8th ELA Week 2 March Madness

If you are feeling sad, you can make yourself feel better by doing a few simple things. You can take a walk (or get another form of exercise), you can talk to a friend, or you can write down your feelings. Writing down the good things in your life will help too. Doing something good for someone else will also help you feel better. If you still feel a little sad, act happy. It works like magic to make you feel better!

What is the central idea?

• Sometimes people feel sad.

• You should do good things for others.

• We're not always happy.

• There are many ways to make yourself feel better.

During a baseball game, Tanner tried to tag a player leaving first base. When the umpire called the player out, Tanner immediately informed the umpire that he in fact did not tag the runner. Two weeks later, the very same umpire was at another one of Tanner’s baseball games. Tanner was playing short stop and tagged a runner as they approached third base. When the umpire called the player safe, Tanner didn’t say a word, but the umpire noticed the surprised look on Tanner’s face. “Did you tag the runner?” she asked Tanner. When Tanner told her that he did tag the runner, the umpire changed her decision and called the player out. The coaches and parents were furious, but the umpire stood by her decision.

What is the theme?

• You should cheat to win.

• Always work hard.

• It pays to be honest.

• Teamwork is best.

Which word BEST expresses the meaning of deriving in the sentence? It’s as if these undersea vents have created a unique ecosystem, deriving energy from Earth itself.

• depositing

• emptying

• extracting

• wasting

Which answer shows the best example of dialogue being used in a narrative?

• Wow, Jim said as he walked down the eerie hallway to his destination.
• "Hey, wait up!" Joe yelled, as he saw his friends shadow disappear around the corner.

When it comes to making ice-cream, you can do it the traditional way, by stirring it in a frozen container, or you can use liquid nitrogen to freeze your mixture. There are some advantages to using liquid nitrogen. Since liquid nitrogen freezes the mixture faster, the crystal grains are smaller, giving the ice-cream a creamier texture. The downside is that ice-crystals grow faster in ice-cream prepared using liquid nitrogen, so it must be stored at much colder temperatures. Both methods produce a distinct texture, and both are delicious.

The organization of this paragraph allows the author to

• Compare and contrast two different methods of creating ice cream.

• Convince readers of the validity of one type of ice cream creation methodology over another.

• Illustrate how ice cream is made.

• Explain the sequence of events needed to make ice cream.

Which piece of evidence could be used to BEST support this claim: "High school students should be required to wear uniforms."

• When adding everything up, a school uniform could end up costing more than $200.

• A student reported, "Allowing us to wear our own clothes gives us a chance to show our unique style and independence."

• At one school that recently required students to wear uniforms, attendance rates went up, and behavior incidents went down.

• School uniforms can be ordered online.

Which piece of evidence supports that Kathleen is brave?

• "Even slight miscalculations could send the Vulcan cruiser thousands of miles off course."
• Kathleen might never see her parents again.
• "Kathleen reassured them with a confident look as she logged onto the navigation computer."
• Something could go wrong during takeoff. 

Identify which POV this text was written in:

Debra was walking a big black Labrador along the beach. The dog was unleashed, but he didn't seem to stray far from her. As Debra walked in the sand, the Labrador bounded through the waves. As the dog fell a few feet behind Debra, she called out to him, "Come on, Duke! Come here boy!" Duke barked, ran from the water, and caught Debra quickly. Duke was sopping wet. He started licking Debra and almost knocked her down. Debra laughed and tried to wipe the paw prints off her outfit.

• 1st-person

• 2nd-person

• 3rd-person objective

• 3rd-person omniscient

Cold rain fell all day, making it a dismal Saturday afternoon.

• gloomy 
• red
• shining 
• fun

A counterargument for the claim: Students Should Be Allowed to Chew Gum in School is ...

• Some teachers believe that chewing gum is a distraction.

• Chewing gum helps students concentrate.

• Although some teachers believe that chewing gum is a distraction, it actually helps some students concentrate and focus.

• Chewing gum is beneficial for everyone.