MAKING MEANING

About the Author

Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?
Concept Vocabulary
As you perform your first read of “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” you will
encounter these words.

gradually   nostalgic   continuation
Cailin Loesch (b. 1997) is
a web correspondent for Base Words If these words are unfamiliar to you, analyze each one to
Teen Kids News, which is see whether it contains a base word you know. Then, use your knowledge
an Emmy Award–winning of the base, or “inside,” word, along with the context, to determine the
television series. meaning of the word. Here is an example of how to apply the strategy.

Unfamiliar Word: considerate

Familiar “Inside” Word: consider, with meanings including “think”

Context: When we were too late to catch the bus, our neighbor
was kind and considerate enough to drive us to the meeting.

Conclusion: The neighbor is described in a positive way, and the

word considerate is paired with the word kind. Considerate might
mean “thinking about the needs or feelings of others.”

Apply your knowledge of base words and other vocabulary strategies to

determine the meanings of other unfamiliar words you encounter during
your first read.

First Read NONFICTION

Apply these strategies as you conduct your first read. You will have an
opportunity to complete a close read after your first read.

NOTICE the general ideas of ANNOTATE by marking Copyright © SAVVAS Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
the text. What is it about? vocabulary and key passages
Who is involved? you want to revisit.

 STANDARDS
Reading Informational Text
By the end of the year, read and
comprehend literary nonfiction in CONNECT ideas within RESPOND by completing
the grades 6–8 text complexity band the selection to what you the Comprehension Check and
proficiently, with scaffolding as already know and what you by summarizing the main idea
needed at the high end of the range.
have already read. of the selection.
Language
Determine or clarify the meaning
of unknown and multiple-meaning
words and phrases based on grade
6 reading and content, choosing
flexibly from a range of strategies.

248 UNIT 3 • MODERN TECHNOLOGY

 BLOG POST

Is
Our Gain
Also
Our Loss?
Cailin Loesch

BACKGROUND
New technology changes our daily world with ever-increasing speed,
often causing things to become obsolete, or out-of-date. These changes
can leave older people longing for what they feel was the simpler, less
complicated world of their youth. Is every generation destined to long
for the past?

“W hen I was your age, I had to wait for the hourly report
on TV in order to get the information that you have
right at your fingertips. That’s the problem with the world today.”
NOTES

2 It was the summer of 2012, and I was standing in the kitchen

with my dad and sister—holding my iPhone—a towel and
bathing suit thrown over my shoulder. I had just finished reading
aloud the full-day weather report, and, until my dad spoke, had
nothing on my mind but the gleaming pool water that seemed
to be calling my name. I waited a moment for his comment to
process, then looked down at my phone, analyzing it in a way that
I had never before: feeling the cold, hard metal in my palm, and
the smooth, sleek screen underneath my thumb.
3 I asked Dad to elaborate on his comment.
4 “When I was a young boy, we had a pool in our backyard.
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My brothers and I weren’t allowed to go swimming until the

temperature reached 75 degrees—not one degree less. And so
we boys spent our summer mornings waiting by the TV for the
hourly report that read the temperature, praying that it would say
the number we wanted it to so that we could dive in. I have vivid
memories of those mornings.”
5 Suddenly, life in the 1970s seemed distant, and people detached.
It occurred to me that my dad has experienced life like I will
never know it, and that I have experienced life like my children
will never know. I even started to think about how things have
changed in the years that I’ve been alive. It’s not just technology
that’s changing, either: It’s our way of living. I’ve seen it with my
own eyes, and it’s only becoming clearer as the years go by.

Is Our Gain Also Our Loss? 249

 6 Gradually, evenings spent doing homework at lamp-lit desks
NOTES covered in pencils, paper, and textbooks are turning into late
Mark base words or indicate nights under bedsheets and blankets, a Google Docs page pulled
another strategy you used that
helped you determine meaning. up, fingers typing aggressively on a keyboard that can barely
gradually (GRAJ oo uhl ee) be seen in the dark. It seems as though I am part of the last
adv. generation that will know the satisfied feeling of stapling together
MEANING: a completed research paper, pages still warm from the printer.
People of the next generation will never go on a family trip to
the local Blockbuster1 in search of candy and a comedy for movie
night. They might miss out on handwritten letters from their
grandparents, available to read and reread for years. Do we even
realize what we’re all leaving behind?
7 This morning, I was sitting at the breakfast table eating
cereal when my dad came in to say goodbye before he left for
work. When he saw that I was eating Life cereal, a huge smile
immediately crept across his face, and he started excitedly reciting
a commercial that he remembered from his childhood. He called
me into his office, where he threw himself down in front of his
desktop computer to search for the ad on YouTube,2 eager to take
me back in time with him.
8 Watching the commercial, my modernly-adjusted ears picked
up on a faint hum in the background of the actor’s voices. There
were no snappy graphics or fast-paced cuts. In fact, the colors
were a bit faded and the actors’ faces were only highlighted in
dim lighting. Then I turned to my dad, who was still beaming, as
if all the happy memories from his childhood were flashing before
his eyes. Judging by his enthusiastic clapping at the end, he sure
didn’t seem to miss modern technology during those 30 seconds.
9 In a world of iPhones and missions to Mars, is it even possible
that my childhood will ever be looked at in the way that I look at
my dad’s? By then, will our TV shows be even crisper? Will it be
unimaginable that we needed long, easily tangled wires in our

