Response Skills: Paraphrasing and Summarizing Texts (TEKS.ELA.8.6.D)
Help Questions
Texas 8th Grade ELA › Response Skills: Paraphrasing and Summarizing Texts (TEKS.ELA.8.6.D)
Each fall and spring, Texas functions like a wide doorway for monarch butterflies moving between Mexico and the northern United States. When drought shrivels wildflowers or an early cold snap arrives, that doorway narrows, and exhausted butterflies struggle to find nectar and the milkweed their caterpillars need. In recent years, citizen scientists across Texas have logged sightings and bloom conditions, creating maps that show where gaps open along the migration route. Those data helped transportation officials test roadside plantings of native milkweed and late-blooming flowers on medians that were once just mowed grass. Schools and neighborhood groups also planted small gardens timed to peak during migration weeks. None of these efforts replace the vast prairies the monarchs once used, but together they stitch a safer corridor across the state. The lesson is practical: when a journey funnels through one place, local choices matter. By planning plantings and mowing schedules, Texans can turn rest stops, schoolyards, and highway edges into refueling stations that keep the migration moving. Small actions, multiplied across hundreds of miles, can mean the difference between a stalled swarm and a successful seasonal crossing.
Which choice best summarizes the passage while preserving its main ideas, proportions, and logical order?
The passage details how volunteers enter bloom dates into spreadsheets, how medians are measured, and exactly when different counties mow, focusing on data collection methods and scheduling specifics.
Texas serves as a crucial gateway for monarch migration; when weather creates resource gaps, citizen mapping helps guide roadside and garden plantings so local, coordinated choices stitch a safer corridor across the state.
People in Texas help butterflies by planting flowers and paying attention to nature.
The passage mainly explains roadside and school garden projects, and only later mentions monarch migration as a related example.
Explanation
Choice B captures the central idea (Texas as a migration gateway), the problem (resource gaps), and the solutions in logical sequence, maintaining the passage's emphasis without unnecessary detail.
I bought a dented, secondhand guitar with lawn‑mowing money and practiced in my bedroom until the calluses on my fingertips felt like tiny shields. When the farmers market posted a sign-up for weekend performers, I put my name down before I could talk myself out of it. On Saturday morning, the air smelled like peaches and kettle corn, and my stomach fluttered like I had swallowed a handful of moths. The first song came out thinner than it sounded at home; a string buzzed, and I forgot a lyric. I thought about packing up. Then a little kid in rain boots started dancing in front of my open case, and a vendor at the honey booth swayed his shoulders and gave me a thumbs-up. I took a breath, slowed my strumming, and found the steady beat I knew. By the end of the set, the buzz was gone, coins winked in the case, and my cheeks hurt from grinning. Walking home, the guitar felt lighter. I hadn't become a star, but I had stayed, played, and learned that nerves loosen their grip when you give them a song to hold.
Which summary best maintains the narrative's essential meaning and chronological development?
A kid plays music and learns something about nerves.
A market performance includes peaches, kettle corn, rain boots, a buzzing string, and coins in a case, listing each detail from the scene.
Because the crowd applauded, the narrator signed up to perform and then practiced; starting confident, they ended up nervous.
A student nervously tries a first public set at a farmers market, stumbles early, but with a supportive crowd finds a steady rhythm, finishes the set, and walks away proud and more confident.
Explanation
Choice D preserves the sequence (sign-up, nerves, early mistakes, supportive response, improvement, reflection) and the passage's emphasis on gaining confidence.
Middle school hallways hum with notifications, and classrooms do, too. While phones and tablets offer instant research and translation tools, their constant presence can splinter attention. Our campus should carve out daily device-free zones: the first ten minutes of each class and the entire lunch period. The goal isn't punishment; it's focus and genuine conversation. In science, a short screen pause would let students set up labs without pings interrupting safety directions. In English, it would help groups launch discussions before anyone disappears into a search rabbit hole. A small study in our district found that students who kept devices put away during note-taking recalled more main ideas on quick quizzes. Teachers also reported fewer side chats about games. Some argue that phones are needed for calculators or family contact. Both matter, but schools already provide calculators, and the office can relay urgent messages. By creating predictable pockets of quiet, we train our brains to sustain attention and make room for eye contact, jokes that don't need emojis, and the kind of listening that makes learning—and friendship—stick.
Which option best summarizes the argument while keeping its claim, evidence, and counterargument in logical order?
The author argues for daily device-free zones at specific times to improve focus and conversation, supports the claim with class examples and a district study, addresses counterarguments about calculators and contact, and concludes that predictable quiet builds attention and connection.
