Name: Teacher: HAVEN SANDOVAL PRICE WRITE YOUR NAME …

Name: Teacher: HAVEN SANDOVAL PRICE WRITE YOUR NAME ON ALL PAGES - COMPLETE THE ENTIRE PACKET!!

ELA 8TH GRADE Q3: WEEK 3: January 18-22, 2021

MONDAY NO SCHOOL – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

TUESDAY

THREE CHEERS FOR THE NANNY STATE Read the Text – Annotate Complete Comprehension Check

CONCEPT VOCABULARY Vocabulary Worksheet

COMPREHENSION CHECK

____/10

LITERARY SKILLS

____/10 WEDNESDAY ANALYZE CRAFT & STRUCTURE

Author’s Argument

THURSDAY CONVENTIONS Clauses

FRIDAY SELECTION TEST Complete the test & turn in your packet to

the school/bus

ASSESSMENT _____/100%

When you complete the packet, you may return it with any of the following options:

Scan each page & send it to your teacher’s email address. Drop off the packet at the TMS front office. Return it to the bus driver on the following Monday and pick up a new packet. NEW!! A curbside drop box is located at the front of the TMS school building.

If you have any questions about these assignments, please email your teacher or call TMS at 928-729-6811.

Mrs. Haven

Ms. Price

[email protected]

[email protected]

Ms. Sandoval [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]�



Copy

right

© S

AVVA

S Le

arni

ng C

ompa

ny L

LC. A

ll Ri

ghts

Res

erve

d.

MAKING MEANINGMAKING MEANING

• BAN THE BAN!

• SodA’S A proBlEm BuT...

THrEE CHEErS For THE NANNY STATE

Comparing TextsIn this lesson, you will read and compare two selections that present different arguments about the same issue. First, you will complete the first read and close read activities for “Three Cheers for the Nanny State.”

About the Author

Sarah Conly holds the title of Associate Professor of Philosphy at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. She is the author of numerous essays, journal articles, and opinion pieces focusing on issues of personal choice and public policy.

Three Cheers for the Nanny StateConcept VocabularyAs you conduct your first read of “Three Cheers for the Nanny State,” you will encounter these words. Before you read, rate how familiar you are with each word. Then, rank the words in order from most familiar (1) to least familiar (5).

Word Your rANKING

impose

rational

justifiable

principle

status quo

After completing your first read, come back to the selection vocabulary and review your ratings. Mark changes to your original rankings as needed.

First Read NONFICTIONApply these strategies as you conduct your first read. You will have an opportunity to complete a close read after your first read.

NOTICE the general ideas of the text. What is it about? Who is involved?

CONNECT ideas within the selection to what you already know and what you have already read.

ANNOTATE by marking vocabulary and key passages you want to revisit.

RESPOND by completing the Comprehension Check and by writing a brief summary of the selection.

Tool Kit First-Read Guide and Model Annotation

STANdArdSReading Informational TextBy the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

276 UNIT 3 • WHAT MATTERS

LIT17_SE08_U03_A2C_WC.indd 276 31/10/19 9:34 PM

Copy

right

© S

AVVA

S Le

arni

ng C

ompa

ny L

LC. A

ll Ri

ghts

Res

erve

d.

NOTES

SCAN FOR MULTIMEDIA

BACKGROUNDThe term “nanny state” is a negative nickname for a welfare state, which is a model of government that takes direct responsibility for the protection and well-being of its citizens. Welfare states offer basic social support, such as free health care or low-income housing, but also create laws and policies that attempt to control or influence how people behave.

Why has there been so much fuss about New York City’s attempt to impose a soda ban,1 or more precisely, a ban on

large-size “sugary drinks”? After all, people can still get as much soda as they want. This isn’t Prohibition. It’s just that getting it would take slightly more effort. So, why is this such a big deal?

Obviously, it’s not about soda. It’s because such a ban suggests that sometimes we need to be stopped from doing foolish stuff, and this has become, in contemporary American politics, highly controversial, no matter how trivial the particular issue. (Large cups of soda as symbols of human dignity? Really?)

Americans, even those who generally support government intervention in our daily lives, have a reflexive response to being told what to do, and it’s not a positive one. It’s this common desire to be left alone that prompted the Mississippi Legislature earlier this month to pass a ban on bans—a law that forbids municipalities to place local restrictions on food or drink.

1. soda ban In 2013, New York City passed a law prohibiting soda containers larger than 16 ounces in volume. The New York State Court of Appeals later overturned the law.

