welcome to act reading - tomhave ela 9 & ap language -...

Welcome to ACT Reading

Mrs. Tomhave

etomhave@phasd.us

Today’s Agenda9:00 -9:10 = Introductions & Goals

9:05 – 9:50 = Baseline Score & Scale Scoring

9-50 – 9:55 = What did you notice? Strengths? Weaknesses?

9:55 – 10:10 = Questions types and examples

10:10 – 12:10 = Passage deconstructions & Strategies

12:10 -12:40 = Lunch

12:40 – 12:45: Scale Scores

12:45 – 1:15 = Question Match

1:15 – 1:45 = Full Practice Reading Test

1:45 – 1:55 = Scoring & Strength finding

1:55 -2:00 = Survey & Debrief

On-Line Test Practice

1) Sign-in to www.mel.org , enter password2) Click on Reading test

3) Begin when prompted; you will have 40 minutes4) When finished, record score on your hand-out

If you need to use the

restroom, please feel fre

e to

do so at any time…

ACT Reading: #4Prose Fiction1. A2. G3. B4. F5. C6. J7. D8. J9. C10.H

Social Science11.B12.F13.A14.F15.C16.G17.D18.J19.A20.J

Humanities21.B22.F23.C24.H25.D26.F27.D28.G29.B30.H

Natural Science31.B32.F33.D34.G35.D36.H37.B38.F39.D40.H

Scale Scoring1) Add up your correct answers (raw score)for each of the 4 sections of

passage #1

2) Add up your correct answers (raw score) for each of the 4 sections of passage #2

How to determine your scaled score:

_________ x 36= _______ /40 = ____________Raw Scaled ScoreScore

ACT: ReadingGeneral Information:

•35 minutes to read 4 passages & answer 40 questions• Always in the same order: Prose fiction, Social Science, Humanities, Natural Science

Question Types:

1) Main Idea: of a paragraph or passage (theme)

2) Inference: what is suggested, implied, inferred

3) Detail: facts, people, theories, relationships, etc.

4) Vocabulary: in context w/line reference

National Average: 21

ACT: ReadingQuick Tips for a better score

Manage your time Average about 8 ½ minutes per section

Only use the info presented in the passages; NOT background knowledge

Could throw you off…all of the answers are in the text

Start with your strongest passage first; save hardest for last

Be sure to bubble in correctly if using this method…know your

strengths!

ACT Reading:Strategies that work:

ACT Decoding Key

Circle Important names, dates, events…

Underline Key points & arguments

Star Important ideas, unique things that stand out

Remember:

You CAN write on the test!!!

Strategies that work:• Read the question stem first• Start with your strongest passage, end with

your weakest• Speed/Skim read…if you’re comfortable• Mark up the text• Use the process of elimination• Manage your time• Never leave an answer blank!

Question Types1) Main Idea

2) Inference

3) Detail

4) Vocabulary

Passage as a whole or individual paragraphs; “theme”

What is “suggests”; author’s intentions; your “guess”

Facts, dates, names, etc.; line references

Words w/context clues & line references

• Look at the set of questions you were handed

• With a partner, match up the questions to the “answer set” they belong with

• Read through the answer sets you matched to the question and determine/guess the correct answer. Record your guess.

• Read through the passage that the questions go with, annotating as you read.

• Answer the questions.

• Log your thoughts for discussion

Question Analysis

ACT: ReadingSample Questions

PROSE FICTION: This passage is adapted from the novel The Men of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor (©1998 by Gloria Naylor).

Questions regarding:

• Relationship between characters

• Inference

• Mood & tone

ACT Reading: Prose Fiction

Prose Fiction1) Read passage #1 (9 minutes)

2) Answer the reading questions & Score

3) Discuss: What do you notice?

4) Read passage #2 (9 minutes)

5) Answer Reading questions & Score

6) Discuss: What do you notice?

What you noticed…• Topic/theme:• Question Types:• Tone:• Characters:• Difficulty:• Organization:

What you noticed…• Topic/theme:• Question Types:• Tone:• Characters:• Difficulty:• Organization:

ACT: ReadingSample Questions

SOCIAL SCIENCE: This passage is adapted from the chapter “Personality Disorders” in Introduction to Psychology, edited by Rita L. Atkinson and Richard C. Atkinson (©1981 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.).

Questions regarding:

• Cause-effect relationships

•Comparisons

•Sequence of events

•Lots of DETAIL questions

1) Read passage #1 (9 minutes)

2) Answer the reading questions & Score

3) Discuss: What do you notice?

4) Read passage #2 (9 minutes)

5) Answer Reading questions & Score

6) Discuss: What do you notice?

Social Science

What you noticed…• Question Types:• Topic:• Organization:• Difficulty:• Key elements:

ACT: ReadingSample Questions

Questions regarding:

• Non-fiction

• Point of View

• Infer relationships between ideas,

events, trends, etc.

HUMANITIES: This passage is adapted from “A Poem of One’s Own,“ an essay by Mary Jo Salter The essay was taken from Audiences and Intentions: A Book of Arguments (©1994 by Macmillan College Publishing Company, Inc.).

1) Read passage #1 (9 minutes)

2) Answer the reading questions & Score

3) Discuss: What do you notice?

4) Read passage #2 (9 minutes)

5) Answer Reading questions & Score

6) Discuss: What do you notice?

Humanities

What you noticed…• Topic range:• Specifics:• Question types:• Difficulty level & WHY:• Paragraph breaks:

ACT: ReadingSample Questions

Questions regarding:

• Significance of topic

• Specialized/technical language

• Cause-effect, comparisons,

sequences…

NATURAL SCIENCE: This passage is adapted from the article “How to Build a Baby’s Brain” by Sharon Begley (©1997 by Newsweek, Inc.).

1) Read passage #1 (9 minutes)

2) Answer the reading questions & Score

3) Discuss: What do you notice?

4) Read passage #2 (9 minutes)

5) Answer Reading questions & Score

6) Discuss: What do you notice?

Natural Science

What you noticed…• Question Types:• Tone:• Difficulty Level:• Organization:

Scale Scoring1) Add up your correct answers (raw score)for each of the 4 sections of

passage #1

2) Add up your correct answers (raw score) for each of the 4 sections of passage #2

How to determine your scaled score:

_________ x 36= _______ /40 = ____________Raw Scaled ScoreScore

Strategies that work:• Read the question stem first• Start with your strongest passage, end with

your weakest• Speed/Skim read…if you’re comfortable• Mark up the text• Use the process of elimination• Manage your time• Never leave an answer blank!

On-Line Test Practice

1) Sign-in to www.mel.org , enter password2) Click on Reading test

3) Begin when prompted; you will have 40 minutes4) When finished, record score on your hand-out

If you need to use the

restroom, please feel fre

e to

do so at any time…

Survey Link

• www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BQ8AK5GYM/

Thank you!