Title: Speaking, Viewing, Listening, and Media Literacy
Course: Grade 12 Language Arts

Q: Discussing a text with a collaborative group of readers can help everyone come to a better understanding of the reading. A thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas happens when readers draw from the text to find evidence supporting their ideas and opinions. Authors typically use a variety of textual details and strategies to develop their points and arguments. Which of the following is NOT something a reader would typically use as evidence from a text?
- Reader’s personal experiences (Correct. This is NOT a valid source of text-based evidence. While the reader’s own experiences may be personally compelling and connect to themes in the text, they are not based in the text.)
- Facts and ideas (Incorrect. This IS a typical kind of text-based evidence. Facts and ideas are among an author’s most important tools for communicating themes and arguments. An author may support her points by offering statistics, examples, descriptions, and ordered events.)
- Words and organization (Incorrect. This IS a typical kind of text-based evidence. An author may support her ideas through stylistic techniques like repetition of words to emphasize meaning, figurative language to set a tone or mood, and organizational structure to reinforce a theme or meaning.)
- Opinions and point of view (Incorrect. This IS a typical kind of text-based evidence. An author may support her points through interpretation, direct explanation of ideas or events, and personal reflection.)
A: Reader’s personal experiences

Q: When discussing a text, a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas happens when readers draw from the text to find evidence supporting their ideas and opinions. Read the following passage from this article by Vine Deloria Jr. about how American Indians gained knowledge through observation of the natural world.

“Away from the woods grew the sand cherries on little low shrubs. Around

and over the sand hills [where] not a blade of grass grew, these bushes

flourished, yielding a luscious fruit which we were very careful, in gathering.

We picked this fruit only against the wind, for if we stood with our body odors

going toward the fruit its flavor was destroyed.”… But what on earth would

inspire anyone to look into the direction of the wind when picking fruit? The

variance in rain, heat and other climatic factors would appear to be so much

more important in determining the condition of the fruit that it would seem

unlikely that anyone could isolate human body odor as the critical factor in

the relationship. Yet the Sioux were able to identify this element from

everything else that needed to be considered.

Vine Deloria, Jr. “Relativity, Relatedness and Reality,” Winds of Change. Boulder, CO: American

Indian Science and Engineering Society Publishing, Inc., Autumn 1992.

Which one of the following observations is best supported by evidence from the text?
- The author is impressed at the Sioux’s ability to identify the critical factor determining the fruit’s condition. (Correct. The author poses a rhetorical question about the difficulty of identifying factors affecting fruit condition and points out how unlikely it is that “anyone could isolate human body odor as the critical factor in the relationship.”)
- Body odor is gross. (No. This is a personal opinion, not supported by the text.)
- The Sioux had an innate connection to the natural world. (Not quite. The author’s argument is that the Sioux’s knowledge of the natural world came through remarkably nuanced observation, not as the result of an inherent physical or cultural characteristic.)
- All factors weighed equally in determining the condition of the fruit. (No. The passage states that while many environmental factors were present, body odor was the critical factor in determining the fruit’s condition.)
A: The author is impressed at the Sioux’s ability to identify the critical factor determining the fruit’s condition.

Q: In a group, peers must work together in certain ways to have civil discussions and make democratic decisions. Which of the following is NOT an effective strategy for collaborating in a group?
- Disengaging to minimize conflict (Correct. Disengaging from the discussion, even for the purpose of avoiding conflict, is not an effective collaboration strategy. Effective group members pay attention to, respect, and work with all other participants in a discussion.)
- Listening respectfully (No. Effective group members acknowledge others’ views and modify their own in response to evidence.)
- Asking and responding to questions (No. Effective group members pose good questions related to the text or issue and respond with evidence to others’ questions.)
- Following group guidelines and agreements (No. Effective group members understand the group’s goals, stick to agreements, and work to further the group’s progress toward goals.)
A: Disengaging to minimize conflict