Open Response - Short Answer
LITERACY TEST PREPARATION
Types of Reading Materials
 Information Paragraph- presents ideas and




information on a topic
Graphic Text- presents ideas and information with
the help of graphic features such as diagrams,
photographs, drawings, sketches, patterns,
timetables, maps, charts or tables
News report- presents information in the form of a
news story
Real-life narrative- presents an account of a
significant time in an individual’s
Dialogue- presents a conversation between two or
more people
What do the text based
readings look like?
 Readings are typically 1-2 pages in length
 Each paragraph is numbered for easy
reference to questions
 The readings include a picture or graphic
related to the text
Open Response Question
 Explain how a train can be similar to a bear.
Use information from the text and your own
ideas to support your answer.
TRAIN
BEAR
Picture it
How do I
think that a
bear and
train can be
similar?
•Big
•Powerful
•Travels slowly
•Dangerous
•Both are found in Canada
How do my
ideas
connect to
the reading?
The train is called Little Bear, like a
bear the train is big, slow-moving,
but powerful
Answer to Open Response
Question
 Little Bear, the train in Northern Ontario, is
like a real bear. Both are big and powerful.
Both travel slowly through the wilderness and
both can be dangerous to people if they get
too close. However, they are both important
to Canada.
Your Reading For Today:
Helpful Tips For
Writing - Open Response
 These used to be called “Short Answers” but
answers were found to be too short.
 These Open Responses may be tied to any of the
Readings which will be the Information
Paragraph, News Report, Dialogue, Real-life
Narrative or Graphic Text. (Remember ALL these
readings will be on the test)
 You are given 6 lines to answer.
 The answer should be a well-developed
paragraph.
Strategies for Open Response
Questions
 Always answer these questions in 3 to 5 full
sentences
 Read the entire question and underline key
words, like summarize or explain. These key
words tell you how to answer the question.
 State the main idea of your answer in your first
sentence. Write a few more sentences using one
or two details from the reading to support your
answer.
 Visualize what you’re trying to answer in your
head.
WARNING – PAY ATTENTION
 The lines provided for you outline the
expected length of your answers
 If you write more than the space provided,
you will receive a mark of zero on that
question
 Use the rough work areas to help you plan
your answer before writing it in the lines
provided
 Write clearly and to the point
Your Task:
 Read the article and answer the following
question:
 Summarize this selection. Include a main idea
and one detail that supports it.
 Use your tips and tricks sheet.
This response provides a correct main idea
only (“It is one of the most visited
museums in the
world.”).
This response provides a correct main idea (“learn more about Canadian heritage”)
which issupported with vague details from the selection (“lots of artifacts for people
to see and to get a better idea of what Canadian heritage is”).
This response provides a correct main idea (“It is one of the most visited museums in
the world.”) which is supported by specific and relevant details from the selection (“1.4
millionpeople visit a year”, “10 million people visit the site”).