Strategies for Reading
When reading for the MSPAP, kids need to be taught the following
strategies as they read:
Questions Versus Text
Everyone knows those students who go right to the questions
first, read one, flip to the text to find the answer, copy it
down, and then read the second question, and so on. That
technique will not work with MSPAP, and the more experience kids
have with higher level reading questions, the more they will
figure it out. However, we can save them time by telling them up
front that it won't work. Give them some examples that require
reading between the lines and using prior knowledge, and they
will quickly see.
Other students will diligently read all of the text before
going to the questions. They may use a highlighter or a pencil
to mark important ideas, but without focus, they end up
highlighting a lot of material. Then they go to the questions,
and as they refer back to the text, they have a lot of
highlighting to sift through. They are still in better shape
than the aforementioned students, though, when it comes to
answering the questions.
The technique that should be used is to teach the students
to read all of the questions first. That will give them an idea
of what to focus on when they read. As they read, they can
highlight text that pertains to the focus of the questions. We
have been doing "directed reading lessons" for years with kids,
and we always tell them what to read to find. Using this
technique with MSPAP, reading the questions first will
essentially tell them what to read to find. So students should
read the questions, read all of the text and highlight
information that pertains to the questions, and then begin
answering the questions. This strategy should be modeled for the
students.
Use the Dictionary!
Each test cluster should have a minimum of one dictionary. If possible, make sure that test clusters have several dictionaries each.
Kids should be aware that they should ask for the dictionary and
use it when reading, for both the questions and the text, if
needed. If they do not understand the words "protagonist" or "propaganda" or "ionization," they
should look them up. The first year of testing, our kids were
flocking to the dictionary to look up "box and whisker" plots,
and "stem and leaf" plots and "Pythagorean theorem."
Teach Kids About the LU Icon
When kids see the LU icon next to set of lines where they are to write a response, that question is being double scored: once for
reading, (or math, or science, or whatever discipline) and once
for language usage. I used to maintain that the question(s) with the icons should be answered first, but have since learned that because questions may build on experiences throughout the task, skipping ahead to answer a question with an icon may mean that the student will not have information needed to completely answer the question. Therefore, teach kids that when they see the LU icon, to be aware that their capitalization, spelling, punctuation, usage, and sentence structure are also being scored in this response. Give students practice with the icon by including it occasionally when they have to answer a reading question. Then, score that question not only for the reading, but for LU.
For comments and inquiries, send email to:
Cam Miller
Curriculum Planner
Stephen Decatur Middle School
(formerly Berlin Middle School)
Worcester County