TWIRL Reading Strategy

The author of this opinion piece is MOST concerned about ____.

• students of color having the opportunity to learn about racism

• a Minnesota school district's decision to drop two white-authored classics from its required reading list

• the effect that poorly portrayed characters of color in white-authored books have on students of color

• schools engaging in a conversation about racism in school texts

Read the following sentence from the article:

“We don't need nor have we ever needed to teach books written by white authors that capitalize on inaccurate stereotypes and show marginalized communities as vulgar and barbaric.”

Which answer choice BEST explains how the sentence uses rhetoric to construct the overall argument?

• The author uses the word "inaccurate" to support her belief about certain white authors.

• The author uses words with highly negative connotations, such as "vulgar" and "barbaric," to convey her point.

• The author uses parallel construction to help explain why she dislikes certain books.

• The author uses rhyming words, such as "capitalize" and "marginalized," to draw attention to her point.

Read the paragraph below from the section "Behind The 'White Savior' Plots."

Some critics argue that the Duluth school district's decision was a mistake because "Huck Finn" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" teach students about racism. This is only the case, of course, if by "students" we mean white students. Native, brown and black students don't learn anything about racism written from the oppressor's point of view. The portrayal of such open and offensive racism hardly reflects the reality of what many Native Americans and students of color endure in their daily lives.

Which conclusion is BEST supported by the paragraph?

• The author believes that the racism experienced by Native Americans and students of color is often more subtle than that depicted in "Huck Finn" and "To Kill a Mockingbird."

• The author believes that the argument put forth by the critics of the Duluth school district's decision to remove "Huck Finn" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" reflects her views.

• The author believes that books such as "Huck Finn" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" greatly benefit white students but not Native American, brown and black students.

• The author believes that Native American, brown and black students will only learn about racism from books if it is portrayed in an open and offensive way.

Which sentence from the section "Behind The 'White Savior' Plots" BEST conveys the author's viewpoint about the white savior theme incorporated in many books?

• Both "Huck Finn" and "To Kill a Mockingbird" incorporate the common white savior and "magical negro or native" themes.

• Instead, white savior books reinforce the extremely demeaning and derogatory notion that native, black and brown people exist only to serve the needs and goals of white people.

• Other than what Tom says on the stand during his trial, where he is playing the role of victim to serve this white savior plot, we learn little else about him.

• Authors of many racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds have been writing about their own communities as far back in time as white authors.