Benchmark questions

1. Which of the following subtitles would be most appropriate to add to Paragraphs 6-11? (R.2.1)

• 1. “What is Adolescence?”

• 1. “Adolescence Across History”

• 1. “All Species Experience Adolescence”

• 1. “Adolescence is Real and it’s Important”

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.W.7.2A

2. Read the following excerpt:

One of the earliest descriptions of adolescents I’m aware of is said to come from Socrates (469–399 BC): “The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.” A hundred years or so later, Aristotle described “youth” as “lacking in… self-restraint, fickle in their desires, passionate and impulsive.” (paragraph 11)

How does the author's use of words like “contempt…, disrespect…, and chatter” in paragraph 11 impact the purpose of the text? (R.2.3)

• 1. The descriptions of the youth appeals to the reader’s emotions to convince them of the negative traits of adolescents.

• 1. The descriptions of the youth appeals to the reader’s emotions to convince them that they have been unfairly negative about adolescent behavior.

• 1. The negative descriptions of childlike behavior show the speaker’s desire for them to grow into adolescents thus supporting the author’s claim that adolescent behavior is better.

• The negative descriptions of their behavior show the speaker’s dislike of adolescents thus supporting the author’s claim that adolescent behavior has occurred throughout history.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A

3. Part A: What two central ideas about the topic of adolescence does the author express in the passage? (R.2.2)

• 1. Many groups differ in how they define the characteristics of adolescence.

• 1. Adolescence has been proven to be an important period of development.

• 1. Adolescence is a challenging time of life to try to understand and experience.

• 1. Adolescents are extremely unpleasant to be around until they have fully matured.

• 1. Most groups of people agree on adolescence being defined by the teenage years.

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Part B

4. Which detail develops both central ideas identified in Part A? (R.2.2)

• 1. “A newspaper article in August 2016 described an incident in which a woman was attacked by an adolescent wombat.” (paragraph 9)

• 1. “So, while societal expectations differ between cultures, adolescent-typical behaviors can be seen across cultures.” (paragraph 7)

• 1. “Scientific studies often define it as simply as the second decade of life—this is the World Health Organization definition.” (paragraph 5)

• 1. “I will show you how we study the way the brain develops during these years, how that development shapes adolescent behavior, and how it ultimately goes on to define the people we become.” (paragraph 4)

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.2

5. How does the author use text structure in paragraph 10 to convey the idea that adolescence causes a shift in behavior? (R.2.1)

• 1. This paragraph uses a cause and effect structure to show how adolescence impacts behavior. 

• 1. This paragraph uses a chronological structure to show how the wombat develops into adolescence.

• This paragraph uses a problem/solution structure to show adults how they can deal with the problems of adolescence.

• 1. This paragraph uses a compare and contrast structure to show the difference between baby and adolescent wombats. 

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.5

How does the graph after paragraph 8 support the author's purpose? (R.2.1)

• 1. It shows similarities between adolescent mice and adolescent humans.

• 1. It proves the author’s claim that adolescent mice enjoy drinking more than adults.

• 1. It provides a visual of how much time the mice spent drinking to prove they are engaging in adolescent behavior.

• 1. It contradicts the previous research on how much time mice should spend drinking at during different circumstances. 

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.SL.7.2

CCSS.W.7.1B

7. READ this excerpt.

“Two tasks were combined with a questionnaire to provide a measure of sensation-seeking, the desire to seek out novel experiences, which often involves risk-taking. A measure of self-regulation was also taken—that is, the ability to control yourself and make decisions.” (paragraph 7)

How does the author's use of commas in this section impact the purpose of the text? (R.2.3)

• 1. The information after the commas provides the definitions of qualities being measured.

• 1. The information after the commas provides lists of qualities needed to be a responsible adult.

• 1. The information after the commas provide emphasis on the next quality that was being measured.

• 1. The information after the commas provides further examples of what each quality looks like in most adolescents.