The following is a booklet designed to help teachers teach testing as a specific
genre. Just as teachers teach students to understand the difference between fiction
and non-fiction, historical fiction and realistic fiction, they can teach the students
that testing is a genre as well. This booklet is divided into three sections: Reading
Workshop, Writing Workshop, and Interactive Read Aloud. Each section will give
ideas on how to treat testing as a genre in your own classroom.
Reading Workshop
The reading workshop section gives examples of minilessons that can be done in
conjunction with reading workshop. The minilessons show students how to
understand the testing structure and vocabulary.
Writing Workshop
The writing workshop section gives examples of how to use the Five Finger Retell
in collaboration with the graphic organizers commonly seen on today’s tests.
There are also revising and editing checklists that can be used with the students.
Interactive Read Aloud
The interactive read aloud section gives sample questions that can be used after a
read aloud has been done in the classroom. These questions model test questions
from the Ohio Achievement Test. The children can complete the questions and
then the teacher can go over them with the entire class. Once completed, the
teacher can point out test specific vocabulary that the questions use. Each set of
questions is on its own individual page to make it easy to copy and use.
*For the Reading and Writing Workshop pieces, each part can be divided based on
the students in your classrooms. Some minilessons might require one day, while
others may require more than one day. It is all based on the needs of the students
in your classroom. There is no right or wrong way to use this booklet.
Reading Workshop Testing as a Genre Minilessons
Principle #1 READ EVERYTHING ON THE TEST (Sometimes the answer might be in the “extra” stuff
On a test we must READ EVERYTHING!!! What are some things we might have to read on a test?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Directions (Look at old test direction on overhead or poster paper)
Picture Captions and Charts and Graphs (NF Readings)
ALL Answer Choices
Word Banks
Principle #2 Test-Takers watch for certain words in test questions.
What are the types of words we might see?
a. Using the passage/selection OR According to the passage/selection
a. Both mean go back into the reading
b. Which is most likely or what is the best answer means…
a. Figure out which one won’t fit at all, then look at the others and pick the one that is
better than the rest
c. The story is being told from the perspective of…/Who is telling the story means…
a. Who is telling the story?
d. Thos selection is mainly about…
a. Tell what the main idea is
Principle #3 Test tell us to do certain things. We need to make sure we are doing what they ask.
a. Explain/Describe – to make something clear so it is easy to understand
b. Give Reasons/Support Your Answer/Tell Why – go back in the text and find what the
question is asking
c. Compare/Contrast – (Look at 4th grade test from May ’08)
Principle #4 Tests use certain vocabulary. Many words mean the same thing.
See grade level list of testing vocabulary…Use what is appropriate for your grade level/students
Principle #5 Test Reading is Different from the Reading We do in Class
Test Reading
Test maker gives the choices. Only one can be
used.
The test maker expects us to use passage
information only on Reading Comprehension
questions.
The test questions and directions are like little
puzzles. We have to figure out what the test maker
is asking.
The teacher can’t explain or give me hints.
Real Reading
More than one answer can be right.
Ex: Which book do you like best?
We use what we know from our lives to help us
answer questions.
If a question isn’t clear, I can ask someone to help
explain it.
The teacher makes sure I get help when I ask for it.
Principle #6 Test-Takers Know it is Important to Read the Questions First.
Use Goodman Reader’s in small group guided reading to demonstrate this in small group
Principle #7 Test-Takers know the teacher can’t help them during the test. they remember how to help
themselves.
Principle #8 It is important that test-takers go back and check the problems they are unsure of…
Write down #’s you guessed on down (either on paper or on desk)
Principle #9 Test-Takers know that each passage DOES NOT go together in anyway. Each is like a
separate story, just like the Goodman Readers
Even though one passage might be hard – once it is done, it is done! The next one might be
easier.
Principle #10 When given meanings for a certain vocabulary word, good test-takers know to substitute
each answer choice for the word to see what makes sense.
“The next morning bright and early, Mr. Oliver hurried outdoors, and for the first time in his life, he
began to work. He spaded and raked and planted and watered.
What is the meaning of spaded in the second sentence above?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Ran
Dug
Rested
Studied
Principle #11 Test-Makers ask for the main idea in different ways.
a. Theme – general message of the story
b. Main Idea – what is it mainly about
c. Indentifying the main idea in a question form…
a. For thousands of years people did not know microbes existed. They were too small
for them to see.
i. Which question does this paragraph answer?
1. Why couldn’t people see microbes?
2. Why did people want to see microbes?
3. Why are microbes so small?
Testing as a Genre for Writing
5 Finger Retell is a way to tell the important ingredients of a story.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Thumb – characters
Index – setting
Middle – problem
Ring- events
Pinky – ending
Model the 5 Finger retell using read alouds. Go at the pace of your students.
Good Examples
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Piggins and the Royal Wedding
Players and Pigtales
Jennifer Jones Won’t Leave Me Alone
Sally Jean. The Bicycle Queen
Just Like Josh Gibson
From 5 Finger Retell move on to graphic organizer form. Have a graphic organizer filled out and do a
read aloud on it. Do a few examples of read alouds if needed. This will allow the students to see how the
author can get ideas and turn it into a narrative.
