What they are and how you can prepare for them. STAAR “Crossover” Short Answer Questions (SAQs)

What is a “crossover” question? A STAAR “crossover” short answer question will require you to: Read two texts Answer a question that may be about similar themes within the texts, similar characters, differing characters, differing perspectives, etc. Use two details, one from each reading selection Explain how the details you chose prove your response Essentially, crossover questions test to see if you can synthesize (combine different ideas into a whole) information from two texts and write a response that compares/contrasts elements of both works.

Rubric

Parts of a Crossover Response The loss of language in “Tehuelche” is important on a more personal level, whereas the loss in “Fossil Language” takes place on a larger scale, professional level. In the patient’s last moments, Benetti “listened harder than he’d ever listened to anything in his life,” because he personally realized that he was witnessing the death of an ancient language, and more or less the culture that it belonged to. However, the reporter in “Fossil Language” is taking a more professional trip to visit the Inuit in Greenland. He went to spend time amongst them, recording their language and culture before “an entire language and culture is likely to disappear.” Though the language may die out in a couple of years, Benetti witnessed the final act, while Leonard is trying to prevent that from happening to the Inuit. Thesis answers question and mentions both selections. There is a well- chosen detail from each selection. Elaboration makes it clear which selection each detail is from, and provides context for the details. Commentary explains how both details from the passages prove assertion in thesis.