1

impose (im POHZ) v. force a law, idea, or belief on someone by using authority

2

CLOSE READANNOTATE: In paragraph 1, mark the questions that the author does not answer.

QUESTION: Why might the author have begun the article with several unanswered questions?

CONCLUDE: What effect do these questions have on the reader?

3

Sarah Conly

Three Cheersfor the Nanny State

ANCHOR TEXT | OPINION PIECE

Three Cheers for the Nanny State 277


Copy

right

© S

AVVA

S Le

arni

ng C

ompa

ny L

LC. A

ll Ri

ghts

Res

erve

d.

NOTESWe have a vision of ourselves as free, rational beings who are

totally capable of making all the decisions we need to in order to create a good life. Give us complete liberty, and, barring natural disasters, we’ll end up where we want to be. It’s a nice vision, one that makes us feel proud of ourselves. But it’s false.

John Stuart Mill2 wrote in 1859 that the only justifiable reason for interfering in someone’s freedom of action was to prevent harm to others. According to Mill’s “harm principle,” we should almost never stop people from behavior that affects only themselves, because people know best what they themselves want.

That “almost,” though, is important. It’s fair to stop us, Mill argued, when we are acting out of ignorance and doing something we’ll pretty definitely regret. You can stop someone from crossing a bridge that is broken, he said, because you can be sure no one wants to plummet into the river. Mill just didn’t think this would happen very often.

Mill was wrong about that, though. A lot of times we have a good idea of where we want to go, but a really terrible idea of how to get there. It’s well established by now that we often don’t think very clearly when it comes to choosing the best means to attain our ends. We make errors. This has been the object of an enormous amount of study over the past few decades, and what has been discovered is that we are all prone to identifiable and predictable miscalculations.

Research by psychologists and behavioral economists, including the Nobel Prize-winner Daniel Kahneman and his research partner Amos Tversky, identified a number of areas in which we fairly dependably fail. They call such a tendency a “cognitive3 bias,” and there are many of them—a lot of ways in which our own minds trip us up.

For example, we suffer from an optimism bias, that is we tend to think that however likely a bad thing is to happen to most people in our situation, it’s less likely to happen to us—not for any particular reason, but because we’re irrationally optimistic. Because of our “present bias,” when we need to take a small, easy step to bring about some future good, we fail to do it, not because we’ve decided it’s a bad idea, but because we procrastinate.

We also suffer from a status quo bias, which makes us value what we’ve already got over the alternatives, just because we’ve already got it—which might, of course, make us react badly to

2. John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) British philosopher.3. cognitive (KOG nih tihv) adj. related to thinking.

4

rational (RASH uh nuhl) adj. able to make decisions based on reason rather than emotion; sensible

5justifiable (juhs tuh FY uh buhl) adj. able to be defended as correct; reasonable and logical

principle (PRIHN suh puhl) n. moral rule or set of ideas about right or wrong that influences individuals to behave in a certain way

6

7

8

CLOSE READANNOTATE: In paragraphs 8–10, mark the types of bias, or judgments and prejudices, the author describes.

QUESTION: Why does the author include these explanations of different biases?

CONCLUDE: How does this information affect the persuasiveness of her argument?

9

10status quo (STAT uhs kwoh) n. existing state or condition at a particular time



Copy

right

© S

AVVA

S Le

arni

ng C

ompa

ny L

LC. A

ll Ri

ghts

Res

erve

d.

NOTESnew laws, even when they are really an improvement over what we’ve got. And there are more.

The crucial point is that in some situations it’s just difficult for us to take in the relevant information and choose accordingly. It’s not quite the simple ignorance Mill was talking about, but it turns out that our minds are more complicated than Mill imagined. Like the guy about to step through the hole in the bridge, we need help.

Is it always a mistake when someone does something imprudent, when, in this case, a person chooses to chug 32 ounces of soda? No. For some people, that’s the right choice. They don’t care that much about their health, or they won’t drink too many big sodas, or they just really love having a lot of soda at once.

But laws have to be sensitive to the needs of the majority. That doesn’t mean laws should trample the rights of the minority, but that public benefit is a legitimate concern, even when that may inconvenience some.

So do these laws mean that some people will be kept from doing what they really want to do? Probably—and yes, in many ways it hurts to be part of a society governed by laws, given that laws aren’t designed for each one of us individually. Some of us can drive safely at 90 miles per hour, but we’re bound by the same laws as the people who can’t, because individual speeding laws aren’t practical. Giving up a little liberty is something we agree to when we agree to live in a democratic society that is governed by laws.

