Helping Kids Succeed on Open
Response Questions
Haverhill Middle School teachers
November 3, 2009
Essential Questions
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How can we help students slow down, focus
on the text, and monitor their understanding
while reading?
What are the elements of a high-scoring open
response answer?
How can we help students include those
elements so they can achieve high scores?
The MCAS is a Reading Test.
Your Classroom
• Includes texts from
different genres.
MCAS
•Includes texts from
different genres.
• Teacher questions in class • Multiple choice questions
discussion determine
determine overall student
overall student
comprehension.
comprehension.
“The Contender”
• Read “The Contender.” DO NOT read
the test questions first.
• As you read, note strategies that you
use to make sense of the text.
• Do the multiple choice questions.
• Do the Open Response question.
• Note any strategies or procedures
you use to answer the questions
Reading Strategies You Used
Question-Answering Strategies You Used
Getting Ready to Read: PSST!!
Purpose Setting Statement (PSST!)
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In italics at the very beginning of the text.
Includes key words to identify genre and
focus for the reading.
Each text has different purpose and focus;
reader’s strategies will vary with text.
Students need to choose what best response and
approach will be.
Stop and Think Strategies
Write a short SUMMARY.
 Summary of facts (“the lines”)
 Summary of inferences (“between
the lines”)
• Ask a QUESTION.
• DRAW a picture.
•
Modeling the Strategies
• Think-alouds
• Stress importance of “tracks in the
snow”: making thinking visible
• Students use strategy notes to talk with
each other, as a whole class and in
small groups
• Students prepare and give think-alouds
Multiple Choice = Reading Task
Students need to have justification from the
text for their answers.
• THE TEST IS NOT
 A test of what they remember
 About what THEY would do or think
• STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO
 Locate a paragraph where their answer
was found
 Describe in words their reasoning for their
answer
Open Response
• OR’s assess reading comprehension and
content only (not writing skill)
• Students must answer the question asked
• Answers are found or implied in text
• Answers should be supported with details,
evidence from text
• Conventions/organization are NOT scored
Open Response = Reading Task
Your Classroom
Open-Response
Teacher asks questions in Open-response question
class discussion about
asks about larger ideas in
larger ideas in text.
text.
Students answer orally.
Students answer in
written form.
Using Colors to Plan an OR Answer
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Choose any two colors for students to associate with parts
of a successful response.
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FROM YOUR HEAD (Answer and
explanation/elaboration---Ideas)
FROM THE TEXT (Evidence from
the passage---Support)
We will be using red for Ideas and green for support
Model to students how to analyze their responses using
these colors.
How to Answer an ELA
Open-response Question
Read the question carefully.
Explain your answer.
Add supporting details.
Double-check your work.
Approaching the Open-Response
Read the question carefully.
Explain your answer.
Add supporting details.
Double-check your work.
Colored OR Question for “The
Contender”
Based on the excerpt, explain what
Donatelli means when he says,
“Everybody wants to be a champion.
That’s not enough.” Support your
answer with relevant and specific
details from the excerpt.
Rereading with a Purpose
• Students have already read the article once, for
overall understanding and made “tracks in the
snow.”
• They have also reread certain paragraphs in order
to answer their Multiple Choice questions, so they
are familiar with the article content.
• Now they should reread or skim with a focus: find
interesting facts and elaboration and/or support.
• They can star the facts and put “S” beside the
support/elaboration.
Helping Students Plan Answers
ANSWER
Hard work
Keep going, with no guarantee
of success
Desire, heart
EVIDENCE
“It says…”
SAY MORE
“This Shows that…”
“you get up at 5:30..”
“You run every day, rain or
snow”
“Jump rope, stretching
exercises, sit-ups, push-ups
“No pies and cakes, no soda.”
”(par. 31-33)
To be a boxer-Slave every single day
do hard physical exercises
over and over
give up what you love-- sleep,
junk food, late nights, free
time
“All this sacrifice… nine times
out of ten.” Par 34
Keep going even if you may
not make it to the top
Be mentally tough, ignore
doubts.
“You have to start by wanting
to be a contender… heart will
take him.” (par. 48)
Really want to box, for its own
sake, not to get fame and
attention.
love the competition, the
feeling of doing your absolute
best, challenging yourself
Open-Response Rubric
• 4 = Clear, complete & accurate
explanation; specific detail.
• 3 = Mostly clear complete & accurate
explanation; general detail.
• 2 = Partial explanation; limited detail.
• 1 = Minimal explanation; little or no
detail.
Open-Response Rubric
• 4 = Clear, complete & accurate
explanation; specific detail.
• 3 = Mostly clear complete & accurate
explanation; general detail.
• 2 = Partial explanation; limited detail.
• 1 = Minimal explanation; little or no
detail.
