When Do Kids Become Adults?

Identify titles that do not give readers a clear sense of what the author’s claim might be.

• What the Brain Says about Maturity

• Leave the Voting Age Alone

• Better Training for New Drivers

• A Parent's Role in the Path to Adulthood

• Mandatory Service to Become and Adult

Identify the writer's claim in What the Brain Says about Maturity, lines 12-14; 27-31)

Remember that a claim is an author’s position on a topic or issue. A claim may be stated directly or indirectly, so that sometimes readers need to figure it out on their own.

• "Significant changes in brain anatomy and activity are still taking place during young adulthood..."

• "Should this new knowledge prompt us to rethink where we draw legal boundaries between minors and adults?"

• "Second, science has never had much of an influence on these sorts of decisions."

• "Using different ages for different legal boundaries seems odd, but it would make neuroscientific sense if we did it rationally."

What the Brain Says about Maturity, lines 12-14; 27-31

Why might the writer have presented his claim in question-and-answer form?

• It connects his claim to the first of his supporting reasons.

• He doesn't know the answer to his claim.

• He is going to ask an expert on the topic.

Leave the Voting Age Alone, lines 44-58

What is a good summary of the author's claim?

• The voting age has been tied to the age that individuals can sign up for war.

• "Old enough to fight, old enough to vote"

• It doesn't make sense to change the voting age.

• American colonies mostly set their voting ages at 21.

What the Brain Says about Maturity, lines 75-81



Identify examples of evidence that the author uses to support her claim.

• The American colonies mostly set their voting ages at 21, reflecting British common law.

• It took many tries, from World War II to the Vietnam era, to get the voting age changed from 21 to 18.

• "Old enough to fight, old enough to vote"

• Tying voting to soldiering was always problematic, though, and it is even more so today.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.8

CCSS.RI.8.1

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.8.1

What the Brain Says about Maturity lines 75-81

Identify a second claim the author presents.

• Tennessee's new law specifically disallows students from using state university ID cards at the polls.

• It would be more useful to help young people get more involved in politics by getting rid of barriers that prevent them from voting.

Leave the Voting Age Alone, lines 81-84

Select the words that have a similar denotation to suffer as used in this sentence.

• experience

• pain

• bear

• undergo

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Better Training for New Drivers, lines 115-120

How does the author use a counterargument?

Remember that a counterargument addresses opposing viewpoints. A good argument anticipates opposing views and disproves them.

• He notes that some teenagers will drive responsibly, and that it doesn't make sense that teens can work but won't be allowed to drive there.

• He uses evidence to back up his original claim that we need better training for new drivers.

• Graduated licenses make good sense.

• As every parent worth his or her sale has reminded their children at least a hundred times, Sometimes, life isn't fair.

A Parent's Role in the Path to Adulthood, (Bar Graph after line 178)

Is the bar graph relevant and does it help readers understand the author's claim?

• It is relevant because it supports her earlier point that the age of first marriages are seen as a marker for adulthood; the graph clearly backs up the claim that "individuals are taking longer to recognize themselves as adults" because it shows that men and women have been marrying later and later over the last 60 years.

• It is not relevant to the author's claim, because it doesn't have anything to do with the parent's role in the path to adulthood. When a child decides to get married has nothing to do with parents.

Mandatory Service to Become an Adult, lines 198-205

What counterargument does the author provide for his claim that "All 18-year-olds should be required to spend a year in service to others"?

• It would result in "better workers and better citizens."

• Instead of fiddling with the age of majority, we should encourage our children to grow up.

• I am more concerned with the issue of maturity than I am with the technical age of majority.

• There is no counterargument