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ears in order to listen to music? Will my kids marvel at the idea of
us old-fashioned teenagers having to wait by wall outlets for our
phones to get out of the dreaded red battery zone before heading
out for the night? Will they laugh at us for using pieces of green
paper to buy things?
10 The thing that has really stayed with me, though, is my
dad’s comment about how all these new technologies are a
nostalgic (nos TAL jihk) adj. “problem.” One day, will we late-millennials3 feel nostalgic as
MEANING: we look back on our simpler days, where we sometimes got a
10-minute homework break when our laptops lost battery life,
giving us an excuse to sit in peace in front of a warm fire while

1. Blockbuster chain of stores where people rented movies in the form of physical DVDs or
VHS tapes.
2. YouTube video-sharing website.
3. late-millennials people born between the early 1990s and the early 2000s.

250 UNIT 3 • MODERN TECHNOLOGY

 we waited for them to charge? Will a lack of instant-charging
mechanisms become the new lack of a weather.com app? Will NOTES

we pull out our old Nintendo 3DS XLs to smile at what was once
the hottest new piece of technology, recalling memories of online
play with friends, in the same way that my dad smiled at an
old commercial? Will we wish that things had never changed?
They say that you should never try to fix what’s not broken.
Does the charm of the way things are now trump the need for
things that are fresher, newer, and more advanced? Will we ever
Mark base words or indicate
reach a point where there is no possible way to make any more another strategy you used that
“improvements”? And does this possibly inevitable peak signal helped you determine meaning.
impending doom or the continuation of tradition? continuation (kuhn tihn yoo
11 In my last-period sociology4 class the other day, the teacher AY shuhn) n.

ended a class discussion about the impact of changing technology MEANING:

on society with a statement that summarized my thoughts on the

matter and left me with something to think about:
12 “I don’t know how new technology will affect future
generations, and I don’t know if it will do more good or bad.”
13 I couldn’t have said it better myself. ❧

4. sociology (soh see OL uh jee) n. study of social behavior.

Comprehension Check
Complete these items after you finish your first read. Review and clarify
details with your group.

1. Why were television weather reports significant to the author’s father as a child?
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2. Notebook Summarize the main idea of the selection.

RESEARCH
Research to Clarify Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly
research that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an
aspect of the selection?

Is Our Gain Also Our Loss? 251

 MAKING MEANING

Close Read the Text

With your group, revisit sections of the text you marked
during your first read. Annotate details that you notice.
What questions do you have? What can you conclude?

IS OUR GAIN ALSO OUR LOSS?

Cite textual evidence
Analyze the Text to support your answers.

Complete the activities.

1. Review and Clarify With your group, reread paragraphs 6–9 of
GROUP DISCUSSION
the selection. Discuss how the author’s conversations with her father
Try not to interrupt other
changed her perspective on technology. Has reading this selection
speakers. If you must
changed your own perspective on technology?
interrupt (for instance, if
someone is dominating the 2. Present and Discuss Share with your group the passages from the
discussion), do so politely.
selection that you found especially important. Take turns presenting
For example, ask, “May I
your passages. Discuss what you noticed in the selection, what
please add something?”
questions you asked, and what conclusions you reached.

3. Essential Question: How is modern technology helpful and

harmful to society? What has this article taught you about the
impact of modern technology on society? Discuss with your group.

 WORD NETWORK language development

Add words related to
modern technology from Concept Vocabulary
the text to your Word
Network. gradually nostalgic continuation
 Standards
Reading Informational Text Why These Words? The concept vocabulary words from the text are
• Cite textual evidence to support related. With your group, determine what the words have in common.
analysis of what the text says Write your ideas, and add another word that fits the category.
explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text.
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• Analyze in detail how a key Practice
individual, event, or idea is Notebook Confirm your understanding of these words by using
introduced, illustrated, and
elaborated in a text. them in sentences. Give context clues that hint at the word’s meaning.
• Analyze how a particular
sentence, paragraph, chapter,
or section fits into the overall
structure of a text and contributes Word Study
to the development of the ideas.
Language Latin Suffix: -ation The Latin suffix -ation means “the condition or
• Determine or clarify the meaning process of.” Adding this suffix changes a verb to a noun. In this text, the
of unknown and multiple-meaning
words and phrases based on
blogger refers to the “continuation of tradition.” Using your knowledge,
grade 6 reading and content, make an inference about what that phrase means. With your group,
choosing flexibly from a range of brainstorm for other verbs that can be turned into nouns with the suffix
strategies.
-ation. Then, find another example of a noun with the suffix -ation in
b. Use common, grade-
appropriate Greek or Latin the text.
affixes and roots as clues to the
meaning of a word.