Looking at Performance Standards
• Found in “anchor” papers
 Student work that demonstrates examples of work at
score points 0 - 4
 Scoring is matching an answer to the question’s rubric
and anchor papers
 *Marking up/coloring text is a teaching technique and
is not a DESE program or strategy
Now Let’s Use the Colors to
Analyze the Anchors
Putting This Into Practice
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Working with a partner at your table,
read and score the responses in the
Practice Set.
Record the score and reason on
Scoring Chart.
Be ready to share. We will discuss each
piece as a group at the end.
Which Strategies or Activities Do You Plan to
Try Out in Your Classroom?
TIME FOR LUNCH!
See you at 12:30!
“Brothers and Sisters:”
Try Out the Strategies
• Read “Brothers and Sisters…” Don’t read
the questions first!
• As you read, try out making “tracks in the
snow:” summary, question, picture.
• Note what additional knowledge or
strategies kids might need to make sense
of the passage
• Do the multiple choice and record where
in the text you found the answers
Thoughts on Strategies
Thoughts on Multiple Choice
Fiction vs. Non-Fiction
Fiction
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Narrative mode
Teach students to identify
character, conflict, and plot
elements to fully understand
the text.
Non-Fiction
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Narrative, persuasive,
informational, descriptive,
compare/contrast…
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Teach students to correctly
use headings, images,
captions, and sidebars to
understand the text.
Fiction vs. Non-Fiction OR Questions
FICTION
NON-FICTION
• Commonly asks for
inference.
• Student must state
inference(s)
• Student must support
inference(s) with
evidence from text.
• Student must explain
how evidence
supports inference(s).
• Commonly asks for
answers right in text.
• Student must state
answer(s).
• Student must elaborate or
explain answer(s) using
support from text and/or
own ideas grounded in
text.
Past Grade 6 OR Questions
• Based on the selection, describe how the Japanese
paper house was designed to be flexible and
convenient for daily life. (08)
• Based on the article, explain how dogs are trained to
be actors and how they are treated while working.
(07)
• In Paragraph 1, the author states that if you have not
heard about hypothermia, it is “something you should
know about.” Using information from the article,
explain the most likely reason the author makes this
statement. (08)
How to Answer an ELA
Open-response Question
Read the question carefully.
Explain your answer.
Add supporting details.
Double-check your work.
Using Colors to Analyze Student
Work
• Answer(s), often from the text (Red)
•
Details from the text that support or
elaborate the answer(s) (Green)
Approaching the Open-Response
Read the question carefully.
Explain your answer.
Add supporting details.
Double-check your work.
Open-Response Rubric
• 4 = Clear, complete & accurate
explanation; specific detail.
• 3 = Mostly clear complete & accurate
explanation; general detail.
• 2 = Partial explanation; limited detail.
• 1 = Minimal explanation; little or no
detail.
Open-Response Rubric
• 4 = Clear, complete & accurate
explanation; specific detail.
• 3 = Mostly clear complete & accurate
explanation; general detail.
• 2 = Partial explanation; limited detail.
• 1 = Minimal explanation; little or no
detail.
Colored OR Question for “Brothers and
Sisters”
Based on the article, explain how
siblings can work together to get
along. Support your answer with
important information from the
article.
Finish the Planning Chart
ANSWER
Make rules
EVIDENCE
“It says…”
SAY MORE
“This means/shows
that…”
p. 15 “Decide what
bugs you, then set
ground rules”
You have to be fair and
follow the rules, too
Ex: Keep out
Now Let’s Use the Colors to
Analyze Student Work
Active Reading is Not Just for MCAS!!
• Strategies supported by research (Reading Next 2004)
 Explicit teaching of strategies
• Word attack, fluency, vocabulary
• Comprehension - summary (synthesis), inference, etc
• Consistent reinforcement throughout school
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Strategies embedded in subject-matter content
Modeling by a proficient readers (“think alouds”)
Opportunity for choice
Use of multiple types of texts
Collaboration
Writing instruction and technology use
Practicing Active Reading in Class
• Teachers plan and model active reading
strategy
• Students practice and demonstrate skill in
strategies in variety of materials
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In groups
Orally
Individually
In writing
• Teachers scaffold down support
The Progress from Dependence to
Independence
Students take the MCAS test ALONE
YOUR CHALLENGE:
How can you plan your year so that
your students feel ready and
confident by MCAS time---prepared
for independence?
A Useful Mnemonic for Planning
• TIC
 Teacher in center
• TAC
 Teacher as coach
• TOE
 Teacher on edge
Tic-Tac-Toe in Action
• TIC
Teacher models strategies in Think-Alouds
• TAC
“Brain Game:” while reading as a whole class,
teacher asks students to orally model strategies
• TOE
Students prepare and give Think-Alouds in small
groups
Students discuss questions/ideas in small groups
Students practice strategies in writing while
reading on their own
Which Strategies or Activities Do You Plan to
Try Out in Your Classroom?