Congratulations!

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Congratulations!

• Youre taking a reading test!

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A reading test is in your future!

• You will soon be taking a reading test
• This test will help your teachers, parents, and
  others to find out your strengths as a reader

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Why a test?

• No one can see inside your brain as you read and
  comprehend text
• In order to find out how you are doing, you need
  to answer some questions about what you read

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The bright side

• There are some good parts to taking a reading
  test
• Often, you will get to read some interesting text
• You may enjoy the articles and stories that you
  read

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Strategies for Success

• You can be successful on reading tests
• There are some important strategies to remember
• If you remember these strategies, you will find
  that taking a reading test is not as difficult!

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Before the test

• Think about it!
• Brainstorm three things that you think you should
  do before the test even begins

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Before the test

• Your success begins in the morning
• Studies suggest that a healthy breakfast can help
  you to think and pay attention as you take the
  test
• What kinds of breakfast foods would be good
  choices?

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Before the test

• But breakfast isnt the only way to help yourself
  be successful on the test
• Your attitude is also important
• If you go into the test feeling positive about
  yourself, you are more likely to try harder

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Before the test

• Positive self-talk is a way to build these good
  feelings
• Right now, think about three things that you are
  good at
• Notice how just thinking about these things can
  help you to feel calmer!

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Before the test

• Lets review!
• What are some things that you can do before the
  test to help yourself do well?

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While you take the test

• Now, were going to think about the things that
  you can do while you are taking the test
• Before we begin, brainstorm a few ideas
• What do you already know about taking a reading
  test?

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The path to success

• While you take the test, remember to use the good
  reading strategies that you have been learning
  all year long
• The best path to success is to take your time and
  learn from the text

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What to do first?

• Once you get the test, you have a choice
• Some teachers suggest that you flip to the
  questions and look at them to help you get an
  idea of what the text is about

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What to do first?

• Butthis can cause a problem
• Some students read the questions and try to
  answer them right away, without reading the text
• Can you explain why this is a BAD idea?

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Dont skip the text!

• Skipping the text will not bring you success!
• So, decide carefully with your teacher whether
  you want to look at the questions first

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Activate your schema

• Whether you read the questions first or not, you
  will need to do some work BEFORE you start to
  read
• Jumping into a text without preparing is like
  jumping into the deep end of the pool before you
  can swim

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Activate your schema

• As you look at the first reading selection on the
  test, you need to activate your schema
• Read the little box that introduces the text.
  What is the text about?
• Look at the text features. What kind of text is
  it?

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Activate your schema

• Now, activate your schema
• This means think about what you already know
• Activate your schema for the TOPIC of the text by
  thinking about what you already know

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Activate your schema

• Activate your schema for the KIND of text as well
• What do you know about this kind of text? What do
  you expect to read?

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Try it out!

• On the next slide, you will see a sample
  introduction box to a reading text
• Activate your schema!
• Think about what you already know about the TOPIC
  and the KIND OF TEXT

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Activate your schema

• In this informational text, you will read
  about the history of the sandwich. After you have
  finished reading the text, answer the questions
  that follow.

• What schema should you activate?
• What should you think about to get yourself ready
  to read this text?

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Activate your schema

• In this informational text, you will read
  about the history of the sandwich. After you have
  finished reading the text, answer the questions
  that follow.

• This text will be about the history of the
  sandwich
• To get ready to read this text, think about what
  you already know about the history of sandwiches

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Activate your schema

• In this informational text, you will read
  about the history of the sandwich. After you have
  finished reading the text, answer the questions
  that follow.

• Also, think about what you can expect from an
  informational text that shows the history of
  something
• What text structure will it use?

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What should you expect?

• If this is about the history of the sandwich, it
  is probably in chronological order
• You should expect to see dates
• You should also expect to read about how the
  sandwich has changed over time

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Get your mind ready

• Wow! Just by reading a two-sentence introduction,
  we can get ready to read the text
• Try this one!

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Activate your schema

• In this story, you will read about what
  happens when Gwen loses her little brother in the
  forest. After you have finished reading the text,
  answer the questions that follow.

• What schema should you activate?
• What should you think about to get yourself ready
  to read this text?

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Activate your schema

• In this story, you will read about what
  happens when Gwen loses her little brother in the
  forest. After you have finished reading the text,
  answer the questions that follow.

• This text will be a story
• To activate your schema, think about what you
  already know about stories
• What elements do you expect to find?

