Interim Assessment Resource Kit

While both authors are persuasive, Michael Le Page’s argument in "Don't Fix Your Fridge" is more convincing because it relies on specific data and environmental studies rather than primarily anecdotal observations. While Elgan's comparison to a 1901 light bulb is striking, Le Page provides quantifiable impacts on energy consumption and emissions, which offers a more logical basis for consumer decision-making in the context of modern sustainability.

Test Day Management

• Announcement: Call out elapsed time every 30 minutes.
• Book 2 Focus: Remind students that the Extended Response (Q-D) is worth the most points; prioritize time accordingly.

Pacing Adjustments

• If behind at 1:30, skip reviewing MC and move directly to planning constructed responses.
• Students should aim for at least 60 minutes on the Extended Response.

Non-Fiction

Subclaim (Para 7)

"The precocial strategy was sculpted by eons of adaptation... if your nest is on the ground... get babies out quickly."

Subclaim (Para 8)

"Researchers have trained days-old chicks to find hidden food... they can correctly calculate the center... in the absence of landmarks."

Subclaim (Para 11)

"Ours have intuited our property lines and confine their travels to its boundaries... result of a change in social relationships."

Interim Assessment 2, Book 2

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom

Primary Claim: The bicycle was a primary tool for women's social, physical, and political emancipation.

Non-Fiction

Subclaim (Para 1)

"The bicycle will inspire women with more courage, self-respect and self-reliance and make the next generation more vigorous."

Subclaim (Para 3)

"Thanks to the wheel, women were starting to be seen and heard in public life... splashes all over the papers."

Subclaim (Para 8)

"Her new way of dressing... certainly disturbed the old social order... quickly became associated with efforts to win more rights."

Gadgets: Built To Not Last

Primary Claim: Manufacturers deliberately engage in planned obsolescence to drive unsustainable consumption cycles.

Non-Fiction

Subclaim (Para 4)

"Consumer printers... are nearly impossible to sell second-hand... far cheaper to replace than repair."

Subclaim (Para 6)

"Devices are designed with irremovable batteries... we actually throw away gadgets more sophisticated than the moon computers."

Subclaim (Para 9)

"And fellow consumers, let’s stop buying devices designed to fail quickly... insist that vendors make devices that can be repaired."

Don’t Fix Your Fridge, Just Buy a New One

Primary Claim: Modern efficiency gains make the replacement of power-intensive appliances more ecological than repair.

Non-Fiction

Subclaim (Para 3)

"As components wear out, energy consumption can rise by 50% or more... brand new model can be better than hanging on."

Subclaim (Para 4)

"The 'optimum replacement cycle' for a fridge ranged from 11 years to as little as two years. Two years!"

Subclaim (Para 7)

"Machines, from bicycles to kitchen mixers... are indeed worth repairing, because it takes far more energy to make them than to run."

Instructional Focus

Guide students to see how line-specific subclaims (minor arguments) construct the author's primary claim. This analytical bridge is the key to mastering the Comparison Essay (Question D) in Book 2.

Genre: Non-Fiction (Narrative/Expository)

Topic: Intelligence and spatial skills of chickens

• P.7 - Precocial strategy = born mobile to survive predators

• P.8 - Chicks can calc center of cage without landmarks

• P.11 - Intuited property lines; changed social status (called "Ladies")

Claim: Chickens have sophisticated innate intelligence that defies stereotypes.

Teacher Note: Model the Transfer

Remind students that scratch paper is their "external brain" during the computer-based test. They must jot down the genre and claim immediately after reading to ensure a solid foundation for the constructed response questions.