Marita's Bargain

Why do most American schools have a long summer break when other countries do not?

• Early education reformers believed that students needed more time in class to work harder.

• Early education reformers were worried that over-studying could cause young people to go insane.

• Early education reformers believed work was more important than education.

• Early education reformers believed that only some people should have access to a longer school year.

What happens to students' reading scores over the summer break? Use the graph to help you answer the question.

• Students in the middle class do better than students in high and low classes.

• Students in the low class show the most improvement in reading scores.

• Students in the low class show more improvement than students in the middle class.

• Students in the high class improve their reading scores over the summer by significantly more points than students in the low and middle classes.

What was the author's purpose for including the study about reading scores and summer vacation?

• The author wanted to show the effect summer vacation has on reading scores for different classes.

• The author wanted to show that summer vacation is actually a good thing because all kids learn equally over the summer.

• The author included the study, but it really doesn't connect to anything else in the text.

• The author wanted to show how Americans reading scores compare to reading scores of students in other countries.

Which country has the shortest school year?

• The United States

• Japan

• South Korean

What evidence does Gladwell use to support the following claim: "For it's poorest students, America doesn't have a school problem. It has summer vacation problem."

• Research led by Karl Alexander, a sociologist from John Hopkins University, whose study showed the impact of summer vacation on students from different classes.

• Comparing the number of days of school and math test scores between black and white children.

• Giving an example of a girl who chose math as a career after having an inspiring math teacher.

• Explaining why kids need a summer vacation to play and reset their brains.

Which of the following best represents the central idea of Marita's Bargain?

• Summer vacation started because American education reformers believed that students' minds needed a period of rest like the corn and wheat fields in America.

• Asian countries like Japan and South Korea have longer school years than America. They also have better test scores.

• Marita spent long hours every day learning and doing her best at KIPP academy. She had to give up time with her family to do well in school.

• America needs to provide more learning time, especially for kids from the lowest/poorest class, because summer vacation negatively impacts their ability to do well on tests and have future academic opportunities.

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Which piece of textual evidence best supports this idea?

Kids from the lowest/poorest class learn as much as their wealthier peers when they are in school.

• The school year in the United States is, on average, 180 days long. The South Korean school year is 220 days long. The Japanese school year is 243 days long.

• The student's name is Marita. She's an only child who lives in a single-parent home. Her mother never went to college.

• Alexander, in fact, has done a very simple calculation to demonstrate what would happen if the children of Baltimore went to school year-round. The answer is that poor kids and wealthy kids would, by the end of elementary school, be doing math and reading at almost the same level

• But as the historian Kenneth Gold has pointed out, the early educational reformers were also tremendously concerned that children not get too much schooling

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Which piece of textual evidence shows one of the most important benefits of KIPP?

• The story of the miracle school that transforms losers into winners is, of course, all too familiar. It's the stuff of inspirational books and sentimental Hollywood movies.

• If you take an average day, and you take out lunch and recess, KIPP students are spending fifty to sixty percent more time learning than the traditional public school student

• "They start school at seven twenty-five," says David Levin of the students at the Bronx KIPP Academy

• "I wake up at five-forty-five a.m. to get a head start," she says. "I brush my teeth, shower. I get some breakfast at school, if I am running late. Usually get yelled at because I am taking too lon

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Students at KIPP have longer school days and school years. How does the extra time help students?

• They have more time for recess.

• They get to spend less time with family and friends.

• Teachers and students have more time to practice and learn the material in a relaxed atmosphere.

• Teachers and students get to have longer lunches because of the longer days and this helps them have the proper nutrients.

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There are several Central Ideas(or Themes)in "Marita's Bargain". In 3-5 sentences, tell what 1 of the main ideas is, and explain why it goes with this story.