Testing Strategies
Nervous the night before the test? Do these 3 things to prepare for the best!
Go to bed early, relax, and eat a healthy dinner.
There's no reason to whine...use this writing strategy to structure your short responses and you'll do just fine!
RACECER
Don't get hung up on the little details. This is the term used to describe what the passage is mostly about!
Main idea
A fish is like a fish. Wait, that's not a very good one...A fish is as a fish? That's even worse...
Simile
Not quite a hypothesis, but this is still making an educated guess about a character based on details in the text...
Inference
Woke up early and don't know what to do? Do one of these 3 things before coming to school.
Eat a healthy breakfast, give yourself plenty of time to get ready, and arrive to school on time!
The amount of points everyone wants, this is the highest possible score for a short response.
Two points
It doesn't matter how you feel about the topic! It's how the author feels about the topic.
Tone
Time is money. Well, not literally. But that comparison is an example of this:
Metaphor
I have no idea what that word means. But I do know what those words mean! Man, I love using these to determine the meaning of unknown words.
Context clues
Huh? What? ¿Por Qué? I should look at these before reading the texts? (*But still thoroughly read the text after*)
The questions
Ughhhhh...you're telling me I have to do this with the features of two different texts?? I wish you would ask me to do something different...or similar...or both?
Compare & Contrast
Awww...did the work of literature make you feel some kind of emotion? You were probably affected by this.
Mood
Wow, I'm so glad I read "The Monkey's Paw" and learned that I should be careful what I wish for. Hey, that's actually the story's...umm...I wish I knew the term for that.
Theme
Not quite a Youtube video of Ronaldo's best goals, but it is something I can do while reading to identify key details! (it's also a tool built into the state test)
Highlight
Oh no, there's too many multiple choice options! Luckily, I can use this tool to narrow down the best possible choice.
Answer eliminator
Tung Tung Tung Tung Sahur? Not quite. Replace those 4 "tungs" with the 4 paragraphs you should include in your extended response.
Introduction, Body Paragraph 1, Body Paragraph 2, Conclusion
I went to the store. No, wait...He went to the store. Hold on, I can't get my perspective straight. What do I need to reconsider for my story again?
Point of view
The wind whispered through the trees? Hey, wait a minute...the wind can't whisper like a human can! I guess that's an example of this:
Personification
Once I finish and submit the test I can't redo, retry, review, revise, reread, or retake it?? Oh well, at least I can recognize letters added to the beginning of a word to make a new word with a different meaning. Also called this: (and no, it's not a menu you can't change at a restaurant)
Prefixes
Finished with the test? No time for rest. Doing this activity is the best! (and your only option...or, rest)
Read a book
About to click submit? Think twice and do this to check your writing for errors and make any last changes: "Credit and proceed!" Wait, that can't be write...
Edit and proofread
They may not be as exciting as climbing Mount Everest, but put these 6 things together and you've got yourself one impressive plot mountain!
Exposition, Inciting Incident, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution
Descriptive language that appeals to the senses? Man, I can almost smell those words. Or do I hear them? Feel them? Taste them?? See them??? What is this!?
Imagery
Wow, that was a long informational text...I wish I had done this by highlighting, chunking, and taking notes on the article.
Annotate