Create a class story using a prompt.
Sample prompts
a. Write about a time you won a special award or prize. What was it? Tell how you felt about
it. Why did you get it? If you have never won an award, what would you like to win and
why?
b. Write about a time you lost something. What happened? Did you find it?
c. Write a narrative about a time you or someone you know got hurt. What happened?
d. Tell about the best present you ever got.
e. Tell about a time someone annoyed you.
f. Tell about a time someone disappointed you.
g. Tell about a time you learned something new or taught someone how to do something.
Once you do a whole class story, have the children do one using the graphic organizer to help them
prepare. Once they do it, go back to the original story the class did together and do minilessons on
revising and editing. Have the students then go back to their own stories and revise and edit.
Narrative
Revising
I wrote a story that addresses the prompt given
I followed all directions asked of me
I wrote in detail
I included a setting, characters, and a plot (beginning, middle, and end)
I re-read my narrative (story) and it makes sense
Editing
I double-checked my spelling
I double-checked my punctuation
I double-checked my capitalization
I double-checked to make sure all my sentences are complete.
Letter
Revising Checklist
I wrote a letter that addresses the prompt
I wrote details about my topic
I used correct letter format
I re-read my letter to make sure it made sense
Editing Checklist
I double-checked my spelling
I double checked my punctuation
I double-checked my capitalization
I double-checked to make sure all of my sentences are complete.
Home Run by Robert Burleigh
Explain how the Babe got his swing. Use an example from the story.
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Look at the following phrases. Which one is not a simile?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Smooth as silk
Babe was nervous as he approached the plate
Easy as air on the face
Right as falling water
Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflower’s: How a First Lady Changed America by Kathi Appelt
Why were flowers so important in Lady Bird’s life?
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What is one example of cause and effect?
a. Lady Bird’s father noticed he needed more help raising her after her mom died. Aunt Effie
came to help.
b. Lady Bird liked to grow wildflowers. She liked to be in a forest.
c. She was the first in her family to go to college. She did well in school.
d. Lady Bird’s father was a busy man. She slept on a cot next to coffins.
Using context clues, what is the meaning of dismal in the following sentence?
“However, as she became familiar with the city, she noticed the dismal parks that were nothing
more than concrete slabs, the dirty streets and shabby lawns, the unkempt and weedy shores of the filthy
Potomac and Anacostia Rivers.
a. Unattractive
b. Beautiful
c. Bright
My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris
Who is telling the story?
a.
b.
c.
d.
A narrator who lived across the street from Martin
The store owner
His older sister
Mr. Mann
These stories were as nourishing as the food that was set before us.
Using the above sentence from the story, what is a synonym for nourishing in this sentence?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Deadly
Old
Exotic
Healthy
Look at the web below. Use details from the story to complete the graphic organizer.
jg
Salt in His Shoes by Roslyn Jordan
What is the theme of the story?
a. Salt in your shoes makes you taller
b. You can do anything you put your mind to if you practice hard.
c. Michael proved his brothers wrong.
Michael’s family supported him both when he lost and won the game. Give two examples of their
support.
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Which statement is an opinion?
a. If I were taller that wouldn’t have happened.
b. Mom put salt in Michael’s shoes.
c. Michael prayed everyday.
d. Michael scored the winning basket.
Thank You Very Much, Captain Ericson by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
Look at the following events.
1. Ericson submits a design for a warship in France and it is rejected.
2. Ericson moves to the United States.
Based on the story, which of the following happened next?
a. Ericson designed the USS Monitor
b. Ericson was born in Sweden
c. Ericson designed a steam locomotive that had a death-defying speed of 30 MPH.
Rosa by Nikki Giovanni
Use the following line from the story to answer the question.
“They decided they would stand under the umbrella of courage Rosa Parks had offered, keeping off the
rains of fear and disgust.”
What does the author mean by “umbrella?”
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The purpose of this story is….
a. Mrs. Parks needs a ride on the bus
b. All people deserve to be treated equally.
c. Mrs. Robinson needs a box of mac and cheese to go with her red snapper for dinner.
d. The women needed a reason to meet late at night.
Who is telling the story?
a. A narrator who is sitting on the bus
b. A narrator who is not one of the characters
c. James Blake, the bus driver
d. Jammy’s dad
Bad Day at Riverbend – by Chris Van Allsburg
Look at the following definitions for the word coach.
Coach (Koch)n.
1. A large carriage that has four wheels and a raised seat outside in front of the driver and is
drawn by horses.
2. A person who teaches students individually
3. A person who instructs a player or a team
4. A railroad passenger car
“The sheriff followed Owen outside. The coach had never stopped in Riverbend before, but now it stood
motionless at the end of the street. A crowd gathered around it, but they held back, as if they were afraid
to get too close. It was easy to see why. The horses were covered with stripes of some kind of shiny,
greasy slime.
Which definition of coach is correct?
a. Definition 1
b. Definition 2
c. Definition 3
d. Definition 4
Why did everything go dark at the end?
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MIDWAY THROUGH THE STORY---predict what you think is causing the bright light.
