Spring Check-In Review (#1)

1. Read this sentence from Paragraph 4.

"Buying touch pads is just the first step down a slippery slope toward spending hundreds and thousands of dollars more on software."

What does the use of the phrase “slippery slope” MOST suggest about the decision to buy touch pads?

• It may take a long time to gain acceptance

• It will increase the pace at which lessons are taught

• It will begin a series of events that is difficult to stop

• It may cause disagreements between teachers and students

2. Read this sentence from Paragraph 4.

"Using a touch pad might be as natural as picking up a pencil, but just because a kid can pick up a pencil does not mean she knows how to spell correctly."

In the sentence, how is a touch pad similar to a pencil?

• Both should be avoided when better options are present

• Both can cause students to fall behind in their schoolwork

• Both are tools that must be used properly to have any effect

• Both are more difficult to use than most people think they are

3. Which idea is MOST fully developed in the passage?

• Students should pay more attention to what is around them.

• Touch pads are not worth the money they would cost schools.

• Schools need to spend more money on art and music programs

• Young people should not be allowed to use touch technology at school.

4. Which statement from the passage is a FACT?

• Everybody agrees that touch devices are fun.

• That is, we have to buy a touch pad and then all the apps for it.

• This would be a much better way to improve our schools.

• It is a waste of money to buy these unnecessary tools.

5. Which statement from the passage is an example of exaggeration?

• Students also enjoy watching movies, playing video games, and eating ice cream.

• Young people are learning more than just facts and figures in school.

• Students who use touch devices are likely to forget how to interact with the world around them.

• Teaching a person how to write well is challenging with or without expensive tools.

6. Read this sentence from Paragraph 5.

"I believe that any of these options would be a better investment of our limited school resources."

What does the word resources mean in the sentence?

• money or supplies

• ideas or suggestions

• things that are needed

• people who teach others

7. Read these sentences from the last paragraph.

"Tools alone do not teach. Teachers teach."

What do the sentences MOST suggest about technology?

• It cannot help students learn.

• It is not worthy of serious study.

• It causes interruptions in the classroom.

• It is useless without the work of skilled people.

8. Read this sentence from Paragraph 2.

This is a question to ask before testing out any new fad in our schools.

What does the use of the word fad suggest about touch devices?

• They are likely to break easily.

• They cost a large amount of money.

• They will only be popular for a short time.

• They are less powerful than they appear to be.

9. How does the author organize the information in Paragraph 5?

• by giving reasons why schools should receive more funding for programs

• by describing the steps in the process of hiring new teachers and staff members

• by comparing the abilities of teachers to those of touch devices and other technology

• by suggesting improvements that would be more useful to schools than touch devices

10. Which sentence from the passage is an example of a hyperbole?

• Touch technology gives kids easy, flashy access to facts.

• The list of things we will need to buy is endless

• The money could also pay for better lunch programs, or art or music education

• Touch pads are expensive, but that does not mean they are valuable for learning.