Learning How to Code-switch: Humbling, but Necessary

Which of the following provides the best summary of paragraph 5?

• Deggan Describes the disgust others felt by his use of language.

• Deggan describes the mistrust his friends felt when he spoke.

• Deggan describes the impact of code-switching amongst peers.

• Deggan describes his feelings of being an outcast.

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CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which of the following provides the best summary of paragraph 19?

• Deggan describes the impact of code-switching on his development

• Deggan describes his graciousness for his past, in preparation for his future

• Deggan describes his friends and how important they were

• Deggan describes how college will be different than high school

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CCSS.RI.9-10.2

What evidence does the author primarily use to support his message?

• Facts about the importance of code switching

• Examples of a code switching experience

• Statistics about successful code switching

• Scientific evidence of the effects of code switching

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CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.8

Which of the following best supports Deggans’ claim that code switching is important?

• “For linguists, code-switching describes the simple act of switching between two languages in a conversation.” (Para. 7)

• “I watched as too many others from my hometown and other predominantly black cities struggled in a university setting where suddenly they really were a minority.” (Para. 20)

• “As more cultures join America’s melting pot, that’s why code-switching remains so valuable.” (Para. 26)

• “It’s a reminder to be fully who you are at all times, while making sure you’re understood well enough to be valued, respected and considered.” (Para. 27)

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CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.8

Which of the following claims does Eric Deggans develop in the text?

• Code-switching keeps people from expressing themselves by promoting one correct style of communication.

• It is important to recognize that code-switching can help a person succeed and celebrate all aspects of their identity.

• The United States consists of great cultural variety and no one should be discriminated against for speaking a certain way.

• Many successful people have used code-switching, but it is unfair to expect minorities to have multiple communication styles.

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Which sentence supports the idea that code switching is something that is necessary?

• “That word — “guys” — might earn smiles and nods of understanding in that world, but it brought the ultimate insult in my neighborhood.” (Para. 5)

• “ But in today’s increasingly multicultural, multiethnic society, the term’s deeper meaning involves shifting between different cultures as you move through life’s conversations — choosing your communication style based on the people you’re dealing with.” (Para. 7)

• “Equal parts fitting in and making sure you’re understood, code-switching comes as naturally to me as breathing 38 years later — a transition I’m sure our first black president has also mastered.” (Para. 13 )

• “For these kids, being members of a minority group was an abstraction,5 because everywhere they turned in their own lives — from school to the corner store and their own street corners — they were surrounded by others who looked and acted like them.” (Para. 21)

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CCSS.RI.9-10.1

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CCSS.RI.9-10.5

Why does the author include the anecdote about the “g-word” in the beginning of the text?

• To give the reader an example of the ridicule he faced as a child

• To give the reader an example of how code-switching impacts communities of color

• To give the reader an idea of what the article will be about

• To give the reader an explanation for his personal beliefs on code-switching

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CCSS.RI.9-10.6

What can the reader conclude from paragraphs 15-18?

• Code-switching is not enough to change people’s perceptions of minorities

• Deggan didn’t understand the world around him

• Deggan’s mother had to have a serious conversation with him

• Code-switching had a high impact on how Deggan interacted with white people

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CCSS.RI.9-10.1

CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

What connection does the author draw between communication style and social acceptance?

• A person’s success in social interactions is influenced by how they choose to communicate with others.

• Changing communication styles can make a person feel isolated from belonging to any one culture.

• People choose their primary communication style based on the group to which they most want to belong.

• Not adhering to the dominant communication style in a group will most likely result in social rejection.

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