18 Power Strategies

to Boost Reading & Writing Achievement on Standardized Tests

SECRET SITE

Quick Links

Skills 1-8  |  Skills 9-18

SKILL #1 Broaden text-type exposure

Standardized reading assessments provide students multiple passages on a common topic, issue, theme, or genre—and then ask them to respond. These texts include a wide range of text types, lengths, perspectives, versions, and complexities.

Vary text types

• Provide students similar multi-text experiences in your everyday classroom.

• Utilize a mixture of literature (fiction) and information (nonfiction) text reading.

• Utilize visual and multimodal texts.

• Access videos, photos, illustrations, and infographics for each content area. See below for links.

TECHNICAL SUBJECTS

“Read” visual texts

Reveal a Picture-of-the-Day and ask students to do the following:

• List 2-5 observable details. (I see ____.)
• Make 2-5 inferences based on observable details. (I infer ____ because ____ .)
• Make 2-5 predictions based on observable details. (I predict ____ because ____.)

Here are several free sources for fabulous photographs.

• NASA Picture of the Day
• National Geographic Picture of the Day
• Kodak Picture of the Day
• Zuma Picture of the Day
• Optics Picture of the Day
• Radiology Picture of the Day
• Historical Picture of the Day

SKILL #2 Juggle multiple texts

Know the testing parameters

Consider mirroring the testing scenario, requiring students to read multiple texts on a single topic or theme all in one sitting.
Research shows that it takes students LONGER to read digital text than a hard-copy printout. Give your students experience reading online.

Access FREE resources

Create paired-text passages by adding an informational text article to the texts you’re already using. Check out these websites for FREE news articles, videos, and photos.

SKILL #3 Determine main ideas & theme

• A topic is merely the text’s subject matter and can be identified in 1-3 words. However, the main idea of a text is explained as a complete sentence.

• Each main-idea title tells you what the song will be about.

• Picture books can be about the same topic, but have different main ideas.

• Although several newspaper articles can be about the same topic, they each can have their own unique main idea (Examples: 2012 Super Bowl, Tsunami in Japan).

Support Main Idea with Textual Evidence

• The evidence is in the details. Repeated key words and phrases are proof of the text’s main idea.

• If the headline is the main idea, then repeated key words, details, and phrases within the article are the evidence. 

Define Theme

• There are recurring thematic topics that appear with plots of literature and events in history.

• There are even recurring themes in life. Observe several thematic categories and life messages along the interstate on Values billboards.

Theme is not simply a word or phrase. Those topical themes can be fleshed out into sentences specific to the text.

Watch eighth grade teacher Sara Johnson explain theme in four steps.

SKILL #4 Track relationships & interactions

Track Ideas in NONFICTION

• Track a sequence of events or the development of an idea using a storyboard.

• Retell a sequence of events or the development of an idea using the 2-step ABC Chart.

• See the relationship between major events/concepts AND their corresponding settings.

• See the relationship between major events AND 1 person/group.

• See the relationship between major events

• AND the actions of 2+ people/groups.

• See the relationship between 2 simultaneous events.

• See the relationship between 3 simultaneous events. Example of simultaneous events happening in the same time period during the Vietnam War.

Track Characters in LITERATURE

• Track major events within the plot using a storyboard.

• Retell 1 character’s actions throughout a text with the Who Am I? activity.

• Track the evolution of a character, including actions and feelings from beginning to end.  Examples from Mean Jean from The Recess Queen and Vashti from The Dot.

• Track the evolution of 2+ characters within the story from beginning to end.

• See the relationship between major events AND their corresponding settings.

• See the relationship between major events AND 1 character’s actions/responses.

• See the relationship between major events AND 2+ characters’ actions/responses.

Analyze Character Development

• Define character development to include: motivations, actions, feelings, and traits.

• Teach students the difference between fleeting feelings and tried & true traits.

• Compare feelings versus traits with The Way I Feel (J. Cain) and The Way I Act (S. Metzger).

• Target specific trait vocabulary using Manyak’s list of recommended traits per grade level and comparing these terms to simpler synonyms.

• Students identify character traits they possess.

• Using the Character Web, infer one trait a character possesses and cite textual evidence to support it.

   

SKILL #5 Interpret vocabulary

Look for context clues INSIDE an unfamiliar word.

• A “root word” is any word part that carries meaning. Therefore, prefixes, suffixes, and bases are all examples of root words.

• Introduce students to these three parts using the visual of a bicycle, as created by Beech Grove Middle School (Beech Grove, IN) teacher Sara Wiley.

• Access root-word reference lists.

Look for context clues OUTSIDE an unfamiliar word.

• Train them to reverse and fast forward around the tricky word.

• Teach the 8 types of context clues.

Identify clues to infer word meanings.

• Using WordMarks—bookmarks for words—students note unfamiliar words in their everyday reading and approximate their meanings using context clues.

• Context clues include visuals, too. With the Vocabulary Cartoon of the Day series, students practice inferring word meanings using a situational sentence and an illustration.

High School/SAT

SKILL #6 Analyze physical text features

Identifying & using text features

Teach students that informational text has multiple entry points. Each text feature serves as a different place the reader can start reading and learning about the topic.

Watch the video directions for a digital scavenger hunt of text features (Answer sheet).