The freedom to buy a really large soda, all in one cup, is something we stand to lose here. For most people, given their desire for health, that results in a net gain. For some people, yes, it’s an absolute loss. It’s just not much of a loss.

Of course, what people fear is that this is just the beginning: today it’s soda, tomorrow it’s the guy standing behind you making you eat your broccoli, floss your teeth, and watch PBS NewsHour4 every day. What this ignores is that successful paternalistic5 laws are done on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis: if it’s too painful, it’s not a good law. Making these analyses is something the government has the resources to do, just as now it sets automobile construction standards while considering both the need for affordability and the desire for safety.

Do we care so much about our health that we want to be forced to go to aerobics every day and give up all meat, sugar and salt?

4. PBS NewsHour television news program in the United States.5. paternalistic (puh tuhr nuh LIHS tihk) adj. protective, but controlling; in the manner of a

parent.

11

12

13

14 CLOSE READANNOTATE: In paragraph 14, mark the example the author uses to support her claim.

QUESTION: Why might the author have chosen this specific example as support?

CONCLUDE: How does the inclusion of this example affect the author’s argument?

15

16

17



Copy

right

© S

AVVA

S Le

arni

ng C

ompa

ny L

LC. A

ll Ri

ghts

Res

erve

d.

No. But in this case, it’s some extra soda. Banning a law on the grounds that it might lead to worse laws would mean we could have no laws whatsoever.

In the old days we used to blame people for acting imprudently, and say that since their bad choices were their own fault, they deserved to suffer the consequences. Now we see that these errors aren’t a function of bad character, but of our shared cognitive inheritance. The proper reaction is not blame, but an impulse to help one another.

That’s what the government is supposed to do, help us get where we want to go. It’s not always worth it to intervene, but sometimes, where the costs are small and the benefit is large, it is. That’s why we have prescriptions for medicine. And that’s why, as irritating as it may initially feel, the soda regulation is a good idea. It’s hard to give up the idea of ourselves as completely rational. We feel as if we lose some dignity. But that’s the way it is, and there’s no dignity in clinging to an illusion. ❧

18

19

NOTES



Copy

right

© S

AVVA

S Le

arni

ng C

ompa

ny L

LC. A

ll Ri

ghts

Res

erve

d.

Comprehension CheckComplete the following items after you finish your first read.

1. What new law was proposed in New York City?

2. What is a “cognitive bias”?

3. According to the author, what do people fear they will lose as a result of the new law?

4. According to the author, what will most people gain from the soda ban?

5. Notebook Write a summary of “Three Cheers for the Nanny State.”

RESEARCHResearch to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly research that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an aspect of the text?

Research to Explore Write a research question that you might use to find out more about the concept of the “nanny state.”



Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Savvas is not responsible for any modifications made by end users to the content posted in its original format.

Name: Date:

Three Cheers for the Nanny State Sarah Conly

WORD LIST

impose rational justifiable principle status quo

A. DIRECTIONS: In each of the following items, think about the meaning of the

italicized word or phrase, and then answer the question.

1. Our town has just imposed a law requiring everyone to recycle bottles and cans.

Has a law been passed or eliminated? Explain.

2. Would a rational mayor be a mayor who makes reasoned, well-thought-out

decisions, or one who makes decisions based on his or her mood?

3. Would it be justifiable for the government to control the personal spending habits

public workers? Explain.

4. What is another word or phrase that can be used to describe a person of

principle?

5. Does the economic status quo refer to how people are living currently, or

does it refer to how they expect to live in the future?

B. WORD STUDY: The Latin root -just- means “lawful” or “guided by truth and

fairness.” Use the root and suffix to create a new word. Use the new word in a

sentence.

1. just- + ly =

2. just- + ice =

3. just- + ification =

4. just- + ify =

RETEACH

Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Savvas is not responsible for any modifications made by end users to the content posted in its original format.

1

Name: Date:

AUTHOR’S ARGUMENT

An author’s argument is his or her position on a controversial or debatable topic or issue. In

an argument, the author makes a claim, or statement of a specific position. The author’s

reason for writing is to convince readers to share that position. To do so, the author gives

reasons for taking the position, and provides supporting evidence that is relevant to it.