252 UNIT 3 • Modern Technology

 essential question: How is modern technology helpful and harmful to society?

Analyze Craft and Structure

Development of Ideas: Reflective Writing A reflective essay is a
brief prose work in which an author presents his or her thoughts and
feelings—or reflections—about an experience or an idea. Most reflective
writing includes the following elements:

• descriptions of a specific event, time period, or person that leads to

new ways of seeing something

• dialogue and other storytelling elements that convey experiences in

vivid ways

• informal language with a thoughtful quality

• discussion of the insights gained from the experience

In “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” Cailin Loesch thinks deeply about her
father’s experiences growing up at a time when technology was not
as advanced. She compares and contrasts her father’s experiences and
attitude toward his childhood with her own feelings about growing up in
a world increasingly dependent on technology.

Cite textual evidence

Practice to support your answers.

Using this chart, list the ways in which Loesch’s observations of her
father influence her own perspective. Work individually. Then, share
your responses with your group.

IS OUR GAIN ALSO OUR LOSS?

What memories of technology does

Loesch’s father have from his youth?

How do her father’s memories

contrast with Loesch’s experiences
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during her own childhood?

What thoughts about the future do

these contrasts inspire in Loesch?

Notebook Write a one-paragraph response to Loesch’s thoughts at the end of the blog.
Consider these questions:
• Do you think people will continue to look back fondly on the technology of their youth?
• Will they view current technology as a “problem,” as Cailin’s father does?

Share your responses with the group.

Is Our Gain Also Our Loss? 253

 Language development

Conventions
Comparative and Superlative Degrees An adjective describes
a person, a place, a thing, or an idea. An adverb describes a verb,
an adjective, or another adverb. Adjectives and adverbs can be used
to compare two or more items or actions. There are two degrees of
IS OUR GAIN ALSO OUR LOSS? comparison: comparative degree and superlative degree.

DEGREE OF Adjective Adverb

Definition
COMPARISON Examples Examples

Comparative compares two smaller, more more quickly,

items or actions frightened more easily

Superlative compares three smallest, most most quickly,

or more items or frightened most easily
actions

If an adjective has only one or two syllables, you can often add the
suffixes -er and -est to form the comparative and superlative degrees. If
the adjective is a longer word, use the words more and most. For most
adverbs, use more and most. Do not use both forms (a suffix and the
word more or most) at the same time.
Incorrect: We saw the most largest whale model at our local museum.
Correct: We saw the largest whale model at our local museum.

Read It
In each item from the text, identify the adjective or adverb used to make
a comparison. Label each word as an adverb or an adjective. Then, write
whether it is comparative or superlative.

1. Will we pull out our old Nintendo 3DS XLs to smile at what was once
the hottest new piece of technology. . . .

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2. By then, will our TV shows be even crisper?

Write It
Notebook Rewrite each sentence to include the type of modifier
indicated in parentheses.
1. Suddenly, life in the 1970s seemed (distant), and people (detached).
(comparative adjectives)

 Standards
2. . . . late nights under bedsheets and blankets, a Google Docs page
Language
Demonstrate command of the pulled up, fingers typing (aggressively) on a keyboard that can barely
conventions of standard English
grammar and usage when writing be seen in the dark. (comparative adverb)
or speaking.

254 UNIT 3 • Modern Technology

 Effective Expression

Speaking and Listening

At the end of “Is Our Gain Also Our Loss?” Cailin Loesch asks several
questions about whether the technology of her own youth will become
outdated. Follow up on this question in a group activity.

Assignment
Take part in a group discussion about changing technology. Think
of an example of an invention or a device you once thought was
wonderful, but now think is outdated—like the video-game platform
that Loesch mentions at the end of her blog. With your group,
compare and contrast your feelings about this example of “progress”
with examples offered by other members of the group and with
Loesch’s blog post.

Discussion Preparation Use the chart to organize your thoughts and

plan what you will say during the group discussion.
 EVIDENCE LOG
Before moving on to a
CHANGING VIEWS TOWARD TECHNOLOGY
new selection, go to your
Evidence Log and record
What example of outdated what you learned from “Is
technology will you discuss? Our Gain Also Our Loss?”

When was it popular? What purpose

did it serve?

How did you feel when you first

heard about it and saw it?

How do you feel about it now?

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 Standards
Speaking and Listening
Why have your feelings about it
Engage effectively in a range of
changed? collaborative discussions with diverse
partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and
issues, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly.
Do you feel the technology left a a. Come to discussions prepared,
lasting impact on you or on society? having read or studied required
Why or why not? material; explicitly draw on
that preparation by referring to
evidence on the topic, text, or issue
Assign Tasks Before beginning the discussion, take a moment to assign to probe and reflect on ideas under
jobs to individual group members. This could include a moderator to discussion.
b. Follow rules for collegial
ensure everyone stays on topic and speaks in turn, a timekeeper to discussions, set specific goals and
ensure the discussion doesn’t dwell on a single topic for too long, and a deadlines, and define individual
recorder to take notes. roles as needed.

Is Our Gain Also Our Loss? 255