Technology can be helpful and harmful, so it's important to find balance.
Because phones are important tools, schools should expand in-class device use; any quiet time would only hurt learning and communication.
The passage lists the exact minutes phones should be away in science and English classes and at lunch, explaining procedures without stating a broader purpose.
Explanation
Choice A maintains the claim-evidence-counterargument structure and preserves the author's emphasis on focus and community, not just procedures.
When summer drought settles over Central Texas, a simple rain barrel can stretch a shower into a week of garden watering. Setting one up takes planning more than money. First, choose a food‑grade barrel and place it on sturdy blocks near a downspout so gravity will help water flow. Next, add a tight screen across the top to keep out mosquitoes and leaves. Install a spigot near the bottom and test it with a short hose. Then attach a diverter to the gutter so the first, dirty rush from a storm—full of dust and pollen—bypasses the barrel and drains away. Once the water runs clear, let the barrel fill. Mark an overflow path that sends extra water toward grass or a bed, not a foundation. Finally, maintain the system: clear the screen, drain the barrel between storms, and keep the area tidy. A single barrel won't end a drought, but it will keep herbs and young trees alive on watering‑restriction days. In a place where dry spells return, these small, repeatable steps make a dependable backup for thirsty roots.
Which summary best captures the process and emphasis of the passage without adding or omitting key steps?
The passage lists equipment like blocks, screens, spigots, and hoses, explaining how to put them together with various fittings and distances from the wall.
Collecting rainwater can help plants during dry times.
The passage explains, in sequence, how to set up and maintain a simple rain barrel in Central Texas—choosing and elevating a barrel, screening, installing a spigot, diverting the first flush, managing overflow, and upkeep—to provide reliable water during recurring droughts.
A single rain barrel can end droughts if you route overflow toward the house and skip the first-flush step so the barrel fills faster.
Explanation
Choice C preserves the step-by-step organization and the passage's realistic emphasis: practical setup and maintenance for modest but meaningful drought relief.
Along the Texas Gulf Coast, dunes, marshes, and oyster reefs form a natural shield between towns and the open sea. After back-to-back hurricane seasons damaged beaches and flooded roads, several coastal communities tested a nature-based approach to protection. First, crews installed low sand fencing to trap windblown grains and rebuild the height of battered dunes. Next, volunteers planted sea oats and other native grasses whose long roots stabilize the sand. Finally, biologists monitored the restored sites after storms and compared flooding with nearby, unrestored stretches.
Early results were encouraging. In two storms the following year, streets behind restored dunes stayed passable while neighboring blocks took on shallow water. Beach access was maintained, and tourism rebounded more quickly. The projects did require trade-offs: vehicles were rerouted away from fragile areas, and some popular footpaths were closed to allow plants to take hold. Even so, local officials say the short-term inconvenience is worth the long-term benefit. By working with, rather than against, coastal processes, communities can reduce risk, protect wildlife habitat, and keep beaches open for the next summer season.
Which choice best summarizes the passage while preserving its main ideas, logical order, and emphasis?
The passage describes installing low sand fencing to trap windblown sand, planting sea oats with long roots, and monitoring two storms the next year, when streets behind restored dunes stayed passable while neighboring blocks flooded; it also explains how vehicles were rerouted and footpaths closed so tourism could rebound.
Texas communities use nature to deal with weather; people made changes and saw improvements.
Texas coastal towns used nature-based restoration—rebuilding dunes with fencing and native plants—and monitoring showed reduced flooding; although access limits were needed, officials judged the benefits to safety, habitat, and tourism worth the inconvenience.
The passage argues that beach access restrictions hurt communities more than storms, and tourism is the main reason to change the coast.
Explanation
C captures the main idea (nature-based dune restoration), the sequence (methods, monitoring, results), and the balanced emphasis on benefits with trade-offs. A is overly detailed and distorts proportion. B is too broad and omits key specifics and structure. D misrepresents the passage's emphasis and tone.
The night before the seventh-grade debate, I practiced my opening so many times that the words lost their shape. By morning, my stomach fluttered like loose paper. Our teacher drew speaking order from a hat, and I pulled the first slot. While the class shifted into their seats, I noticed the projector humming and the clock ticking, small sounds that suddenly seemed loud.
When I stood, my notecards trembled. The first sentence came out thinner than it had at home. Then I remembered the advice our coach had repeated at every rehearsal: pause, find one face, and speak to that person. I met Bree's eyes in the second row. She nodded. My breath slowed. The next point landed the way it should, supported by evidence I had memorized and a story about our school's recycling drive.