A strong argument relies on factual evidence. A writer’s argument is based on claims and

supporting evidence. Writers use both facts and opinions to support claims. Facts can be

proven to be true. Opinions express a person’s judgment or beliefs. Opinions may also

supported by facts. A successful persuasive argument relies on factual evidence. It also

includes logical reasoning, or clear thinking, that shows how an author has arrived at his

or her position.

An author’s argument and choices of supporting evidence can be influenced by various

factors, including his or her perspective. An author’s perspective, which can also be

called point of view, includes his or her attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. If an author’s

personal beliefs, attitudes, or feelings are too prominent, an argument may seem less

convincing. In extreme cases, it may even be read as bias, which is an unfair preference

either for or against an idea, person, or group.

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage below. Then, answer the questions that follow.

A recent study by pediatric researchers shows that too much screen time can cause delays in a child’s development. (2) “In small doses, screen time is okay,” says one of the researchers, a professor at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. (3) Some argue from personal experience that high-quality programming can be helpful to a young child’s intellectual development. (4) This study shows, though, that higher levels of screen time lead to problems with problem solving, motor skills, and social skills.

1. What is the author’s claim in this passage?

2. How could a person prove that sentence 1 and 2 are factual?

3. Does the author use logical thinking to arrive at his or her position? Explain your

answer.

4. Does the author’s perspective show any noticeable bias? Explain your answer.

4. Does the author make a strong argument? Explain your answer.

PRACTICE

Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Savvas is not responsible for any modifications made by end users to the content posted in its original format.

2

Name: Date:

AUTHOR’S ARGUMENT

A. DIRECTIONS: Read the passage below. Then, answer the questions that follow.

Giving birth at home is a choice that more and more women are making. However, under certain circumstances, a hospital birth is a wiser choice than a home birth. A recently published policy from the Rochester Clinic supports home births for pregnant women. However, it also provides seven scenarios when a hospital birth would be considered preferred or necessary. The policy also strongly suggests that pregnant women select trained and licensed healthcare providers to help them determine whether a home birth is the right choice for them, and if so, creating an alternate plan to follow if something goes wrong or their circumstances change.

1. What is the author’s argument in this passage?

2. Does the author give a source or sources for the statistics and opinions quoted? If

so, what are the sources?

3. Does the author show bias? Explain your answer.

B. DIRECTIONS: Read the passage below. Then, answer the questions that follow.

(1) A survey from the Nielsen organization indicates that the average teen spends 900 hours in school and 1,200 hours watching television per year. (2) Statistics from the same survey show children choose to spend their time watching television over spending time with families 54% of the time. (3) Time spent watching television is linked to poor health in teens.

1. What is the author’s argument in this passage?

2. How could you prove that the second sentence is a fact?

3. Why is the third sentence an opinion?

4. Do you agree with the argument and its supporting evidence? Why or why not?

Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. Savvas is not responsible for any modifications made by end users to the content posted in its original format.

.

Name: Date:

CLAUSES

Three Cheers for the Nanny State Sarah Conly

A clause is a group of words containing a subject and a verb. An independent

clause has a subject and a verb and is a complete sentence that can stand by itself.

A dependent, or subordinate, clause has a subject and a verb, but it does not

have complete meaning. The following chart lists several types of clauses.

CLAUSE ABOUT THE CLAUSE

Independent clause • Can stand by itself as a sentence

Adverb clause • Acts as an adverb

• Begins with a subordinating conjunction such as if, although, when, or because

Relative clause • Acts as an adjective

• Usually begins with a relative pronoun, such as who, whom, whose, which, or that

Noun clause • Acts as a noun

• Begins with a word such as what, whatever, when, where, why, or how

You may need to insert a comma between two or more clauses in a sentence. For

example, you usually need a comma between an adverb clause and an independent

clause.

DIRECTIONS: Identify each underlined clause by writing IND for independent clause or

SUB for subordinate clause.

1. That is what is at risk, the ability to buy a large soda.

2. Do we really need a ban on soda, when people can make their own

decisions?

3. Some say the ban on soda could lead to worse laws, so we must be

careful.

4. I agree that banning large-size sodas is a good idea.

5. Even if it is for good reasons, some people do not like the idea of a ban.

© by Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved. 1

Name: Date:

“Three Cheers for the Nanny State” Sarah Conly

FIRST READ

Identify the choice that best answers the question. : Comprehension

a.

1. According to “Three Cheers for the Nanny State,” what item did New York City attempt to ban?

large sodas b. unsafe cars c. sugary snacks d. imported clothing

a.

