Comparing Argumentative Texts: Silent Spring and "A Case for Waawaatesi"

Read this sentence from Silent Spring. Along the roads, laurel, viburnum and alder, great ferns and wildflowers delighted the traveler's eye through much of the year. Read the excerpt from "A Case for Waawaatesi." It turns out that being dark part of the time is a good idea for animals, and for ourselves. That's the way it's supposed to be. Which best states a comparison of the tones used in these excerpts?

Both excerpts are uplifting, but the second excerpt is more conversational in tone.

Which best describes one main difference between Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and Winona LaDuke's "A Case for Waawaatesi"?

Carson is concerned about the destruction of the entire environment, while LaDuke is only concerned about a certain part of the environment.

______ is a type of appeal that tries to make readers feel something.

Pathos

Read the sentence from the first paragraph of Silent Spring. Then foxes barked in the hills and deer silently crossed the fields, half hidden in the mists of the fall mornings. In this sentence, Carson mostly uses a _______ tone

Peaceful tone

Read the excerpt from "A Case for Waawaatesi." Think of it this way, your ancestors navigated by the stars, and today most people won't walk outside without a GPS. That's a crazy loss of direction or skill at some level for sure. And while Indigenous peoples and many rural peoples can still see the stars, most of the world's population cannot. That's particularly an urban thing, where there's all this light. From my farm, through the open skies, at night I can see the glow of Detroit Lakes, and that's 25 miles away. By adding a relatable personal experience, what does the author achieve in this excerpt?

It establishes their credibility.

Which best compares the structure of Silent Spring and "A Case for Waawaatesi"?

Silent Spring primarily utilizes emotional appeals to alert the reader of possible future danger, while the argument in "A Case for Waawaatesi" includes more use of logic and reason.

Read the excerpt from "A Case for Waawaatesi." It's not just owls. It's things like frogs, who make it their business to croak at night, particularly when mating. Artificial lights disrupt their mojo and that means less frogs and reduced populations. Sea turtle babies get confused, and migrating birds get confused when they fly with the stars. Which best describes how the excerpt appeals to readers' emotions?

The excerpt uses examples of vulnerable animals, such as confused sea turtle babies, to make readers feel sympathetic.

Read the excerpt from Silent Spring. In the gutters under the eaves and between the shingles of the roofs, a white granular powder still showed a few patches; some weeks before it had fallen like snow upon the roofs and the lawns, the fields and streams. Which best explains how the phrase "white granular powder" supports the author's purpose of calling attention to the environment?

The powder is an unnatural substance.

Read the excerpt from Silent Spring. On the farms the hens brooded, but no chicks hatched. The farmers complained that they were unable to raise any pigs—the litters were small and the young survived only a few days. The apple trees were coming into bloom but no bees droned among the blossoms, so there was no pollination and there would be no fruit. The repetition of the word "no" in this excerpt helps create a tone of

doom.

Read the excerpt from Silent Spring. There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings. The town lay in the midst of a checkerboard of prosperous farms, with fields of grain and hillsides of orchards where, in spring, white clouds of bloom drifted above the green fields. In autumn, oak and maple and birch set up a blaze of color that flamed and flickered across a backdrop of pines. Which phrases in the excerpt best support the author's purpose of creating a positive image of a town? Select five options.

heart of America live in harmony hillsides of orchards blaze of color prosperous farms

Read this excerpt from Silent Spring. Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change. Some evil spell had settled on the community: mysterious maladies swept the flocks of chickens; the cattle and sheep sickened and died. Everywhere was a shadow of death. The farmers spoke of much illness among their families. Read this excerpt from "A Case for Waawaatesi". Think of it this way, your ancestors navigated by the stars, and today most people won't walk outside without a GPS. That's a crazy loss of direction or skill at some level for sure. And while Indigenous peoples and many rural peoples can still see the stars, most of the world's population cannot. That's particularly an urban thing, where there's all this light. From my farm, through the open skies, at night I can see the glow of Detroit Lakes, and that's 25 miles away. Which word best describes the tone used in both excerpts?

passionate

In Silent Spring Rachel Carson makes up a fictional story about what life in the United States will be like if we don't save the environment, whereas in "A Case for Waawaatesi" Winona LaDuke

presents facts and evidence to convince readers to reduce light pollution.

Read the excerpt from Silent Spring. It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh. In this excerpt, which phrase carries the most positive tone?

the dawn chorus of robins

Read the excerpt from Silent Spring. Yet every one of these disasters has actually happened somewhere, and many real communities have already suffered a substantial number of them. A grim specter has crept upon us almost unnoticed, and this imagined tragedy may easily become a stark reality we all shall know. Which words and phrases from the excerpt best support the author's purpose of creating a sense of alarm about the environment? Select four options.

these disasters grim specter tragedy stark reality

Read the excerpt from Silent Spring. On the farms the hens brooded, but no chicks hatched. The farmers complained that they were unable to raise any pigs—the litters were small and the young survived only a few days. The apple trees were coming into bloom but no bees droned among the blossoms, so there was no pollination and there would be no fruit. What kind of tone do the underlined words create?

threatening