Six Dinner Sid – by Inga Moore
Once Sid was found out, how did he solve his problem?
a. He ate one dinner a day
b. One person on Aristotle kept him
c. He became a vicious cat
d. He moved to a new street and got six dinners again
The Lotus Seed – by Sherry Garland
Why was the seed so special to Ba’?
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No matter how ugly the mud or how long the seed lies dormant, the bloom will be beautiful.
What does “lies dormant” mean in the sentence above?
a. Dead
b. Excited
c. Resting
d. Flat
Grandfather’s Journey – by Allen Say
Bombs fell from the sky and scattered our lives like leaves in a storm.
Like leaves in a storm is an example of what type of figurative language?
a. Simile
b. Metaphor
c. Alliteration
d. Onomatopoeia
Why does the boy say at the end I think I know my grandfather now?
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The Happy Troll – by Max Bollinger
List 2 things Gus thought he needed to be happy.
1._____________________________________________________________________________
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2._____________________________________________________________________________
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When Gus got all the things he thought would make him happy, he wasn’t happy. Explain why he wasn’t
really happy.
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Terrific by Jon Agee
KA-BANG! An old fishing trawler smashed into their boat, and Eugene and the parrot went splashing
into the sea.
KA-BANG is what type of figurative language.
a. Alliteration
b. Onomatopoeia
c. Simile
d. Metaphor
The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins by Lester Laminack
What is Miss Olivia doing before Miss Angel and Troy come to visit?
a.
Remembering a Sunday afternoon with Ned Wiggins
b. Thinking about the lullabies she sang to each of her children
c. She was beginning to think
d. Going to dinner
“No those hands are fragile, frozen, folded in her lap.”
What is a synonym for the word fragile?
a.
Delicate
b. Harsh
c. Hard
d. Polished
Three Names by Patricia MacLachlan
Who is the speaker in the selection?
a.
Great-grandfather
b. Great-grandson
c. Mama
d. Papa
How does Three Names feel when school has ended for the summer? Write two details from the selection
to support your answer.
a.
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b. ___________________________________________________________________________
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Sister Anne’s Hands by Marybeth Lorbiecki
”It was puppy brown with white lacy moons for nails. And palm side up, it was pink with dark lines. A
light pretty pink like an evening dress for Barbie.”
What phrase in these sentences is a simile?
a.
Puppy brown
b. White lacy moon for nails
c. Pink with dark lines
d. Like an evening dress for Barbie
No Star Nights by Anna Egan Smucker
Which of these sentences is an opinion?
a.
We liked it best when he had daylight hours to spend with us.
b. Dad worked the tree-to-eleven shift.
c. A loud steam whistle that echoed of the hills announced the change of shifts.
d. The windows in our school were kept closed to try to keep the graphite and smoke out.
What two effects did the manufacturing of steel have on the environment?
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2.___________________________________________________________________________________
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Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson
“In the still afternoon, mosquitoes whine and tease just like the overseer’s children did.”
What figure of speech does the author use in this sentence?
a.
Metaphor
b. Simile
c. Idiom
d. Personification
Up North at the Cabin by Marsha Wilson Chall
“Like a house on stilts, a bull moose stands in the shadows.”
What two things are being compared in this metaphor?
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“I close my eyes and once again I am up north at the cabin.”
How does the girl feel about the cabin?
a.
She dreams about when she can go back to school.
b. She can’t wait to go back to the cabin next summer.
c. She doesn’t like all of the wild animals around the cabin.
d. The lake at the cabin is too dirty.
Just Like Josh Gibson by Angela Johnson
How did the crowd feel when Grandmama stepped up to bat and hit the ball a mile away? Write one
detail from the selection that supports your answer.
a.___________________________________________________________________________________
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Who is the speaker in the selection?
a. Grandpapa
b. Grandmama
c. Granddaughter
d. Josh Gibson
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki
Describe how Shorty feels at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the selection. Use examples
from the selection to support your answers.
In the beginning, Shorty feels
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Example:_____________________________________________________________________________
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In the middle, Shorty feels…
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Example:_____________________________________________________________________________
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At the end. Shorty feels…
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Example:_____________________________________________________________________________
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“Two pitches and I swung both times and missed. The crowd was getting loud. “Strike Out!” No hitter,
no hitter!”
When Shorty hears this, what do you think he is feeling?
a.
Tired
b. Nervous
c. Confident
Miz Berlin Walks by Jane Yolen
Mama always said: “A body can’t be too careful.”
What did Mama mean by this statement?
a.
It’s not smart to talk to strangers.
b. An old person’s body is fragile.
c. The old lady should be careful on long walks.
d. The lady should walk with a cane.
“…when water lapped like wet tongues.”
What figure of speech does the author use in this sentence?
a.
Metaphor
b. Simile
c. Idiom
d. Personification
Ma Dear’s Aprons by Patricia McKissack
“Then he irons, and irons, and irons. “Oh my goodness!” Ma Dear replies, laughing at the scorched rag.”
What does the word scorched mean in the selection?
a.
Wrinkled
b. Folded
c. Burnt
d. Old