Students communicate what info they learned from a particular feature with Information T.H.I.E.V.E.S.

SKILL #7 Analyze organizational text structure

Organizer for Chronological Structure

Organizer for Descriptive Structure

Organizer for Cause-Effect Structure

Organizer for Problem-Solution Structure

Organizer for Proposition-Support Structure

Organizer for Compare-Contrast Structure / Matrix

Introduce 6 common text structures

Introduce the most common text structures to your students using this slide show (PDF version, PPT version, Smartboard version).

• Reveal each text-structure type using the same topic: Olympics passages, Traffic passages.

• For a list of “pure text” examples sorted by each text structure, download this three-page document. All of these titles are available through The Literacy Store.

• Here are short expository passages that have been written by teachers to demonstrate each text structure type.

Recognize relationships

• Transitions within the text signal to the reader that the writer is shifting ideas. But remember, lists provided to student-writers should sort transitions by text structure—not by alphabetical order. Access a list of transition words more appropriate for elementary students.

• Help students discern what structure a text is written in by noting the signal words. By highlighting those words before you read, students begin associating certain transitions with particular text structures.

SKILL #8 Determine purpose, POV, & perspective

Define key terms

• Clarify the subtle, but significant differences among these three academic terms.

• Watch a video of Kristina explaining these same terms.

Define types of argumentative evidence

• Evidence in the elementary standards.

• Evidence in the secondary standards.

Distinguish between perspectives

Reveal examples of the same topic/issue as seen from different viewpoints.

• Making dinner example.

• Students could then generate their own multi-perspective quick writes on other simple topics (PDF template, Word template).

Transition to looking at 2-3 AUTHORS’ texts using “What’s the Angle?” 

• Identify the perspective of each author.

• Provide details the author cites as evidence for his opinion.

• Check out an example on three different texts written about the Gold Rush. Access the original texts as well.

Cite textual evidence

• Like many other assessment questions, students need to root their inferences/answers in evidence.

• Provide sentence starters for them to construct a short response.

English / Language Arts

VIDEOS

• Documentary.net
• Very short documentaries
• Movie Clips
• Ted Ed Literature lessons
• MIT Education Literare channel

PHOTOS

• Images of manuscripts (some Shakespeare)

• Fictitious Dishes–images of food mentioned in literature

ILLUSTRATIONS

• Create charts with Google

• Create graphs

• Make charts

INFOGRAPHICS

• Teaching with Infographics: Language Arts

• Infographics based on occurences of words in the NY Times

History / Social Studies

VIDEOS

• Teacher Tube collection of history/social studies instructional videos
• Ted Ed Social Studies lessons
• The Middle Ages in 3 1/2 minutes
• Thanksgiving reading passages & videos

PHOTOS

• Virtual Tours
  • Google Earth–landforms
  • Mt. St. Helen–3-year changes
  • Fullscreen 360
  • Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
  • Supreme Court Tour
  • Taj Mahal
  • 360 Areal Tours of Volcanoes and more
  • Arounder–sites around the world
• Interactive Sites
  • Digital History–Timeline of U.S. History
  • Digital History
  • Lincoln Archives
  • Salem Witchcraft Accusations

ILLUSTRATIONS

• Make charts with Google

• Create graphs

• Make charts

INFOGRAPHICS

• Teaching with Infographics

The Sciences

VIDEOS

• MIT Educational channel–Health
• MIT Educational channel–School of Science
• Khan Academy: Science
• YouTube: Reactions–Everyday Chemistry
• YouTube: It’s Okay to be Smart

PHOTOS

• The Atlantic

  • Astronomy

  • Environment

  • Health

  • Science

• Scientific American

  • Science

  • Mind in Pictures

  • No Two Snowflakes Alike

ILLUSTRATIONS

• FlatIcon.com

• Icon Archive

• Make charts with Google

• Create graphs

• Make charts

INFOGRAPHICS

• Celebrating Space Exploration and Technology

• Teaching with Infographics: Science and Health

Technical Subjects: Math

VIDEOS

• Khan Academy

PHOTOS

• Math imagery

• Visual math–takes the language-heavy confusion out of math

ILLUSTRATIONS

• Teaching math with art
• Create any kind of chart

INFOGRAPHICS

Technical Subjects: Music

VIDEOS

• YouTube videos for music teachers

• Learn to play the piano online

• Free drum performance and instruction videos

• Interactive visuals for music theory

PHOTOS

• Music in images–composes a song based on an image

ILLUSTRATIONS

• Learn how to read music

• How to read sheet music

INFOGRAPHICS

• Top 10 music infographics
• Chart of the Day

Technical Subjects: Art

VIDEOS

• MIT channel for the arts

• MIT EDU channel for art, culture, and technology

PHOTOS

• Magazine Covers
  • Life magazine 10 iconic covers

ILLUSTRATIONS

• Create a chart

• Create a graph

• Create charts

INFOGRAPHICS

• NY Times learning blog: Teaching with infographics

• Information is beautiful

• STEAM not STEM

• Visual.ly timeline for art history

Technical Subjects: Technology

VIDEOS

PHOTOS

• Free digital photos for science and technology

• National Geographic technological innovations

ILLUSTRATIONS

• Icon archive

• Icons to place on a map

INFOGRAPHICS

• NY Times Interactive timeline for learning machines