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Reading & writing · Grades 8–11

An old map at the shoreline

An original passage with comprehension questions and a teacher key.

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An old map at the shoreline

An old map placed a footpath farther inland than a current map did. A student concluded that the shoreline had moved toward the path. Her partner noticed that the old map used a coarser scale and a different reference grid. They aligned several stable landmarks and checked the maps' dates and stated accuracy before comparing the coast. Some difference remained, but it was smaller than the initial overlay suggested. Their report distinguished possible landscape change from differences caused by mapping methods.

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  1. What did the student initially infer?

    1. The path had never existed.
    2. The maps had identical scales.
    3. Every landmark had vanished.
    4. The shoreline had moved toward the path.

  2. Name two methodological differences between the maps.

  3. Why align stable landmarks?

    1. to erase every coastal feature
    2. to change historical dates
    3. to make the spatial comparison more consistent
    4. to guarantee the same shoreline

  4. Why did dates and accuracy matter?

  5. What happened to the apparent difference after checking methods?

    1. It became smaller but did not disappear completely.
    2. It was never examined.
    3. The maps became identical in every detail.
    4. It doubled with certainty.

  1. What distinction made the final report stronger?

Answers and marking notes

Answers and marking notes
  1. The shoreline had moved toward the path.

    That was the first explanation of the apparent difference.

  2. Scale and reference grid.

    Credit the two differences explicitly noted.

  3. to make the spatial comparison more consistent

    Reference points help compare locations meaningfully.

  4. They define when each map represented the area and how precisely locations can be compared.

    Credit temporal and measurement context.

  5. It became smaller but did not disappear completely.

    The passage retains a remaining difference.

  6. It separated possible real change from differences due to map construction and comparison.

    Credit multiple sources of apparent change.

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