2. As explained in “Three Cheers for the Nanny State,” why were some people resistant to the ban discussed?

They found the ban’s language hard to understand. b. They feared punishment for disobeying the ban. c. They did not like being told what to do. d. They wanted a ban that was stricter.

a.

3. What psychological concept discussed in “Three Cheers for the Nanny State” explains the reason the mind does not always make the best decisions?

cognitive bias b. talk therapy c. deep hypnosis d. long-term memory

a.

4. According to “Three Cheers for the Nanny State,” what do opponents of the ban discussed in the essay fear?

increased poverty b. more regulations c. higher prices d. busier stores

GRADE 8 • UNIT 3 • SELECTION TEST

“THREE CHEERS FOR THE NANNY STATE” BY SARAH CONLY


Name: Date:

FIRST READ

Identify the choice that best answers the question. : Concept Vocabulary

a.

5. Which of the following situations could best be used to illustrate the meaning of rational?

wearing sunglasses at night b. laughing during a sad movie c. staying inside during a storm d. walking barefoot in the snow

a.

6. If you think that a past action is justifiable, which of the following must be true? Base your answer on the meaning of justifiable.

You believe that the action was unimportant. b. You believe that no one noticed the action. c. You believe that you can defend the action. d. You believe that the action was dishonest.

Doctors follow the principle of “do no harm” when treating their patients.

7. What is the most likely meaning of principle in the following sentence?

a. questionable practice b. guiding belief c. medical diagnosis d. legal requirement

CLOSE READ

Identify the choice that best answers the question. : Analyze Craft and Structure

12. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

a.

Part A How does the author of “Three Cheers for the Nanny State” feel about the ban?

She dreads the ban. b. She opposes the ban. c. She distrusts the ban. d. She supports the ban.

a.

Part B Which quotation from the text best supports the answer to Part A? Americans, even those who generally support government intervention in our daily lives, have a reflexive response to being told what to do, and it’s not a positive one.

b. So do these laws mean that some people will be kept from doing what they really want to do?

c. The freedom to buy a really large soda, all in one cup, is something we




stand to lose here. d. And that’s why, as irritating as it may initially feel, the soda regulation is a

good idea.

a.

13. What evidence against the author’s perspective is provided in “Three Cheers for the Nanny State”? Choose three options.

Some people do not care much about their health. b. Some people think that drinking soda is unhealthy. c. Some people want more government intervention. d. Some people enjoy drinking a lot of soda at one time. e. Some people can regulate how much soda they drink. f. Some people think that exercise is more important than diet.

That’s what the government is supposed to do, help us get where we want to go.

14. Read the following sentence from “Three Cheers for the Nanny State.”

Which of the following is accurate?

a. The statement is an opinion because many people would agree with it. b. The statement is an opinion because it reflects the author’s belief. c. The statement is a fact because it proves the author’s argument. d. The statement is a fact because it is a true piece of information.

Of course, what people fear is that this is just the beginning: today it’s soda, tomorrow it’s the guy standing behind you making you eat your broccoli, floss your teeth, and watch PBS NewsHour every day. What this ignores is that successful paternalistic laws are done on the basis of cost-benefit analysis: if it’s too painful, it’s not a good law. Making these analyses is something the government has the resources to do, just as now it sets automobile construction standards while considering both the need for affordability and the desire for safety.

15. Read the following paragraph from “Three Cheers for the Nanny State.”

How does the author respond to the conflicting viewpoint?

a. She agrees with the opposing argument and then supports her own claim using a specific fact.

b. She proposes a solution to the opposing argument and then offers a relevant piece of evidence.

c. She points out information disregarded in the opposing argument and then gives a valid opinion.

d. She considers the concerns expressed in the opposing argument and then states her personal belief.




Name: Date:

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Identify the choice that best answers the question. : Conventions

Javier protested the development of a new mall

18. Read the following sentence. because the city has a large

shopping center

What kind of clause is underlined in the sentence? .

a. noun clause b. adverb clause c. relative clause d. independent clause

a.

19. Which of the following sentences contains a noun clause? Mia offers piano lessons to anyone who is interested in learning to play.

b. Meeting with reporters, the senator explained why the law passed. c. The students signed the petition that was presented to them. d. The concert, which drew a large crowd, was a great success.

a.

20. A relative clause acts as which of the following? a verb

b. a noun c. an adverb d. an adjective

Name: Teacher: HAVEN SANDOVAL PRICE WRITE YOUR NAME …

Documents

Transcript of Name: Teacher: HAVEN SANDOVAL PRICE WRITE YOUR NAME …