Testing Strategies
This tool is used eliminate multiple choice answers that you know are wrong.
The Distractor Whacker
"Which pair of sentences provides the best summary of the story from Moon
Over Manifest?"
This is a key phrase from the question that will help us answer the question accurately.
Best Summary
One day, Tam saw her neighbor Mrs. Simon putting the trash out on the curb. She noticed that Mrs. Simon was throwing away a plant, along with a bag of trash. The plant was growing in a little green pot. It was crooked and yellowish, with just a few little leaves. Tam felt sorry for the plant, out there on the curb waiting to be hauled away. She decided to rescue it. Both Tam and her mom had a green thumb and loved to garden, so they brought the plant into their backyard and gave it a new home in the dirt.
- Is the plant healthy or
not? How do you know?
The plant is not healthy. The story says, “It was crooked and yellowish, with just a few little leaves.”
These are the thinking job components for a nonfiction text.
Topic
Key Ideas
Author's Point of View
This is what you provide when you read a prompt/question and make a claim.
The answer
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
The amount of time you should spend reading each text and filling in your thinking jobs.
10 minutes
"Read the sentence from paragraph 7 of the passage.
Gwen followed the Principal with her head in a buzzing whirl.
What is the meaning of the phrase in a buzzing whirl as it is used in the sentence?"
-This is where you should go in the text to find context clues that help you answer the question.
Paragraph 7
In September, Lorenzo helped his
mom plant daffodils in their yard.
Over the next several weeks,
Lorenzo went out to the yard
and looked to see if the flowers
were sprouting. But all he
detected was dirt. His mother
explained that the flowers were growing
very slowly underneath the soil. They would
stay beneath the earth all winter. Then, when
spring came and the weather turned warmer,
the daffodils would push through the soil and
bloom. As the months went by, Lorenzo forgot
all about the daffodils. But then one Saturday,
he spotted a patch of bright yellow in the
backyard.
- What season is it at the
end of the story? How do you know?
- The season is spring; I know because daffodils and flowers bloom in spring.
These are the thinking job components of a fiction text.
Characters
Setting
Motivation
Problem
Solution
Lesson Learned
This is what writer's use to prove that their claims are correct.
Something a student might do if they are unsure of answer, especially when they want to save time and return to the question at a later time.
Book It and Skip It
"How does the author support the point in paragraph 4 of “Understanding Insects as Friends or Foes” that there is a way to get rid of insects without using pesticides (toxic chemicals meant to kill pests)?
- This is the author's point of view.
- This is where you can find their point of view in the text.
- Bugs can be deterred from unwanted places without pesticides.
- Paragraph 4
Until recently, all cars ran on gas or similar fuel. But today, cars that use electricity are becoming a popular alternative to gas cars that worsen climate change and air pollution. Some cars run on both electricity and gas. These are known as hybrids. Other cars run on electricity alone. Electric cars and hybrids are beneficial for the environment because they use less fuel. But today’s electric cars are not as "environmentally friendly" as they seem, and there are hidden sides to this "green" solution.
A key component of the rechargeable batteries is cobalt, a mineral. More than half of the world’s cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Despite its riches in minerals, the DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world, and has suffered from decades of war and corrupt leaders. With so few formal jobs in the country, hundreds of thousands of Congolese men, women and children, have been driven to dig their own mines to earn their livelihoods. This is dangerous for several reasons:
Children as young as seven mine for cobalt. No one knows the exact figure, but UNICEF estimates that 40,000 children work in mining across the south of the DRC where cobalt is found. None of the adult or child miners, if any, wear face masks that can prevent them from inhaling cobalt dust, which could lead to potentially fatal lung disease. Mines collapse frequently, burying people underground.
We need to phase out fossil fuels, and electric cars are an integral part of a greener future. However, A green future built on the backs of exploited children in the DRC is no kind of progress.
- Why are electric and
hybrid cars becoming more popular?
Electric cars may be more popular now because they use less fuel, which is thought to be better for the environment.
These are the thinking job components of a poetry text.
Speaker
Literal Meaning
Deeper Meaning
In "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", how does the line "Nobody believes a liar...even when the liar is telling the truth (Paragraph 11) contribute to the story's theme? Use two details from the text to support your response.
"The Boy Who Cried Wolf" reveals a theme that one's reputation and credibility is based on their past actions. By fooling the villagers twice, the boy lost the support and trust of his community when he needed it most after seeing a dangerous wolf. When the community refused to believe him, this proves the line that no one believes a liar even when they tell the truth.
When you put the question into your own words and then ask yourself, "What part of the text should I go to in order to find the answer," you...
Invest in the Question
"Select and place in the box two sentences from paragraph 5 that best support the author’s point that the government considered whether it could assist the settlers."
- These are the two resources students should refer to to answer the question correctly in the text
- The sentences in paragraph 5
- Their thinking jobs (author's point of view)
Grapes and raisins seem like two completely
different fruits, but they’re actually the same.
How is that possible? A grape is fresh, and a
raisin is dried. That’s the only difference. Think
about biting into a nice, plump grape. It’s juicy
because there’s a lot of water inside. Raisins
are made when grapes are dried in the sun.
Over time, the sun’s heat causes the water
in the grape to leave, or evaporate.
What’s left is a smaller, wrinkled,
dried-up piece of fruit. Raisins are
sweeter than grapes, too. That’s
because when the water dries up,
what’s left is lots of sugar.
