Reading

Workout
1.2 What is the central idea of this article?

Directions: Read the following article and answer the questions throughout.

"Fast Track" to "soft skills" helped students stay out of trouble
By Kaiser Health News, adapted by Newsela staff

1 Subjects like math, science and reading are usually in the spotlight at school. However, teaching elementary-age

students soft skills helps them in other areas of their lives. Examples of "soft" skills include self-control and how to
get along with others. A study finds that it can help to keep at-risk kids6 out of trouble with the law in the future.

1. Underline the sentence in paragraph 1 that conveys a similar idea as the bolded sentence.

2 Duke University researchers looked at a program called Fast Track. The program was started in the early 1990s. It was

for children who were identified by teachers and parents to be at high risk for developing behavioral problems.

Lessons In Self-Control
3 The students were put into two groups. Half took part in the intervention. This included a teacher-led course of study

and parent training groups. It also involved academic tutoring and lessons in self-control and social skills. The program
lasted from first grade through 10th grade. It reduced misbehavior, arrests and use of health services as the students got
older, as experimenters explained in a separate study published earlier this year.
2. How does Freedom Prep offer a similar program to students? Underline evidence and respond in 2-3 college-bound
sentences.

6
At-risk kids kids who are more likely to fail academically or drop out of school

"Soft" Skills Reduced Crime
4 In the latest study, experimenters looked at why students who participated in the program had less instances of

misbehavior and later arrests. They looked at information from nearly 900 students. They found that the soft skills the
students learned from ages 6 to 11 helped them stay away from committing crimes in the future.

5 The academic skills, like reading and math, that were taught as part of Fast Track had a different effect. These skills had

less of an effect on crime and behavior than did the soft skills. Soft skills are associated with emotional intelligence. Soft
skills might include teaching kids to work together in a group. Teaching math is an example of a hard skill.
3. Why does the author include the results of the study in this article? Underline evidence and respond in 2-3
sentences.

6 Due to these findings, these soft skills should be a larger part of our education system, says Kenneth Dodge. He is a

professor at Duke. Dodge was a main investigator in this study as well as in the original Fast Track project. Parents
should do all they can to encourage these skills with their children, Dodge says.

By improving these skills, we can cut down on problems with misbehavior and crime, says Dodge. He is also head of
Dukes Center for Child and Family Policy. The study was published last week in a science magazine called Child
Development.
4. According to this article, should Freedom Prep continue to teach students the core values? Why or why not?
Underline evidence and respond in 2-3 sentences.