Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge - Pennsylvania

What is the central idea of the passage?

• Wildfires like the 2022 Wooldridge fire can be dangerous and cause a lot of damage.

• Controlled burns and clearing land help protect nature, prevent bigger fires, and support local communities.

• A training center worked with the refuge to help fire crews practice using real fires.

• Some places need fire to stay healthy because it removes harmful plants and adds nutrients to the soil.

Answer explanation

This item measures RI.6.2 at DOK 2 (Understand) because students must synthesize information across all three major sections of the passage — environmental benefits of prescribed burns, community and economic impact, and fire crew training — to identify the central idea. The central idea is not stated in a single sentence; it must be constructed by reading the passage as a whole and recognizing which idea encompasses all sections. This requires the Bloom's 'Understand' skill of summarizing and identifying the overarching meaning of a text, not simply locating a fact. The distractors are drawn from real supporting details in the passage, ensuring students cannot answer correctly without distinguishing between a central idea and the details that support it.

Tags

CC.1.2.6.A

DOK 2

Blooms: Understand

Which TWO details from the passage best support the central idea that the Big Muddy fire management project benefited both people and the environment? Select TWO answers.

• Workers safely burned 565 acres which protected the area from larger wildfires and helped the local community by creating jobs.

• This year, workers cleared 8 acres of land near the burned area. This land had been damaged by the 2022 wildfire.

• This work also helped the local economy. The wood that was removed was sold to a local business that needed it.

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explains that sometimes fire can help create a safer place for both people and plants.

Answer explanation

This item aligns with RI.6.2 because it asks students to identify which details best support the passage's central idea — that the Big Muddy fire management project benefited both people and the environment. Rather than asking students to simply locate facts (RI.6.1), the stem frames detail identification within the context of the central idea, requiring students to recognize how specific supporting details convey that idea. Both correct answers (A and C) are explicitly stated in the passage, making this DOK-1 (direct lookup with no inference required). The Bloom's level is Understand because students must recognize how details function in relation to a central idea, not merely copy a fact. Distractors are passage-dependent: B misattributes a number, D falsely links two real details, and E overgeneralizes a specific exception — all errors a student who partially read or misunderstood the passage might make.

Tags

CC.1.2.6.A

DOK 1

Blooms: Understand

Part B

Which sentence from the section "Like rain, fire is a good thing" best supports your answer to Part A?

• “Wildfires, like the one in Wooldridge in 2022, can cause a lot of damage.”

• “Some places need fire to survive. Animals use burnt trees as homes, and plants grow better because of the nutrients fire leaves behind.”

• “In March 2024, workers safely burned 565 acres to help protect the land and support plants and animals.”

• “We can meet this need by using controlled burns.”

Answer explanation

This item measures RI.6.2 at DOK 2 (Apply/Bloom's Level 3). Part A requires students to infer the central idea of the 'Like rain, fire is a good thing' section — the idea is not stated in a single thesis sentence but must be synthesized from multiple supporting details across the section (fire cycles nutrients, supports wildlife, prevents fuel buildup). This is a genuine DOK-2 task because students must apply the strategy of identifying central idea by synthesizing details rather than locating an explicitly stated main idea. Part B requires students to apply the strategy of selecting the strongest textual evidence: they must evaluate four sentences from the same section and determine which one most directly supports the inferred central idea, not merely which one mentions fire or appears important. The item is passage-dependent — a student cannot answer Part A correctly without reading and processing the section, and Part B evidence is only valid if Part A is answered correctly, since the evidence sentence about landscapes needing fire to survive directly supports the central idea of fire as a natural ecological necessity.

Tags

CC.1.2.6.A

DOK 2

Blooms: Apply

Part A

Read the section titled "Like rain, fire is a good thing." What is the central idea of this section?

• Wildfires can be very dangerous and cause a lot of damage, so they should always be avoided.

• When used carefully, fire can help keep nature healthy.

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service only uses water to manage land at the refuge.

• A wildfire in 2022 destroyed land and made fire management more important.

Answer explanation

This item measures RI.6.2 at DOK 2 (Apply/Bloom's Level 3). Part A requires students to infer the central idea of the 'Like rain, fire is a good thing' section — the idea is not stated in a single thesis sentence but must be synthesized from multiple supporting details across the section (fire cycles nutrients, supports wildlife, prevents fuel buildup). This is a genuine DOK-2 task because students must apply the strategy of identifying central idea by synthesizing details rather than locating an explicitly stated main idea. Part B requires students to apply the strategy of selecting the strongest textual evidence: they must evaluate four sentences from the same section and determine which one most directly supports the inferred central idea, not merely which one mentions fire or appears important. The item is passage-dependent — a student cannot answer Part A correctly without reading and processing the section, and Part B evidence is only valid if Part A is answered correctly, since the evidence sentence about landscapes needing fire to survive directly supports the central idea of fire as a natural ecological necessity.

Tags

CC.1.2.6.A

DOK 2

Blooms: Apply

Which heading best captures the central idea of this article?

• Why Wildfires Are Always Dangerous and Should Be Avoided
  

• The History of Fires in Missouri Forests
  

• How Controlled Burns Help Both Nature and Communities
  

• How Firefighters Are Trained to Fight Wildfires

Tags

CC.1.2.6.A

DOK 2

Blooms: Evaluate

Think of something that can be both helpful and harmful depending on how it is used.
Explain what it is and how it is similar to fire in the passage.

Answer explanation

This item measures RI.6.2 because it requires students to (1) determine the central idea of the entire passage — not just one section — and (2) explain how specific details from different sections develop that central idea. The item reaches DOK 3 (Strategic Thinking) because students must synthesize information across multiple sections (environmental benefits, professional training, and economic impact), evaluate which details most effectively illustrate the central idea, and construct a written justification explaining the developmental relationship between the central idea and the evidence. This goes beyond simply identifying the central idea (DOK 2) by requiring students to analyze how parts of the text work together to build meaning. The Analyze (Bloom's Level 4) target is met because students must examine relationships between the central idea and specific textual evidence, determining how each detail contributes to the whole. The item is passage-dependent — students cannot respond accurately without reading and synthesizing information from multiple sections of the text.

Tags

CC.1.2.6.A

DOK 3

Blooms: Create