Directions Read the following passage, and answer the questions that follow Think about those first few days of the school year First, students describe their summer break Then the teacher reviews what students learned the year before Why? Because students forget what they learn in school over the long summer Why not replace the traditional ten-month school year with year-round school? Year round education promotes the retention of learning and benefits school districts in other ways as well Many year-round schools place students in four groups with different vacation times A popular scheduling plan calls for forty-five days of school and then fifteen days off While three groups use the building, one group is on vacation By rotating four student sessions, a school built to serve 750 students can handle 1,000 students Staggered schedules save school districts money because they not have to spend the millions of dollars it takes to build new schools One school district in California that converted to a year round schedule estimated that it saved sixteen million dollars in building costs over a thirteen-year period In addition, districts not have to worry about the overbuilding caused by constructing schools that will not be needed once an increase in student enrollment has passed Year-round school also helps teachers Frequent breaks offered by year-round education may decrease burnout Teachers can also use this time to visit and learn from other teachers Kristin Brown, a first-year teacher in a year-round middle school, sat in on her department head’s class during one break She picked up valuable tips about classroom management and teaching students with different abilities Most important, year- round education effectively uses the time students have in school One re searcher found that teachers in year round schools not have to spend as much time reviewing old material Students have an easier time remembering what they have learned when their education is interrupted only by short breaks rather than by a long summer Students surveyed in California agreed; over 80 percent felt that the year- round schedule reduces boredom and fatigue and kept them from forgetting what they had learned The frequent school breaks also offer between-session opportunities for students to get extra help or to take advanced or enriched classes Year- round education saves money, benefits teachers, promotes the retention of learning, and provides remedial and enrichment opportunities for students It is time to rethink the traditional school calendar and consider year- round education Encourage your district to adopt year- round education by writing or calling the superintendent of schools or a schoolboard member What is the writer for or against? What specific words in the first paragraph tell you? _ _ _ Why does the writer include the fact about a school district in California? _ _ _ _ Why does the writer tell the story about a first-year teacher ? _ _ _ _ What is the main point of the fourth paragraph ? _ _ _ _ In the last paragraph what does the writer ask the reader to do? _ _ _ _ Issue and Writer’s Point of View Directions Use the ideas and information in the passage you have just read to complete the graphic organizer Issue and Writer’s Point Of View _ _ Reason Reason Year-round school saves money Reason _ Evidence Evidence Frequent breaks reduce teacher burnout Teachers, like Kristin Brown, can learn from _ other teachers _ _ _ _ Evidence _