
Pia sorts four rows of the matrix, using the labels. Which sort is right?
- [2] strong, [4] too small, [5] strong, [6] off topic.
- [2] strong, [4] too small, [5] faulty step, [6] too small.
- [2] strong, [4] strong, [5] faulty step, [6] off topic.
- [2] strong, [4] too small, [5] faulty step, [6] off topic.
Everyone Who Tries Out at Hollis (argument)
[1] Hollis Middle School should let every student who tries out for the spring play join the cast or crew. [2] Last year, fifty-eight students tried out for twenty-four acting parts. [3] The thirty-four students without a part joined the stage crew, and the show opened on time with every job filled. [4] The auditorium holds three hundred forty seats and has a balcony that is closed to the public.
[5] One crew member told the drama teacher that building the set was the best part of the school year. [6] Another teacher worries that a bigger crew means more noise backstage. [7] The drama teacher says that crew members work in assigned groups, each with a leader, so the backstage stays quiet during the whole show.
[8] A no-cut rule is the fairest rule because it is fair to everyone who wants to take part. [9] Fairness matters most when a school gives students a chance to try something new. [10] Hollis should keep its rule so that no student feels left out of the play, whether the part is large or small.
Bo marks sentence [8] as not sound. Which statement says what is wrong with its reasoning?
- It supports the rule with a fact about the auditorium, which has nothing to do with fairness.
- It offers just two kinds of rule, no-cut or unfair, as if no other rule could be fair.
- It stretches one crew member's happy year into a rule about how students feel in general.
- It uses the idea that the rule is fair as its own reason for saying the rule is fair.
Jun wants to repair the reasoning in sentence [8]. Which addition would help most?
- A statement from the principal that the rule is the fairest one in the county.
- What happened to the thirty-four students without a part, such as how many stayed with the crew through opening night.
- A longer explanation of why fairness matters to a school and to the students in it.
- The number of seats in the auditorium and the number of rows in the balcony.
Everyone Who Tries Out at Hollis (argument)
[1] Hollis Middle School should let every student who tries out for the spring play join the cast or crew. [2] Last year, fifty-eight students tried out for twenty-four acting parts. [3] The thirty-four students without a part joined the stage crew, and the show opened on time with every job filled. [4] The auditorium holds three hundred forty seats and has a balcony that is closed to the public.
[5] One crew member told the drama teacher that building the set was the best part of the school year. [6] Another teacher worries that a bigger crew means more noise backstage. [7] The drama teacher says that crew members work in assigned groups, each with a leader, so the backstage stays quiet during the whole show.
[8] A no-cut rule is the fairest rule because it is fair to everyone who wants to take part. [9] Fairness matters most when a school gives students a chance to try something new. [10] Hollis should keep its rule so that no student feels left out of the play, whether the part is large or small. Labels. Strong: relevant, and large and fair enough for what it says. Off topic: true, but it does not help show the claim. Too small: relevant, but too few cases to carry the claim. Faulty step: the reasoning from the evidence to the claim has a flaw.
Kira sorts four rows of the matrix, using the labels. Which sort is right?
- [8] faulty step, [5] too small, [4] off topic, [3] strong.
- [8] faulty step, [5] strong, [4] off topic, [3] strong.
- [8] faulty step, [5] too small, [4] too small, [3] strong.
- [8] strong, [5] too small, [4] off topic, [3] strong.