Testing Strategies
What do you do when you reach a hard question AND why?
Skip it and go back to it so you don't waste too much time. This strategy also helps build confidence because you answer all the questions you actually know first.
What are context clues? How can they help?
Context clues are hints in the story or text that help explain the situation. These can help us because if we understand the situation, we may be able to figure out the meaning of the word we don't know.
Example: The smell of the rotting banana was putrid. I plugged my nose because I couldn't take it.
The context clues "rotting" and "plugged my nose" tell me that "putrid" probably means "really gross".
What are comprehensive questions?
Questions that check your understanding of the text.
What should you do the morning you have to take a test?
What is evidence?
A fact, section of the text, or part of the story that proves something is true or supports a point.
What if you don't understand the question? How can you answer it?
-Try to put the question into your own words to make it make sense.
-Use the dictionary tool to help you understand unknown words.
-Re-read the question and its answers to see if it truly doesn't make sense or if you just read it too fast.
-Choose the best possible answer using the process of elimination if you don't understand still.
Mrs. Carlson thought her explanations were clear and concise, but everyone found them to be unfathomable. What does unfathomable mean and what are the context clues for the word?
Unfathomable means "can't be understood" the context clues are "Mrs. Carlson THOUGHT" and "but" because she thought differently than the people around her so the word must mean the opposite of clear and concise.
What are the BEST ways to comprehend a text that you are reading BEFORE you get to the questions?
Take notes or highlight the
-who, what, when, where, why, and how of the text.
-the characters and their points of view (if narrative)
-the topic sentence or thesis (if informational)
-make a timeline of events
-identify words you don't know so you can figure them out and then re-read the story
What should you do the night before a test?
Get a full night's sleep
When looking for evidence, where should you look?
You should look for the point that is being made in the text and once you find it, look for the reasons or events that are before and after it to find possible answers.
Is it best to read all the questions first or just one question at a time? Why?
One question at a time because if you read the entire test, it can overwhelm you. It is best to work on one question at a time in order to save time and only have to focus on solving 1 problem at a time so you're using less energy.
What strategy can you use to decode this word's meaning?
Pitfall
You can break the word into 2 parts and make connections with it. For example "pit" means "hole" and "fall" means "going down". Pitfall most likely means "falling down a hole" or some type of trap depending on the context clues.
How can annotating a text help you to comprehend a text more effectively?
It helps you to easily find information that is important or confusing.
What should you have at school the day of testing? (three parts)
A pencil, a computer, a computer charger
What kind of evidence is the best kind of evidence to help you support your point?
Evidence should be directly related to the point. You should be able to explain how it connects to the point in your words to make it make sense. Not all evidence is relevant or accurate. Evidence must be relevant and accurate to be correct.
What is the process of elimination? How does it help?
It is when you read the question, then try to identify the WRONG answers based on the story or text. If multiple answers are obviously wrong, it is easier to eliminate them and choose the best one.
What can you use a thesaurus for?
A thesaurus can be used to find synonyms and antonyms for words. By seeing similar words and opposites, it can help you better understand the meaning of the word you don't know.
When preparing to answer a writing passage, what should you do before you start typing your answer.
Plan out your entire answer on scratch paper
If you start to panic before or during the test, what should you do?
Stop testing for a second, take a deep breath, and then continue testing.
When you are using evidence from the text in a written answer, what do you need to do?
Cite the evidence using MLA
Should you re-read the story or text every single time you click on a new question? Why or why not?
It is good to read the story or text multiple times to better understand it and how it develops, however, if you read the story over and over and over again, you may get overwhelmed or tired. It is best to read only what you NEED to in order to find the correct answer.
"The boils last for about a year, after which there is no more likelihood of a recurrence of the trouble than in the case of smallpox."
What does recurrence mean? How did you know?
Recurrence means "to happen more often"
-You can figure this out using Greek/Latin roots because "re" means "again" and "occur" means to happen. Putting them together, would mean "to happen again or more often."
-You could also use context clues like "no more likelihood" and "than" to show that there is a comparison between the boils condition but using affixes is more effective.
How much writing is expected when you are answering a writing question?
At least 4 paragraphs
What should you drink the most of during state testing?
Water
When writing a written response, how much evidence should you use?
At least one example, but 2-3 is best.