Correct Answer: a school board plan to improve early reading
Passage Reference: The board wants to add a daily twenty-minute reading block and a phonics program from kindergarten to Grade 2.
Why this is correct: The school board plans to add a daily reading block and a phonics program in the early grades. The blog post is about this plan, and every speaker gives a view on it.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, look at the last sentence of the first paragraph. Every speaker after that reacts to the same thing.
Why the other options are wrong:
- whether schools should add a longer lunch break: Lunch breaks are never mentioned. The plan adds a reading block.
- how to raise money for a new school gym: Gym comes up only in Ferland’s worry about lost class time. Nobody talks about raising money for a new one.
- why children should start school at age four: The blog post never discusses the age at which children start school.
Correct Answer: Solomon Ferland
Passage Reference: He worries that music and gym will quietly shrink
Why this is correct: Solomon Ferland, the trustee, warns that the twenty minutes must come from somewhere and worries that music and gym will quietly shrink.
Tips: Read the sentence after each speaker’s name and job, and look for the word “warns”. Then check who names other subjects that could get smaller.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Gillian Caswell: Gillian Caswell supports the phonics part and says nothing about other classes losing time.
- Sanjana Iyer: Sanjana Iyer worries that the reading block could become worksheets, not that other classes will lose time.
- Emeric Boulanger: Emeric Boulanger talks about the different reasons children struggle and about a fall reading check.
Correct Answer: children who stop guessing after learning letter sounds
Passage Reference: Once children can sound out a word they have never seen, they stop guessing and start reading
Why this is correct: Caswell says that once children can sound out new words, “they stop guessing and start reading.” Children who stop guessing after learning letter sounds would support her view.
Tips: Find Caswell’s quote to parents in the second paragraph. Pick the evidence that would make her point stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a survey of parents who value gym and art: Protecting gym and other classes is Ferland’s concern, not Caswell’s.
- children who read more at home after library visits: Reading at home after choosing books is Iyer’s point, not Caswell’s case for phonics.
- a list of schools that already check reading: Reading checks are Boulanger’s idea. Caswell talks about teaching letter sounds.
Correct Answer: teachers would know which children need extra help
Passage Reference: He argues for a short reading check every fall, so teachers know which children need extra help and what kind.
Why this is correct: Boulanger argues for a reading check every fall “so teachers know which children need extra help and what kind.”
Tips: Look for the word “so” in Boulanger’s last sentence. It tells you what his fall check is for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every child would get the same extra lessons: Boulanger says children struggle for different reasons, so he wants help matched to each child, not the same lessons for all.
- reading checks would replace report cards: Report cards are never mentioned in the blog post.
- children would repeat Grade 1 if they fall behind: Nobody suggests making children repeat a grade. The check is to find who needs extra help.
Correct Answer: keen, with one addition in mind
Passage Reference: I am all for the plan, and I hope trustees add Boulanger’s fall check.
Why this is correct: The blogger writes, “I am all for the plan,” and adds a hope that trustees will include Boulanger’s fall check. That is keen support with one addition.
Tips: For a feeling question, read the last paragraph. Note how the blogger talks about the plan there, then test each choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- opposed, because music may be cut: The blogger worries about music class but still says “I am all for the plan”.
- unsure until the timetable is out: The timetable is Ferland’s request. The blogger is already “all for the plan”.
- indifferent, since Perrin reads well: Perrin guesses words from pictures, which is why the blogger cares about the plan.
Correct Answer: a meeting last week
Passage Reference: she told parents at a meeting last week
Why this is correct: Caswell’s words about sounding out new words were spoken to parents at a meeting last week.
Tips: The comment names Caswell, so go back to her quote in the second paragraph. Read the words right after “she told parents”.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a board hearing in May: No board hearing is mentioned. Caswell spoke to parents at a meeting.
- the school’s spring concert: A school concert is never mentioned in the blog post.
- a library story hour: The library comes up only through Iyer. Caswell spoke at a parents’ meeting.
Correct Answer: books they choose themselves
Passage Reference: She wants children to spend part of that time with books they choose themselves
Why this is correct: Iyer wants children to spend part of the reading block with books they choose themselves.
Tips: The comment calls her the librarian, so find her lines. Read what she wants children to do during the block.
Why the other options are wrong:
- extra phonics worksheets: Iyer says the block should not turn into twenty more minutes of worksheets.
- older students as tutors: Older students as tutors are never mentioned in the blog post.
- their parents at home: The reading block happens at school. Iyer mentions home only as the place where children keep reading afterwards.
Correct Answer: every fall
Passage Reference: He argues for a short reading check every fall
Why this is correct: Boulanger argues for a short reading check every fall.
Tips: The comment names the speech-language pathologist, so find his lines at the end of the third paragraph. Look for when in the school year he wants the check.
Why the other options are wrong:
- each spring: The blog post says the check would happen every fall, not in the spring.
- twice a month: Boulanger wants one short check a year, every fall.
- in late June: Boulanger wants the check at the start of the year, every fall, not at the end of it in June.
Correct Answer: music class
Passage Reference: Ferland’s question is fair, too, because Perrin loves music class
Why this is correct: Near the end of the post, the writer says that Perrin loves music class. Losing any of it would upset him.
Tips: The comment is about Perrin, so look for what the parent says about him in the last paragraph. Do not stop at the subjects the trustee lists.
Why the other options are wrong:
- gym class: Gym is one of the classes Ferland worries about, but the blogger says it is music class that Perrin loves.
- art class: Art class is never mentioned in the blog post.
- recess: Recess is not mentioned. The blogger says Perrin loves music class.
Correct Answer: teaches Grade 1 at Perrin’s school
Passage Reference: Gillian Caswell, who teaches Grade 1 at Perrin’s school
Why this is correct: The blog post introduces Gillian Caswell as the teacher of Grade 1 at Perrin’s school.
Tips: Find where the passage first introduces Caswell with her job. The right choice matches that short description.
Why the other options are wrong:
- runs the school’s library: Sanjana Iyer is the school librarian, not Caswell.
- sits on the school board: Solomon Ferland is the school trustee, not Caswell.
- works with several schools: Emeric Boulanger is the speech-language pathologist who works with several schools.
