Writing Response Skill Test

Last updated over 6 years ago

2 questions

                                                               "Not Another Day at the Beach"      

      I was already up and dressed by the time my mom knocked on my door to wake me up in the morning. There is no way that I would oversleep today! It was our first beach trip of the season, and it feels like we have been waiting forever. With our cold winter and my dad's busy work schedule, we haven't been back to the beach since our Thanksgiving trip in November. Now it is May. May 7th to be exact, and I have had this on my calendar for a month. Nope, no oversleeping here. 

      My dad, mom, little sister, and I got everything packed up in the car: shovels, picnic lunch, drinks, wet suits, and surf boards. After a quick breakfast that I rushed everyone through, we hit the road. Only a few hours later, we pulled into our usual beach parking lot. 
   
      When we got there, I noticed that there was an awful lot of garbage all over the parking lot. I just assumed that there had been a windstorm that knocked over garbage cans. However, my dad and mom said that it looked like people had not been being careful over the winter with where they were putting their garbage. It made me feel sad that the parking lot looked gross, and the seabirds were scavenging everywhere. 
   
      After we unloaded, it was time to walk to the beach and set up our spot. My dad calls it our home base. As we walked towards the beach, we noticed there was a red flag at the lifeguard station, and lots of people were surrounding it. No one was swimming. No one was even in the water at all. 

      When we got to the liefguard station, we learned that the beach was closed for the whole day because of unsafe water. There had been many storms over the past week and all the extra water had flushed out some unsafe toxins from local businesses and factories. The water was not safe for anyone to swim, surf, or wade in. 

      I was so upset! My little sister was too little to understand what was wrong and she started to cry. If I'm being honest, I wanted to cry, too. I had looked forward to sufring and playing all month long. My mom and dad explained a bit about the word "pollution" and how things that we do can contribute to unhealthy beaches. 
 
      We walked back to the car to load up all of our stuff, and my dad grabbed extra garbage bags from the beach pavillion. He said that since we couldn't go surfing, that we might as well be nice to the beach and help clean up some of the litter in the parking lot. We each grabbed a garbage bag and carefully picked up garbage. When we left, the beach water was still sick, but I felt great that we could make the parking lot look much better than when we arrived.

In the passage, "Not Another Day at the Beach," how is the author feeling as she is preparing for her day at the beach? How do you know what she is feeling? Use text evidence (including one direct quote from the text) to prove your answer. Use complete sentences.

                                                        "Do Your Part: Protecting Our Beaches"

      Pollution can be anywhere, and is destructive in all cases. Pollution can affect the air, the land, and the water. Beaches throughout the world are at risk for pollution, and we can all do our part to protect the beaches in our neighborhood, our state, our country, and our world. 

      One way that you can do your part to protect beaches around the world is to not litter. Littering is disposing of garbage into improper containers or places. While it might not seem like a big deal to throw a candy bar wrapper out the window when you are driving with your parents, that litter can cause a variety of problems for wildlife and plant life alongside the road. When you are at the beach, it is especially important to make sure you throw away you garbage in the designeated areas. When seabirds and animals get used to people food being left out throughout the beach, they can forget how to hunt on their own, for their own natural prey. Without predators keeping the prey numbers in check, small rodents or fish can become overpopulated, causing problems in the delicate ocean ecosystem. 

      Another way that you can do your part to protect beaches is to be responsible about your water use. Essentially, all the water in our world is connected and reused. Water is a precious resource that we cannot waste. At your home, you can take shorter showers or turn off the water while you are brushing your teeth instead of letting it run. You can even use your old bath water to water the plants around your house! These small steps that you take in your home can make a big difference around the world. 

      You might think that you are too small to make a big impact on the world, but you're not! The oceans, lakes, and ponds need our help to stay as healthy and safe as possible. Do your part.

Explain the difference between the authors of each of the passages. What is each author trying to communicate to the reader (main idea)? Use text evidence to support your answer. You must include at least one direct quote from the text.