Read the following article from a website.
The Lakeview School Board wants every child from kindergarten to Grade 2 to spend twenty minutes a day in a new reading block. The board says the plan would cost about three hundred thousand dollars in its first year, mostly for new books and teacher training. It would also bring in a phonics program, which teaches children how letters match sounds. Trustees will vote on the plan in March, and parents have been invited to share their views at three evening meetings before then.
Maribel Coombs, who teaches Grade 1 at Ridgeway School, believes phonics should have arrived long ago. Lots of beginners guess from pictures, she says, since no one has taught them to read the letters. “When children can work out a word they have never met before, they stop guessing and start reading,” Coombs told parents at a meeting last week. “I see it happen every year, and it is the best moment of my job.” Trustee Osgood Duchamp likes the goal but warns that the time has to come from somewhere. “Twenty minutes a day is more than an hour and a half a week,” he said. “I worry that music and gym will quietly shrink. Before this plan starts, the board should publish the new timetable so families can see what is being cut,” Duchamp added.
Fenna Cordova, the school librarian at Ridgeway, does not want the reading block to become twenty extra minutes of worksheets. “Children should spend part of that time with books they choose themselves,” Cordova said. “A child who enjoys a story will pick up another one at home,” she said. “We have shelves full of books that children never get time to open.”
Elwood Darnell, a speech-language pathologist who visits several schools, says the causes of reading trouble are not the same for every child. “One child cannot link letters to sounds. Another reads each word correctly and still misses the meaning,” Darnell said. “A short reading check every fall would tell teachers which children need extra help, and what kind,” he added.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
At present, Fenna Cordova has 2..
What matters to everyone quoted is 3..
Paragraph two mainly sets out 4..
Osgood Duchamp would likely say that families 5..
The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: a school board plan to add daily reading time
Why this is correct: The school board wants every young child to have a new reading block each day. Every speaker talks about this plan.
Passage Reference: in a new reading block
Tips: Test each option against Coombs, Duchamp, Cordova and Darnell, one by one. An option nobody in the article actually talks about is wrong, even if its words look familiar.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new library being built at Ridgeway: Cordova is the librarian, but no new library is being built.
- a shortage of teachers in Lakeview: Nobody in the article says there are too few teachers.
- a test that every young child must pass: Darnell wants a short check, but it is not a test children must pass.
Correct Answer: many library books that go unread
Passage Reference: We have shelves full of books that children never get time to open.
Why this is correct: Cordova says her library has shelves full of books that children never get time to open. So many books there go unread right now.
Tips: Read each of Cordova’s quoted sentences. Pick the choice that one of them shows is true now.
Why the other options are wrong:
- no books for children who read slowly: Cordova does not say any books are missing. She says children lack the time to open them.
- a new phonics program to run: The phonics program is part of the board’s plan, and trustees have not voted yet. Cordova is the school librarian.
- the job of teaching Grade 1 children: Coombs is the Grade 1 teacher at Ridgeway. Cordova works in the library.
Correct Answer: helping young children become strong readers
Passage Reference: they stop guessing and start reading ... Trustee Osgood Duchamp likes the goal ... A child who enjoys a story will pick up another one at home ... the causes of reading trouble are not the same for every child
Why this is correct: Coombs wants children to stop guessing and start reading, and Duchamp likes the goal. Cordova wants children to enjoy stories, and Darnell wants to find reading trouble.
Tips: Look at each speaker’s concern and set aside what makes it unusual. What remains is the common aim.
Why the other options are wrong:
- giving children free choice of books: Only Cordova asks for books children choose themselves. The others do not discuss choice.
- keeping time for music and gym: Only Duchamp worries about music and gym. The others do not mention them.
- giving every child a reading check: Only Darnell asks for a reading check. Nobody else mentions one.
Correct Answer: a teacher’s hopes and a trustee’s worry
Passage Reference: Maribel Coombs, who teaches Grade 1 at Ridgeway School, believes phonics should have arrived long ago. ... Trustee Osgood Duchamp likes the goal but warns that the time has to come from somewhere.
Why this is correct: In paragraph two, Coombs explains why she welcomes phonics. Then Duchamp likes the goal but warns that the time has to come from somewhere.
Tips: Reread the part of the article the item line names, all of it. Then check each choice against those lines only, not the rest of the article.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the cost of the plan and its timing: The cost and the March vote are explained in paragraph one. Paragraph two gives two people’s views.
- a librarian’s wish for free reading time: Cordova, the librarian, speaks in paragraph three. She is not in paragraph two.
- a specialist’s idea for testing children: Darnell’s reading check comes in paragraph four. Paragraph two does not mention testing.
Correct Answer: should be told which subjects will lose time
Passage Reference: I worry that music and gym will quietly shrink. ... the board should publish the new timetable so families can see what is being cut
Why this is correct: Duchamp worries that music and gym will quietly shrink. He wants the board to publish the new timetable so families can see what is being cut.
Tips: Read every sentence Duchamp says, and the line that introduces him. Choose the option his words lead to.
Why the other options are wrong:
- want less music and gym for their children: Duchamp fears music and gym will shrink. He does not say families want that.
- should pay for the new reading books: The board plans to pay for the new books. Duchamp never asks families to pay for anything.
- need not worry about the school timetable: Duchamp wants the timetable made public. He thinks families should see it before the plan starts.
Correct Answer: twenty-minute
Passage Reference: The Lakeview School Board wants every child from kindergarten to Grade 2 to spend twenty minutes a day in a new reading block.
Why this is correct: The board wants children to spend twenty minutes a day in a new reading block.
Tips: The blank needs a length of time. Find how long the board wants the daily block to be.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ten-minute: The block in the article is longer than ten minutes.
- thirty-minute: The block in the article is shorter than thirty minutes.
- hour-long: The block is much shorter than an hour.
Correct Answer: Grade 2
Passage Reference: every child from kindergarten to Grade 2
Why this is correct: The plan covers every child from kindergarten to Grade 2.
Tips: The commenter thinks about a younger child. Find where the plan stops.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Grade 1: Grade 1 is the class Coombs teaches. The plan goes further.
- Grade 3: Grade 3 is not in the article.
- Grade 4: Grade 4 is not in the article.
Correct Answer: training
Passage Reference: mostly for new books and teacher training
Why this is correct: The board says the first-year cost is mostly for new books and teacher training.
Tips: The commenter repeats where the board’s money would go. Find the cost sentence and take what comes with the books.
Why the other options are wrong:
- salaries: The article does not mention teachers’ pay.
- assistants: Teacher assistants are not mentioned in the article.
- laptops: Laptops are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: fall
Passage Reference: A short reading check every fall would tell teachers which children need extra help
Why this is correct: Darnell wants a short reading check every fall.
Tips: The commenter means the speech-language expert. Find how often he wants children checked.
Why the other options are wrong:
- spring: Darnell does not say spring.
- month: Darnell does not want a check every month.
- week: Darnell does not want a check every week.
Correct Answer: three
Passage Reference: parents have been invited to share their views at three evening meetings before then
Why this is correct: The article says parents were invited to share their views at three evening meetings before the vote.
Tips: The commenter is counting the chances parents have to speak. Find the number the article gives for those meetings.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two: Two is not in the article.
- four: Four is not in the article.
- five: Five is not in the article. The board set up fewer meetings than this.
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