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Activate your schema

• Thats right! Stories have characters, a setting,
  a conflict, events, and a theme
• You already know that one of the characters is
  Gwen
• You already know that the conflict has to do with
  her brother being lost in the woods

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While you are reading

• Once you have activated your schema and previewed
  the text, you are ready to start reading
• To help you understand the text, use an active
  reading strategy

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While you are reading

• An active reading strategy will help you to stay
  focused as you read
• There are several different strategies that you
  can use

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While you are reading

• If you are reading nonfiction, you can try
  keeping track of your questions and their answers
• This will help you to focus on learning from the
  text
• When you go on to answer the questions at the
  end, you will have worked hard to understand the
  text

Questions Answers
Who invented the sandwich?
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While you are reading

• If you are reading a story, you may want to make
  a story map and record the characters, setting,
  plot, conflict, and theme

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While you are reading

• Remember to use the strategy of visualizing
• Make a movie in your mind to picture the events
  in the story or the information in the article
• Visualizing will help you to see how the pieces
  all fit together

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While you are reading

• On some tests, you will be allowed to use a
  highlighter to highlight important information in
  the text
• Check with your teacher to see if this is okay
• If you are allowed to highlight, be sure to mark
  only the important ideasdont highlight the
  whole page!

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While you are reading

• Another good strategy is to use the strategy of
  self-monitoring
• Pause at the end of each paragraph to think, Did
  I understand what I just read?
• If you do not understand, then go back and read
  again

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Lets Review

• How can you activate your schema to get ready to
  read a text?
• Eat a good breakfast
• Highlight every word on the page
• Read the introduction box and title

• The correct answer is
• C. Read the introduction box and title

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Lets Review

• 2. Which of the following would make a good
  breakfast for test day?
• Cereal
• Chocolate doughnuts
• Highlighters

• The correct answer is
• A. Cereal

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Answering the questions

• Wow! You have read and understood the text
• Now its time to answer the questions
• Keep some hints in mind and you will do well

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Multiple choice or selected response

• This kind of question asks a question, and then
  gives a choice of responses

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Multiple choice or selected response

• It is very important that you read all of the
  choices
• Then, eliminate any choices that you know are
  incorrect
• Go back to the text to check on your answer

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Multiple choice or selected response

• Remember, some answers will not be right there in
  the text
• You may need to put ideas together to make an
  inference
• This is why its so important to activate your
  schema from the start

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Multiple choice or selected response

• Be careful!
• Sometimes, there will be choices that are true,
  but are not the correct answer to the question
• Also, watch out for questions with the words
  always and never

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Read EVERY choice

• Look at the question below. Why should you
  NOT just pick the first choice?
• Which of the following do you do in the morning?
• Brush your teeth
• Eat breakfast
• Get dressed
• All of the above

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Read EVERY choice

• Thats right! If you had picked the first
  one, you would have missed that the correct
  answer is D
• Which of the following do you do in the morning?
• Brush your teeth
• Eat breakfast
• Get dressed
• All of the above

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Avoid careless errors

• If you are working between a test booklet and an
  answer booklet, check to make sure that you are
  marking your answer by the right number
• Also, remember to check your work at the end of
  each selection. Its very easy to mis-mark an
  answer!

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Review

• What are some things to remember as you take a
  multiple choice test?

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Open-ended questions

• Sometimes, you will have to answer open-ended
  questions
• For these questions, you do not have choices
• Instead, you have to create your own answer from
  scratch

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Open-ended questions

• What are some things that you already know about
  writing responses to open-ended questions?

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Open-ended questions

• To answer these questions, its important that
  you go back to the text
• You will need to find specific text details to
  support your answers

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Open-ended questions

• Think about following these steps
• First, write a topic sentence to state your
  answer
• Then, find text evidence to support your answer
• Finally, write a concluding sentence to explain
  how the text evidence shows your answer

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Try it out!

• Read the text on the next slide
• Then, write a short answer response to the
  question
• Be sure to include a topic sentence, specific
  text details, and a concluding sentence

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• Simon looked at the cabin in dismay. The
  brown paint was peeling from the walls. A single
  light bulb lit the dim room. Along the walls, he
  could see rickety metal bunk beds. Something
  scampered along the floor by his feeta spider? A
  mouse? He couldnt tell. I dont know if I want
  to spend the week here, Simon said.
• Youll love it! his father replied.
  Herespread out your sleeping bag.
• Simon took his sleeping bag to the nearest
  bed. The mattress was dingy and dirty. Yuck, he
  said.

