Very Effectively Communicates the Writer's Message
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Middle School Text-based Informational Prompts ® IMPORTANT NOTICE TO MY ACCESS USERS THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED, PROPRIETARY AND PROTECTED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN BELONGS EXCLUSIVELY TO VANTAGE LABORATORIES L.L.C., VANTAGE TECHNOLOGIES KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT, L.L.C. D/B/A VANTAGE LEARNING AND/OR SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES OF THE ABOVE ("VANTAGE"). DISCLOSURE, DISSEMINATION OR DUPLICATION OF THIS MATERIAL IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PRIOR WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION OF VANTAGE. SUBJECT TO YOUR PURCHASE OF A VALID MY ACCESS!® END-USER LICENSE AND YOUR ASSENT TO THE TERMS OF USE OUTLINED THEREWITH, YOU MAY PRINT OR DUPLICATE ONE (1) COPY OF THIS MATERIAL EXCLUSIVELY FOR YOUR PERSONAL USE. THIS MATERIAL IS NOT TO BE VIEWED BY OR SHARED WITH OTHERS, INCLUDING EMPLOYEES, CONSULTANTS, CLIENTS OR OTHER INDIVIDUALS OR ENTITIES THAT ARE NOT SUBJECT TO VANTAGE'S NON-DISCLOSURE AND NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT. 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VIOLATIONS OF THIS NOTICE SHALL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED BY ANY AND ALL LEGAL AND EQUITABLE MEANS AVAILABLE. 2 Middle School Text-based Informational Prompts Table of Contents Middle School Text-based Informational Prompts ............................................................. 2 Breaking Barriers ........................................................................................................................ 3 “Cassowary: Giant Bird of the Rainforest” .............................................................................. 12 Compare and Contrast the Panama Canal and Great Wall of China ........................................ 29 Compare and Contrast Space and Oceanic Exploration ........................................................... 45 Construction Projects ................................................................................................................ 60 “Crazy About Games” .............................................................................................................. 76 "Egg-Laying Species" ............................................................................................................... 90 Ellis Island .............................................................................................................................. 105 Jet Packs .................................................................................................................................. 120 Learning from the Past ............................................................................................................ 135 Persephone and the Four Seasons........................................................................................... 152 Rock Climbing ........................................................................................................................ 168 Spread of the Black Death ...................................................................................................... 177 The Bill of Rights.................................................................................................................... 193 The Clean Machine ................................................................................................................. 202 The Effects of Social Media on Teens .................................................................................... 210 The Power of Waves ............................................................................................................... 226 COPYRIGHT © 2015 by Vantage Learning. All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be used, accessed, reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means or stored in a database or any retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Vantage Learning. Revised 10/5/15. 3 Breaking Barriers Carefully read "Breaking Barriers." Then write a multi-paragraph essay in which you summarize the article. Be sure to use specific details and examples from the article to support your response. Score Point 6 - very effectively communicates the writer's message. Model Essay Venus and Serena Williams have taken over professional women's tennis, in recent years. Tiger Woods has dominated the professional golf sport. All of these athletes are African-American. Not to long ago all of these athletes would not have even been able to join any professional sports that they are in now, only because of their color. Althea Gibson was the person to break racial barriers for professional sports. Althea Gibson was the first African American to play professional tennis or professional golf in the United States. Gibson played both of these sports. In 1927 in Silver, South Carolina, is where Althea Gibson was born. Daniel and Annie Gibson were Althea's parents, they worked on a farm. When Althea was three, her parents decided to move to New Your City. Althea grew up in Harlem, this was during the Great Depression. Althea loved basketball and other sports, she played it with the boys that lived near her. Because she was so athletic, people say Althea was a diamond in the rough. Althea won a paddle ball tournament in 1941. People suggested that she should try tennis, and she did. During the 1940's Gibson began tennis lessons. She won many tennis tournaments. She won ten straight national championships of the all-black American Tennis Association. As for the white tennis events, she was prohibited from playing in them. Many athletes lobbied for Althea, including Alice Marble, who was another tennis champion. Gibson was finally allowed to play in the U.S. National Championship in Forest Hills in New York, in 1950. She was the first African American to compete in any of the USLTA events. She won her first match to Barbara Knapp, but lost to the next opponent in her second round. In 1955-1956 Althea Gibson traveled to Asia playing tennis on the Goodwill Tour. She had won 16 USLTA matches when she returned, she had also won the French Championships. She became the first African American to win a major title in singles tennis. Gibson made sports history. New Yorkers welcomed Althea with a parade when she returned home. Soon after, she won the National Championship and became top-ranked tennis player in the world. She was chosen Female Athlete of the year by the Associated Press. She won both of the tournaments again, in the following year. Althea Gibson decided to retire from tennis after this. Althea was a great athlete and at age 31, she became a celebrity. She was just getting started. Gibson wrote a biography, I Always Wanted to Be Somebody in 1958. She made a record album in 1959 and appeared in a movie. The record album was called Althea Gibson Sings, and the movie she appeared in was called The Horse Soldiers. She traveled with the Harlem Globetrotters in 1960 until she decided to take up professional golf. Althea joined the LPGA and became the first African American to play in an LPGA event. She won one game in 171 golf tournaments during a seven year career. Althea Gibson was a tennis teacher and the athletic commissioner for New Jersey. She became part of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971, and also the International Women's Spots Hall of Fame in 1980. Gibson achieved many things as a pioneer in sports. Althea had broken the barriers for other African Americans. In September of 2003, many people, of all colors mourned from death of Althea Gibson. She was 76 years old. COPYRIGHT © 2015 by Vantage Learning. All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be used, accessed, reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means or stored in a database or any retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Vantage Learning. Revised 10/5/15. 4 Commentary and Analysis Focus & Meaning This essay demonstrates very effective focus and meaning. It shows a deep understanding of the text and the purpose of the task, and makes insightful connections between text and task through a controlling or central idea or thesis statement. The essay grabs readers’ attention by very effectively using an interesting, engaging statement or a question at the beginning of the introduction. All of the details used in the essay relate to the central/controlling idea very effectively. The language of the thesis fits the examples very effectively. (“Venus and Serena Williams have taken over professional women's tennis, in recent years. Tiger Woods has dominated the professional golf sport. All of these athletes are African-American. Not to long ago all of these athletes would not have even been able to join any professional sports that they are in now, only because of their color.”) Content & Development The essay develops ideas fully using a variety of methods. References from the text provide specific, accurate, and relevant details to support the thesis statement. The essay effectively avoids plagiarism by paraphrasing the text. All sources used for quotes and facts are credible. (“In 1927 in Silver, South Carolina, is where Althea Gibson was born. Daniel and Annie Gibson were Althea's parents, they worked on a farm. When Althea was three, her parents decided to move to New Your City.