- Which would you use to
make juice, a grape or a raisin? Why?
1. You would use a grape to make juice. Grapes contain water, and you need water to make juice.
One day, Tam saw her neighbor
Mrs. Simon putting the trash out
on the curb. She noticed that Mrs.
Simon was throwing away a plant,
along with a bag of trash. The
plant was growing in a little green
pot. It was crooked and yellowish,
with just a few little leaves. Tam
felt sorry for the plant, out there on the curb
waiting to be hauled away. She decided to
rescue it. Both Tam and her mom had a green
thumb and loved to garden, so they brought
the plant into their backyard and gave it a new
home in the dirt.
Complete the thinking job for this text.
Characters: Tam, Tam's mom, Mrs. Simon
Setting: Tam's neighborhood
Motivation: Tam has a green thumb and loves to garden.
Problem: Tam feels bad that the plant will be given away and wants to give it a new life.
Solution: Tam rescues the plant, plants it in her garden giving it a new home.
Lesson Learned: One man's trash is another man's treasure./Being kind can save a life./Our gifts and talents can help people and things.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
How does the author of “The Three Little Pigs,” develop the theme that "hard work and serious effort will pay off." Use two details from the article to
support your response.
- Make a claim by answering the above prompt.
The author develops the theme that hard work and serious effort will pay off by including the experience of three different pigs. Two of the pigs use cheap and easy materials to build their homes, and the wolf quickly destroys it. The third pig uses sturdy, reliable materials and his house protects him from the wolf.
These three elements make up The Notealizer (or your scratch paper).
1.Thinking Jobs
2. Multiple Choice Answer + Evidence
3. Essay Checklist + Outline
"What is the meaning of the word rotate as it is used in paragraph 3 of “Understanding Insects as Friends or Foes”?"
- Put this prompt in your own words
- Ask, "What part of the text or what strategy should I use to find the answer to this question.
- Define "rotate"/What does rotate mean?
- I should reread paragraph 3
Icarus and his father, Daedalus,
were imprisoned in a maze with
no way out. But Daedalus was
a talented craftsman. He built
two pairs of wings from feathers
and wax. He and Icarus strapped
on the wings and began to fly. At last they
were free! Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly
near the sun. “If you do,” he said, “the wax will
melt, the wings will fall apart, and you’ll fall
into the sea.” But Icarus didn’t heed his father’s
warning. He was so excited to be flying! He
went higher and higher. But just as his father
warned, the wax on his wings started to melt,
and Icarus plummeted into the sea.
- Complete this
sentence frame: In this story, the cause
is _______, and the effect is _______.
In this story, the cause is flying too close to the sun, and the effect is that the wings melt and fall apart.
Until recently, all cars ran on gas or similar fuel. But today, cars that use electricity are becoming a popular alternative to gas cars that worsen climate change and air pollution. Some cars run on both electricity and gas. These are known as hybrids. Other cars run on electricity alone. Electric cars and hybrids are beneficial for the environment because they use less fuel. But today’s electric cars are not as "environmentally friendly" as they seem, and there are hidden sides to this "green" solution.
A key component of the rechargeable batteries is cobalt, a mineral. More than half of the world’s cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Despite its riches in minerals, the DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world, and has suffered from decades of war and corrupt leaders. With so few formal jobs in the country, hundreds of thousands of Congolese men, women and children, have been driven to dig their own mines to earn their livelihoods. This is dangerous for several reasons:
Children as young as seven mine for cobalt. No one knows the exact figure, but UNICEF estimates that 40,000 children work in mining across the south of the DRC where cobalt is found. None of the adult or child miners, if any, wear face masks that can prevent them from inhaling cobalt dust, which could lead to potentially fatal lung disease. Mines collapse frequently, burying people underground.
We need to phase out fossil fuels, and electric cars are an integral part of a greener future. However, A green future built on the backs of exploited children in the DRC is no kind of progress.
- Create a thinking job for this text
Topic: The hidden dangers of creating electric cars
Key Ideas:
- Electric cars are thought to be better alternatives than regular gas cars.
- Cobalt, a key component for making electric cars, mostly comes from DRC (Congo).
- Mining for cobalt requires the labor of young children, putting their lives at risk.
Author's POV: The author believes electric cars have serious ethical concerns that should be considered as we look for car alternatives that are better for the environment.
You have read three articles about penguin rescue efforts after an oil spill.
• from “The Amazing Penguin Rescue” by Lauren Tarshis
• “The Amazing Penguin Rescue” by Dyan deNapoli
• “Update on Penguin Rescue Efforts from Oil Spill in South Atlantic”
Write an essay explaining the similarities and differences in each article’s point of view about penguin rescue efforts after an oil spill. Support your essay with information from all three sources.
In the three articles about penguin rescue efforts after an oil spill, the author's have similar and different points of views. All of the author's believe that humans play an extremely important role in rescuing penguins following an oil spill. The authors, however, express these points of views from three different perspectives: (1) In “The Amazing Penguin Rescue” by Lauren Tarshis, Tarshis tells the rescue experience from a penguin's perspective from start to finish, (2) In “The Amazing Penguin Rescue” by Dyan deNapoli, deNapoli tells the rescue experience from a rescuer's perspective as the rescue happened in real time, and (3) in the “Update on Penguin Rescue Efforts from Oil Spill in South Atlantic”, the author reflects on rescue efforts after the rescue was complete and explains the 4 most important rescue steps taken.