By the final rebuttal, I wasn't counting seconds; I was explaining a position I actually believed. I sat down to a quiet I didn't fear. I didn't win the ribbon, but I did carry something else away: a map for how to face the next first slot I draw.
Which summary best preserves the passage's essential meaning, chronological order, and emphasis?
A nervous student draws the first speaking slot, uses a coach's advice to focus on one listener, gains confidence through the debate, and ends without a win but with a strategy for facing future first slots.
Public speaking is scary, but practice and confidence help.
After not winning, the narrator practices the speech many times, then remembers advice and pulls the first slot.
The narrator notices the projector hum and clock ticking, meets Bree's eyes in the second row, and delivers a recycling-drive story before sitting in a quiet room.
Explanation
A accurately conveys the central arc (from anxiety to a learned strategy), maintains the chronological sequence, and reflects the passage's emphasis. B is overly broad. C scrambles the order of events. D fixates on minor details and loses the bigger meaning.
Middle schools should start the day later to match how adolescents actually sleep. Research from pediatric associations shows that most teens' body clocks shift during puberty, making it hard to fall asleep early and wake up before sunrise. When schools ring the first bell at 7:30, many students arrive underslept, which affects attention, mood, and even health.
Districts that moved start times closer to 8:30 report practical gains. One nearby school saw tardies drop and first-period grades rise after its schedule change. Bus routes adjusted by combining fewer stops, and after-school activities compressed slightly but still finished before dinner. Critics worry that a later day will complicate work schedules or sports. Those concerns deserve planning, yet they are solvable; communities have coordinated childcare, and coaches shifted practice without losing field time.
School is built to help students learn. Starting later does not change curriculum, but it does change whether brains are ready to use it. If Texas districts want higher engagement without buying new textbooks, they should give students the resource that costs nothing to print: another hour of sleep.
Which summary best captures the argument's claim, evidence, counterargument, and conclusion without distorting emphasis?
The author cites pediatric associations, specific start times like 7:30 and 8:30, a nearby school's drop in tardies and rise in first-period grades, bus routes combining stops, and coaches keeping field time.
Sleep matters for teens, so schools might think about changing things.
Because later start times demand new textbooks and eliminate after-school activities, the author opposes changing schedules.
The author argues schools should start later to match teen sleep patterns, supports the claim with research and a local example of improved attendance and grades, acknowledges scheduling concerns, and explains how communities solved them to keep learning first.
Explanation
D preserves the claim-evidence-counterargument-rebuttal structure and the passage's emphasis on learning. A is overly detailed and loses proportional focus. B is too broad. C misrepresents the author's position and introduces claims not in the passage.
In dry Texas summers, a simple rain barrel can turn brief showers into weeks of garden water. Building one is a manageable weekend project with a clear sequence. First, choose a food-grade barrel with a tight lid and rinse it thoroughly. Mark a spot near the bottom and install a spigot there so you can fill watering cans without tipping the barrel. Next, drill a hole near the top for an overflow elbow; this protects your foundation by directing extra water to a flower bed or lawn.
Then set the barrel on a sturdy, level base—cinder blocks work—so gravity helps the water flow. Place a downspout diverter or cut the downspout so it feeds the lid. Cover every opening with fine mesh to keep out mosquitoes and leaves. Finally, test the system during the next rain and check for drips at all fittings.
Used correctly, a single storm can supply days of irrigation, reducing demand on municipal systems during drought restrictions. The steps take patience, but the payoff is steady: less runoff in your yard, lower water bills, and a greener garden when the heat hangs on.
Which option is the best summary of the passage that preserves its sequence and central emphasis?
A rain barrel cuts runoff and lowers bills; then you test for leaks, place it on blocks, and finally choose a barrel and install a spigot.
The passage explains, in sequence, selecting and cleaning a food-grade barrel, adding a spigot and overflow, elevating and connecting it to the downspout while screening openings, then testing; it concludes with benefits during Texas droughts like reduced demand, lower bills, and greener gardens.
Rain barrels save water.
You mark a spot near the bottom, drill holes for a spigot and an elbow, set cinder blocks, cut the downspout to feed the lid, cover every opening with fine mesh, and check for drips at all fittings during the next rain.
Explanation
B maintains the process order and proportion, then captures the concluding benefits. A scrambles steps. C is too broad. D is overly detailed, focusing on steps at the expense of the main idea and organization.