Strategies for Readers

Why do our students need to pass standardized tests?

How can we help our students show what they know on standardized tests?

Life skillHigh School ExamsSAT/ACTCollege ExamsJob Placement

Teach Test TalkTeach Strategy UseTeach Test NavigationTeach Readiness

Testing language is hyper-English (Calkins, 1998)

Vocabulary of the directions or questions uses a very proper language

Students need to know how to translate the words and phrases

ARTICLE DETAIL OPPOSITE PASSAGE PHRASE SELECTION SEQUENCE SIMILAR STATEMENT THEME TOPIC

BEST DESCRIBES BEST COMPLETES CAN TELL CHOOSE THE

BEST DOES NOT

BELONG MAIN PURPOSE MAINLY ABOUT MOST IMPORTANT MOST LIKELY RIGHT AFTER

Poetrymood, tone, stanza, line

Fictioncharacter, setting, plot, solution,

events Non-fiction

caption, bullets, text box, diagram, chart

Specific terms can be found in the state standards.

The month of the test should not be the first time students are taught reading strategies Infer, Visualize, Question, Determine

Importance, Make Connections, Synthesize, etc

Active Reading Using Schema (Background Knowledge) Using the Author’s Clues to Recognize

Important Information Identifying and Following Directions Re-Reading Skim & Scan Navigating the Text

1. Read the questions first, but don’t try to answer them before reading the passage.

2. Read the questions and choices carefully.

3. Reread the text before choosing an answer.

4. Be alert for signal words in questions.5. Questions are asked in different ways.6. Bolded words in questions are clues for

you to use.7. Use all the information you are given-

titles, captions, arrows, etc.

Practice building stamina at a desk

Don’t linger on hard questions Read the question carefully, looking for signal words, bold or italicized words

Read each question choice If you skip a question, be sure to come back

Focus on Vocabulary & Comprehension

“Reading tests have predictable kinds of questions, and each kind requires a unique approach.”- Harvey & Goudvis

Multiple Choice Tests Have Four Main Types of QuestionsVocabulary QuestionsLiteral QuestionsSummarizing & Synthesizing Questions Inferential Questions

What… When… Which… Where… How… Which of these events happened first?

(sequence question) When you touch poison ivy, you… (asks information from the passage)

The answers are “right there” in the text

Teach Skim and ScanLook for key signal words (what, when, which, where, how)Match the words of the question to

specific words in the textScan several paragraphs to notice

events or steps in sequence Eliminate answers you know are not

true

Which statement best summarizes… What is the main idea… What is the main reason… What is the most important idea in this

article/passage/poem… This story/article/poem is mainly

about… This section mainly describes… This story/article/passage was written in

order to… Another title (good name) for this story

might be…

“Author and Me” Questions Teach strategies to DETERMINE

IMPORTANCE Read for the gist of the story/article The distracter is often the answer that is

most interesting, but not most important Screen out your personal opinion and

stick to the information from the passage Wrong answers are usually facts or

details from the passage Use the process of elimination

Why What can you conclude… What lesson does this teach… What is the problem… Which of these is most likely true

about… From the story you can probably guess… How does the author feel about… After reading this, what will probably

happen next… How did (the character) feel about…

Students must use the author’s words and personal background knowledge to infer

Students often try to guess based on their personal thoughts/feelings- REINFORCE referring back to the text

Search for evidence to support answer Look for text clues Focus on the author’s purpose Don’t over think

Calkins, L. Montgomery, K. & Santman, D. (1998). A teacher’s guide to standardized reading tests. Portsmouth: Heinemann.

Greene, A.H & Melton, G.D. (2007). Test talk: Integrating test preparation into reading workshop. Portland: Stenhouse.

Harvey, S. & Goudvis, A. (2005). The comprehension toolkit: Extend & investigate. Portsmouth: Heinemann.

Schoolwide, Inc. Testing fundamentals.