Read the following article from a website.
Saskatchewan’s education ministry is asking whether every high school student should take a course in news literacy. A draft plan would add a required half-credit in Grade 10 on how news is gathered, how to trace a claim back to its source and how apps decide what each user sees. The ministry is collecting comments from teachers, parents and students until December 15, and a decision is expected next spring. The idea came from a group of teachers in Moose Jaw who tried out a short unit last year.
Josette Fournier, who heads social studies at a Regina high school, says her students live inside their phones. “Most of them never see an argument they disagree with unless a teacher puts it in front of them,” Fournier said. “Their feeds are built to keep them comfortable, not informed.” She wants the course to be required, because optional courses “end up full of the students who need them least.”
Trustee Duncan Eggleton agrees that the skills matter but says the timetable has no room left. “Every new required course pushes out something a student chose for themselves, like music or a second language,” Eggleton said. “We can teach the same lessons inside English and history classes.” He would add two days of training a year so that teachers feel ready to do it.
Ilka Galt, editor of a weekly community newspaper, says students should see how journalists work. “Anyone can publish now, and that is mostly good. More voices are a healthy thing,” Galt said. “But the loudest and angriest posts travel the furthest, because they make people react.” She has offered free visits to her newsroom so classes can watch a story being checked before it runs. Samuel Ferenc, a parent who sits on the board of a civil liberties group, has a different worry. “A course like this could easily slide into telling teenagers which news sources to trust,” Ferenc said. “Teach them how to ask questions. Never hand them a list of approved sources.”
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Paragraph four mainly presents 2..
Fournier thinks that making the course optional would lead to 3..
Samuel Ferenc’s concerns would likely be supported by 4..
All of the people quoted seem to agree that students 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 plan to require a news literacy course
Why this is correct: A draft plan would add a required news course in Grade 10. Every speaker gives a view on it.
Passage Reference: A draft plan would add a required half-credit in Grade 10
Tips: Ask if Fournier, Eggleton, Galt and Ferenc each talk about the option. An option that only one speaker talks about is too narrow.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a new weekly newspaper for students: Galt edits a weekly newspaper, but nobody is starting one for students.
- a shortage of high school teachers: Eggleton talks about teacher training, not a shortage of teachers.
- a ban on phones in classrooms: Fournier says her students live inside their phones, but nobody suggests a ban.
Correct Answer: an editor’s offer and a parent’s warning
Passage Reference: She has offered free visits to her newsroom so classes can watch a story being checked before it runs. ... A course like this could easily slide into telling teenagers which news sources to trust
Why this is correct: “Paragraph four” quotes Galt, an editor who offers free newsroom visits. Then Ferenc, a parent, warns against telling teenagers which sources to trust.
Tips: Go through “Paragraph four” sentence by sentence. Then keep the choice that describes those lines, and drop any that describes another part of the article.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the plan and the teachers who first tried it: The plan and the Moose Jaw teachers come at the start of the article. They are not in “Paragraph four”.
- a teacher’s case for a required course: Fournier argues for a required course in her own part of the article. “Paragraph four” does not quote her.
- a trustee’s idea for using existing classes: Eggleton suggests teaching the lessons inside other classes. His words come before “Paragraph four”.
Correct Answer: the students who need it most staying away
Passage Reference: She wants the course to be required, because optional courses “end up full of the students who need them least.”
Why this is correct: Fournier says optional courses end up full of the students who need them least. So the students who need the course most would not take it.
Tips: Find every sentence that belongs to Fournier, quoted or reported. Test each result against her words, and cross out any that another speaker gives.
Why the other options are wrong:
- fewer teachers wanting to teach the subject: Fournier says nothing about teachers refusing the course. She talks about which students would sign up.
- longer school days for every student: Fournier never talks about the length of the school day.
- more classes visiting a local newsroom: Newsroom visits are Galt’s offer. Fournier does not mention them.
Correct Answer: a class that told students which sources they should trust
Passage Reference: A course like this could easily slide into telling teenagers which news sources to trust
Why this is correct: Ferenc warns that a course like this could slide into telling teenagers which news sources to trust. A class that did exactly that would back up this concern.
Tips: Read Ferenc’s quoted sentences. Imagine each option were true, and keep the one that would help Ferenc’s case rather than another speaker’s.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a study finding optional courses attract the wrong students: This fits Fournier’s point about optional courses. It says nothing about which sources students are told to trust.
- students losing music classes when a course becomes required: This fits Eggleton, who says required courses push out choices like music. It does not touch Ferenc’s concern.
- a report that newsroom visits help students learn: Newsroom visits are Galt’s offer, so this report would help Galt. Ferenc does not talk about newsrooms.
Correct Answer: need to learn how to judge what they see
Passage Reference: Most of them never see an argument they disagree with unless a teacher puts it in front of them ... agrees that the skills matter ... says students should see how journalists work ... Teach them how to ask questions.
Why this is correct: Fournier says students rarely meet views they disagree with. Eggleton agrees that the skills matter. Galt wants students to see how journalists work, and Ferenc says to teach them to ask questions.
Tips: Check each option against Fournier, Eggleton, Galt and Ferenc one at a time. Keep it only if every one of them would accept it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- should take a separate required course: Fournier wants this, but Eggleton would teach the lessons inside other classes instead.
- should visit a working newsroom: Only Galt offers newsroom visits. Nobody else talks about them.
- spend too much time on their phones: Fournier says students live inside their phones. No other speaker talks about phones.
Correct Answer: December 15
Passage Reference: The ministry is collecting comments from teachers, parents and students until December 15
Why this is correct: The ministry is collecting comments until December 15.
Tips: Check the deadline the ministry has set for public feedback.
Why the other options are wrong:
- October 15: The deadline is later than October.
- November 15: The deadline is later than November.
- January 15: The deadline is earlier than January.
Correct Answer: comfortable
Passage Reference: Their feeds are built to keep them comfortable, not informed.
Why this is correct: Fournier says students’ feeds are built to keep them comfortable, not informed.
Tips: Find the department head’s claim about phone apps and the feeling they aim for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- entertained: Fournier does not use this word.
- awake: Fournier does not say feeds keep students awake.
- quiet: Fournier does not say feeds keep students quiet.
Correct Answer: history
Passage Reference: We can teach the same lessons inside English and history classes.
Why this is correct: Eggleton says the same lessons can be taught inside English and history classes.
Tips: Read the trustee’s other idea for where the lessons could go. Find the subject he pairs with English.
Why the other options are wrong:
- geography: Eggleton does not mention geography classes.
- science: Eggleton does not mention science classes.
- math: Eggleton does not mention math classes.
Correct Answer: two days
Passage Reference: He would add two days of training a year so that teachers feel ready to do it.
Why this is correct: Eggleton would add two days of training a year for teachers.
Tips: Find how much preparation the trustee would offer teachers in each school year.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one day: Eggleton offers more than one day.
- a week: Eggleton offers less than a week.
- a month: Eggleton does not suggest anything close to a month.
Correct Answer: travel the furthest
Passage Reference: But the loudest and angriest posts travel the furthest, because they make people react.
Why this is correct: Galt says the loudest and angriest posts travel the furthest, because they make people react.
Tips: Find Galt’s sentence about the loudest posts and fill the gap with the words that say what she says.
Why the other options are wrong:
- get deleted first: Galt does not talk about posts being deleted.
- earn the most money: Galt does not mention money.
- fade the fastest: Galt says the opposite. These posts spread widely.
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