Vocab
if a question asks you to _____ your answer, it is asking you to give reasons or evidence.
Support
What is the FIRST thing you should do when beginning your test?
Read the essay prompt and begin your notecatcher
What does the word coax mean as it is used in paragraph 10?
a. allow
b. deceive
c. persuade
d. squeeze
c. persuade
Select the detail from Passage 1 that shows Callie Vee wants to keep a secret.
". . . . Can earthworms be trained? I'm here to tell you that they can. The solution seemed obvious to me: The worms always came out when it rained, and it was easy enough to make some rain for them. I carries a tin bucket of water to a shaded area in the five acres of scrub and dumped it on the ground in the same place a couple of times a day. After four days, I only had to show up with my bucked, and the worms, drawn by my footsteps and the promise of water, crawled to the surface. I scooped them up and sold them to Lamar for a penny a dozen. Lamar nagged me to tell him where I'd found them, but I wouldn't." (paragraph 5)
Lamar nagged me to tell him where I'd found them, but I wouldn't.
If a question has circles, what does that mean?
- what about boxes?
- something else?
circles = 1 answer
boxes = 2 or more answers
something else means you need to CAREFULLY reread the instructions.
The verb meaning "to build or expand on an idea"
develop
What are the two categories of key words you should look for when reading the multiple choice questions?
Verbs and terms.
Select two examples that show how caretakers imitate nature when caring for a baby elephants.
a. "Sometimes they have to teach a baby how to drink from a bottle." (paragraph 8)
b. "In the wild, a baby elephants will stand under its mother and rest its trunk on her body as it nurses with its mouth." (paragraph 8).
c. "Standing under mom or in her giant shadow protects the baby from sunburn too." (paragraph 9)
d. "The keepers aren't big enough to offer much weather protection all by themselves, so they rely on blankets and parasols and mud." (paragraph 9)
e. "Most of the babies love the mud, but if one's a little shy, the keepers gently coax it into a shallow puddle and scoop mud on it, just like a mom would, only with a shovel in place of a trunk." (paragraph 10)
d. "The keepers aren't big enough to offer much weather protection all by themselves, so they rely on blankets and parasols and mud." (paragraph 9)
e. "Most of the babies love the mud, but if one's a little shy, the keepers gently coax it into a shallow puddle and scoop mud on it, just like a mom would, only with a shovel in place of a trunk." (paragraph 10)
Read this sentence from Passage 1.
"We arose in the dark, hours before sunrise, when there was barely a smudge of indigo along the eastern sky and the rest of the horizon was still pure pitch black." (paragraph 1).
What do the phrases "smudge of indigo" and "pure pitch" describe in passage 1?
a. the sky is mostly dark
b. the sun rises later than usual
c. the narrator wakes up early to do her chores
d. the characters live in a place with hot temperatures.
a. the sky is mostly dark
What verb means "to help along, to be included"
contribute
The verb meaning "to provide a detailed explanation about a topic using the five senses and who, what, where, when, why, and how questions".
describe OR Expand
Give 3 examples of key terms you might see in a multiple choice questions, then give 3 examples of key verbs you might see in a multiple choice question
Verbs: analyze, explain, develop, identify, describe, etc.
How does the author's description of a stray kitten in paragraph 1 contribute to the rest of the passage?
a. It makes a connection between the care needed for a pet versus the care needed for elephants
b. It points out that different kinds of animals need similar kinds of care
c. It emphasizes how rare it is to keep baby elephants as pets
d. It illustrates how difficult it is to care for baby elephants
a. It makes a connection between the care needed for a pet versus the care needed for elephants
In Passage 1, how does paragraph 3 add to the reader's understanding of Callie Vee?
a. It demonstrates her dislike of newspaper writing.
b. It shows that she is confident in voicing her opinion
c. It shows her interest in being outside in hot temperatures
d. It demonstrates her ability to set up a science experiment.
b. It shows that she is confident in voicing her opinion
What verb means "to assess the value, significance, or impact of something, providing evidence and reasoning."
evaluate
The word meaning "to show clearly with examples or to express an idea".
demonstrate or convey
What are the first three steps you should take after finishing your essay?
1. Read the multiple choice questions
2. Find key words
3. Look for boxes and squares
In paragraph 2, the author claims that orphan elephants are successfully reintroduced to the wild. What two ways does the author support this claim
a. by detailing the ways keepers make the baby elephants feel comfortable in their new elephant community
b. by explaining how baby elephants are kept safe as they learn to live away from the nursery
c. by comparing the care baby elephants receive with the care needed by common pets
d. by stating how long elephants typically live after reaching adulthood
e. by describing the area where baby elephants are typically found.
a. by detailing the ways keepers make the baby elephants feel comfortable in their new elephant community
b. by explaining how baby elephants are kept safe as they learn to live away from the nursery
This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then Answer Part B.
Part A
In passage 2, what is the speaker's perspective on growing papayas?
a. she is frustrated that papays seeds take so long to grow
b. she believed her first bite of papaya will be worth the wait.
c. She worries that one of her brothers will spot the papaya getting ripe.
d. She appreciates that the blooms of the papaya tree supply food for her brothers.
Part B
Which lines show how the poet develops the speaker's perspective in Part A?
a. "It grew from a seed
I flicked into
the back garden" (lines 1-3)
b. "Brother Khoi spotted
the first white blossom." (lines 13-14)
c. "Brother Vu later found
a baby papaya
the size of a fist" (lines 17-19)
d. "I will be the first
to witness its ripening." (lines 32-33)
c. She worries that one of her brothers will spot the papaya getting ripe.
d. "I will be the first
to witness its ripening." (lines 32-33)
Passages are identified by their paragraph or sentence. What are poem's identified by?
Stanza's and lines.
If a question asks you to _____ how a passage connects to a specific theme, they are asking you "to break down information into parts and explain how they relate to each other"
analyze
After completing all 3 steps for multiple choice questions and reading the passage you should...
Answer the easiest questions first, then go back and answer questions that are harder or will take longer.
How does the section on Tsavo National Park contribute to the development of the passage?
a. It details the steps involved in helping orphan elephants adjust to living in the wild.
b. It shows how orphan elephants are quickly allowed to roam freely in the park.
c. It supports the argument that orphan elephants resist adapting to their surroundings.
d. It emphasizes that orphan elephants are expected to mature at a similar pace.
a. It details the steps involved in helping orphan elephants adjust to living in the wild.
Identify whether each statement describes a theme in Passage 1, Passage 2, or both passages.
1. Nature has much to enjoy for those who are willing to observe it.
2. Seeing the gradual changes in nature requires patience.
3. Recording what is seen in nature helps the write to see even more.
1. Both
2. Passage 2
3. Passage 1
Read the following poem "Walking the Rails" by Christopher Cotton
"Standing on the railroad track,
Looking forward, looking back,
I saw the future and the past,
Frontiers, in both directions vast,
And judging from my middle niche.
I could not tell which way was which.
Two rails each way ran off together,
At equal rates approached each other,
And at horizons of both ways,
Which way to go I had no notion;
I simply put my feet in motion.
And now I see, in my progression,
Both past and future find expression,
And each the other one entails:
Not two directions, but two rails.
For all adventure, all unknown,
Each way is both, and both my own."
In this poem, how does the author's use of first-person help to develop the speaker's perspective?
a. It highlights the speaker's hesitation
b. It describes the speaker's past destination
c. It explains why the speaker is searching for a direction.
d. It shows which direction would be better for the speaker
a. It highlights the speaker's hesitation