Newsela * Students survey peers about online learning

Is the author of the article suggesting that the students who developed the survey feel that school officials are dismissing their findings?

Which selection from the article BEST supports your answer?

• No; "They emphasized to Reykdal the need for schools to understand and better serve students' mental health concerns by encouraging proactive outreach from counselors and empathy from teachers."

• Yes; "'A lot of the conversation initially with school and COVID tended to be around what the format would look for online instruction,' Finn,16 years old, said. 'It was really important to all of us that we advocated for the mental and emotional needs that students would have within this time because for a lot of students, that (school) is their main resource.'"

• No; "'He listened to every word that came out. He was making eye contact. He didn't interrupt,' said Agarwal of Reykdal, who is up for re-election. 'For any challenges or questions or concerns that we had where he had a solution, he shared those.'"

• Yes; "More than 1,800 students took the online survey, which was distributed through social media, school district email listservs and The Seattle Times, between March and June. About 30 percent were first years; sophomores and juniors each made up roughly 27 percent; seniors represented about 13 percent of the total. All answers were anonymous."

Read the following statement.

Some students want schools to prioritize conversations on serious societal issues over their typical lessons.

Which sentence from the article BEST supports the statement above?

• "I'm afraid there won't be social events such as football games, retreats and dances for me to make friends going into high school," one student wrote.

• "Many students including myself struggle with depression and having a teacher call or email your parent saying how you are missing class is very exhausting and makes you feel that schools don't care about your well-being."

• "As a student with ADHD, it's been a struggle absorbing information, remembering class schedules and becoming motivated to do all my work," said one respondent

• "With everything going on right now with COVID-19 or the protests for Black Lives Matter, it can be hard to want to sit and write an essay on 'Antigone.'"

Read the following phrases from the article.

1. emphasizing a need to accommodate

2. encouraging proactive outreach

3. urged teachers to have compassion

Why does the author use these phrases?

• They convey a sense of the difficulties some students are encountering because of mental health challenges.

• They convey a sense of students feeling frustrated and helpless while they are at home during the pandemic.

• They convey a sense of students advocating for themselves by making specific requests to schools.

• They convey a sense of the success some students are having while they are receiving online instruction.

What is the meaning of the word "fortify" as used in the following sentence?

The activities schools often provide help fortify their social lives. "I'm afraid there won't be social events such as football games, retreats and dances for me to make friends going into high school," one student wrote.

• protect or defend from harm

• invent or create from nothing

• rejuvenate or invigorate the feeling

• strengthen or improve the quality