STAAR Review: Paired Passages

In the excerpt from The Piano Shop on the Left Bank and the excerpt from the article "Those Old Piano Blues," with which statement would BOTH authors most likely agree?

• Old pianos offer a great deal of emotional value to their owners.

• Old pianos are constructed from better pianos than new materials.

• People can learn a lot about the history of pianos from musicians.

• People should learn to play on an acoustic piano before moving to a digital one.

Answer explanation

Old Piano Blues--> paragraph 3 "Pianos often have a substantial amount of emotional value to their owners..."

Piano Shop--> "this is a kind of love"

While the narrator of the excerpt from The Piano Shop on the Left Bank finds an old Stingl valuable enough for him to spend a lot of money on it, the author of the excerpt from the article "Those Old Piano Blues" --

• expects to sell an old Steinway for a high price

• insists on donating his old piano to a school

• gives an old Steinway to someone who wants it

• thinks old pianos should be destroyed

Answer explanation

paragraph 6: "We finally did find a friend who wants our piano, so his young son can learn to play."

What is one notable difference between the two excerpts?

• The selection from "The Piano Shop" explains why someone wants to play the piano, while the article "Those Old Piano Blues" explains why piano lessons are less popular.

• The selection from "The Piano Shop" describes evaluating and buying an old piano, while the selection from the article "Those Old Piano Blues" describes an abundance of unwanted old pianos.

• The selection from "The Piano Shop" emphasizes the craftsmanship of a new acoustic piano, while the selection from the article "Those Old Piano Blues" emphasizes today's preference for digital pianos.

• The selection from "The Piano Shop" shows how rare it is for someone to appreciate an old piano, while the selection from the article "Those Old Piano Blues" shows how people overvalue all musical instruments.

What feeling is conveyed by BOTH the excerpt from The Piano Shop and the excerpt from the article "Those Old Piano Blues?"

• Amusement

• Ambition

• Attachment

• Awe

What is the first step when you receive a STAAR reading passage?

• Read the passage

• Highlight key details

• Figure out what the question is ACTUALLY asking for

• Read the questions

It is against STAAR protocol and guidelines to look up a word that you do not know.

• True

• False

The THEME is the overall _____ of a story.

• message

• setting

• thesis

• conflict

The thesis statement...

• is where you state your position.

• is located in the conclusion.

• is not necessary in persuasive writing.

• provides specific topics for body paragraphs.

When composing a strong closing, you should include...

• Call to action

• Something to make the reader laugh

• Your thesis restated word for word

• Summary of your examples

Which transition would you use to provide an example to support your thesis or topic sentence?

• On the other hand, ...

• Meanwhile,...

• Consequently,...

• For example, ...