Strategies for
Success
Integrating Test Preparation
Into Reading Workshop
Three Beliefs
Successful test takers first have to be
smart readers.
Successful test takers need to be able
to translate the unique language of the
test.
Learning how to be a successful test
taker can be fun.
Hope is not a strategy
How can we help our students show
what they know on standardized tests?
We can create a purposeful, integrated
test-taking curriculum.
Students must learn the hyper-English
that is part of test taking.
What is test talk?
Test talk is the specific language
needed to decode the test.
We often ask our students to practice,
practice, practice without ever teaching.
“We as educators know that practice is
not preparation. Skills must be taught in
a concrete, meaningful way before they
can be practiced.” page 9, Test Talk
What skills are needed?
Translate the test writers’ formal English (test
talk) into kid talk
Recognize and categorize questions into
concepts taught in class
Understand and successfully manipulate the
format of the test
Use test-taking strategies to be proactive testtakers
Stamina to sustain concentration
General Reading Strategy Lessons
Reading is thinking
Activating schema
Using the author’s clues to recognize
important information
Identifying and following directions
Rereading saves the day
Reading and thinking stamina
Test-Specific Strategy Lessons
Navigating the structure of standardized tests
Eliminating answers that don’t match
Active listening
Smart test takers aren’t necessarily sure
of every single answer, but they are sure
to read each question carefully, use
strategies, make the very best answer
choice, and move on confidently.
Activating Schema
Warming-up the brain
Setting a purpose for reading
Alerting the brain to seek information
Turn the wondering brain on
Conversations in my head
Visualization
What’s It All About?
Finding The Main Idea
Determining importance - finding the
main idea can be tricky because it is not
usually written right in the text. We
must read, then use our schema with
the text to infer the main ideas.
What is the text talk for main idea
questions?
Anchor Chart - Main Idea
Synonyms
– Passage
– Text
– Story
Main Idea Test Talk
–
–
–
–
Theme
Mostly about
Importance
Summarize
Motives in Messages:
Identifying Author’s Intent
The author most likely wrote this passage to . . .
The author both entertains and informs the reader
by . . .
What was the author’s main purpose for writing this
article?
The author included this last paragraph because it .
..
In the last paragraph the author uses words that . .
The reason the author uses the phrase “cool as a
cucumber” is to . . .
Test Talk - Author’s Intent
Explain
Teach
Amuse
Persuade
Entertain
Compare
Demonstrate
Be humorous
Frighten
Give information
Make you laugh
Describe
Prove
Warn
Studying Words
Students must learn how to construct
and deconstruct words - essentially
know how words work.
Questions like ~ In which word does -ly
mean the same as it does in lovely?
QAR
Teach Author and Me
Almost all passage
related questions on the
SOL test require
students to use clues
from the author and
make inferences.
Reading Between the Lines:
Inferring to Build Meaning
Text + Schema = Inference
To infer is to build meaning
Inference is a sophisticated intellectual
process that occurs at the junction of a
reader’s background knowledge and
what is stated in the text or pictured in
the illustrations
Inferring - Implicit vs. Explicit
Defining unknown words
Finding main ideas
Themes
Morals
Making predictions
Identifying characters feelings & traits
“Crunch Time” with Strategic and
Intensive Readers
Decoding is an issue, so accurate
reading is an issue.
Words read per minute is often
significantly below grade expectancy.
Comprehension is compromised when
accuracy and fluency are areas of
weakness.
Reading Research Helps . . .
If students feel successful and
competent in their ability to read, they
are more likely to persist in the face of
challenges (Snow, Burns, & Griffin,
1998).
SO….
Decoding - daily practice reading and
decoding text out loud. This must be
supportive practice.
Reading must occur all day long practice will lead to improvement.
Stamina is critical for the day of the test.
I have to read all these stories!
Fluency impacts
stamina. The last
passages may only
be skimmed.
Students are
reluctant to re-read
because the task is
so labor and time
intensive.
Relax!
School
environments need
to be positive.
Students need to
believe in
themselves. This
happens when you
believe in them.
Embracing the Testing Challenge
“I’m not scared
because I know
what it’s going to be
like and I know what
the words mean. I
also know what to
do if I get stuck. I
feel excited instead
of scared.”