• Question What word or phrase could you use to
  describe the cabin? Support your answer with
  specific details from the text.

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What do you think of this answer?

• Simon looked at the cabin in dismay. The
  brown paint was peeling from the walls. A single
  light bulb lit the dim room. Along the walls, he
  could see rickety metal bunk beds. Something
  scampered along the floor by his feeta spider? A
  mouse? He couldnt tell. I dont know if I want
  to spend the week here, Simon said.
• Youll love it! his father replied.
  Herespread out your sleeping bag.
• Simon took his sleeping bag to the
  nearest bed. The mattress was dingy and dirty.
  Yuck, he said.

• I think the cabin is not very nice
  because I would not want to spend the night here
  it seems really rotten.

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What do you think of this answer?

• This answer is not very good! Notice how
  it does not include any specific details from the
  text. When you write your answer, go back to the
  text to find the specific details.

• I think the cabin is not very nice
  because I would not want to spend the night here
  it seems really rotten.

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What do you think of this answer?

• Simon looked at the cabin in dismay. The
  brown paint was peeling from the walls. A single
  light bulb lit the dim room. Along the walls, he
  could see rickety metal bunk beds. Something
  scampered along the floor by his feeta spider? A
  mouse? He couldnt tell. I dont know if I want
  to spend the week here, Simon said.
• Youll love it! his father replied.
  Herespread out your sleeping bag.
• Simon took his sleeping bag to the
  nearest bed. The mattress was dingy and dirty.
  Yuck, he said.

• Simon is at a cabin with his dad. He
  doesnt like the cabin much and he sees a spider.
  He says yuck and doesnt want to stay there.

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What do you think of this answer?

• Another poor answer. This response
  doesnt even answer the question! Be careful when
  you take tests. Make sure that you are answering
  the question.

• Simon is at a cabin with his dad. He
  doesnt like the cabin much and he sees a spider.
  He says yuck and doesnt want to stay there.

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What do you think of this answer?

• Simon looked at the cabin in dismay. The
  brown paint was peeling from the walls. A single
  light bulb lit the dim room. Along the walls, he
  could see rickety metal bunk beds. Something
  scampered along the floor by his feeta spider? A
  mouse? He couldnt tell. I dont know if I want
  to spend the week here, Simon said.
• Youll love it! his father replied.
  Herespread out your sleeping bag.
• Simon took his sleeping bag to the
  nearest bed. The mattress was dingy and dirty.
  Yuck, he said.

• I would say that the cabin is unpleasant.
  I think this for a few reasons. For one thing, it
  has peeling paint. The bunkbeds are also rickety
  with dirty mattresses. Yuck! But worst of all,
  there are things living there, like mice or
  spiders. I think this cabin is yucky and
  unpleasant!

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What do you think of this answer?

• Finally, a good answer!
• Notice the topic sentence that introduces the
  answer
• Notice the specific text details
• Notice the concluding sentence

• I would say that the cabin is unpleasant.
  I think this for a few reasons. For one thing, it
  has peeling paint. The bunkbeds are also rickety
  with dirty mattresses. Yuck! But worst of all,
  there are things living there, like mice or
  spiders. I think this cabin is yucky and
  unpleasant!

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What do you think of this answer?

• Finally, a good answer!
• Notice the topic sentence that introduces the
  answer
• Notice the specific text details
• Notice the concluding sentence

• I would say that the cabin is unpleasant.
  I think this for a few reasons. For one thing, it
  has peeling paint. The bunkbeds are also rickety
  with dirty mattresses. Yuck! But worst of all,
  there are things living there, like mice or
  spiders. I think this cabin is yucky and
  unpleasant!

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Remember to check your answer!

• After you have finished writing, it might be
  tempting to just turn the page and forget about
  it
• If you have the time, read your answer to make
  sure that it makes sense

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What have you learned?

• What are some steps to completing an open-ended
  response?

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Think about this

• You might actually enjoy some of the selections
  that you read
• One of the things thats hard about a reading
  test is that you often have to read several
  selections in a row

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Think about this

• Before you go on to the next selection, take a
  deep breath and give yourself some more positive
  self-talk
• Once you turn the page, remember to start all
  over again with activating your schema

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Putting it all together

• What are some things that you should do BEFORE
  the test?
• What should you do to activate your schema before
  you start to read the selection?

• What are some active reading strategies that you
  can use to understand the selection?
• What do you need to remember as you answer
  questions?

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Enjoy the test!

• And enjoy your future reading!

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• by Emily Kissner