How Can I Help My Child Unlock the FCAT

Writing and Reading

FCAT

F Florida’s C Comprehension A Assessment T TestThe Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test®

(FCAT) is part of Florida’s overall plan to increase student achievement by implementing higher standards.

What Score is The Key to Mastery of the FCAT Writes

Level 4 or More!

FCAT Testing Schedule

FCAT Writing Assessment March 1-3

Important Information

The assessment will once again have only one session (prompt/essay) and will be called FCAT Writing.

Please come to school on time on March 1st! The remaining days are for make-up and ESOL/ESE accommodations.

How Can I Improve My Child’s Writing? Please encourage your child to re-read what

they write, to add voice to their paper and remember those WOW words!

“Exuberant” “iridescent” “Zany” “Zest”

How Can I Improve My Child’s Writing?

Please review daily, with your child, the difference between an expository and a narrative writing.

Narrative Writing

Narrative writing tells a story!The Emperor’s New Clothes

“Is he an impoverished king?”

Expository Writing

Expository writing’s is to inform, explain, describe, or define the author's subject to the reader.

Ask Them Questions Like:

What does an expository or narrative paper do? What are the parts of an expository or narrative

paper? What should you always include in your

expository and narrative essays to make it pop? What are wow words? Give me an example of a simile Give me an example of a metaphor Give me an example of a strong verb

FCAT Writing Rubric — Grade 4 Score Points in Rubric

• 6 Points. The writing is focused on the topic, has a logical organizational pattern (including a beginning, middle, conclusion, and transitional devices), and has ample development of the supporting ideas. The paper demonstrates a sense of completeness or wholeness. The writing demonstrates a mature command of language including precision in word choice. Subject/verb agreement and verb and noun forms are generally correct. With few exceptions, the sentences are complete, except when fragments are used purposefully. Various sentence structures are used.

FCAT Writing Rubric — Grade 4

• 5 Points. The writing is focused on the topic with adequate development of the supporting ideas. There is an organizational pattern, although a few lapses may occur. The paper demonstrates a sense of completeness or wholeness. Word choice is adequate but may lack precision. Most sentences are complete, although a few fragments may occur. There may be occasional errors in subject/verb agreement and in standard forms of verbs and nouns, but not enough to impede communication. The conventions of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are generally followed. Various sentence structures are used.

FCAT FCAT Writing Rubric —

Grade 4

• 4 Points. The writing is generally focused on the topic, although it may contain some extraneous or loosely related information. An organizational pattern is evident, although lapses may occur. The paper demonstrates a sense of completeness or wholeness. In some areas of the response, the supporting ideas may contain specifics and details, while in other areas, the supporting ideas may not be developed. Word choice is generally adequate. Knowledge of the conventions of punctuation and capitalization is demonstrated, and commonly used words are usually spelled correctly. There has been an attempt to use a variety of sentence structures, although most are simple constructions.

FCAT Writing Rubric — Grade 4

Unscorable. The paper is unscorable because • the response is not related to what the prompt requested the student to do, • the response is simply a rewording of the prompt, • the response is a copy of a published work, • the student refused to write, • the response is written in a foreign language, • the response is illegible, • the response is incomprehensible (words are arranged in such a way that no meaning is conveyed), • the response contains an insufficient amount of writing to determine if the student was attempting to address the prompt, or • the writing folder is blank.

What Score is The Key to Mastery of the FCAT Reading

No Less than a Level 3!

FCAT Testing Schedule

FCAT Reading and MathApril 11 – 22, 2011

FCAT

F Florida’s C Comprehension A Assessment T TestThe assessments consists of criterion-referenced

tests (CRT) measuring selected benchmarks in reading and other subject areas based upon the Sunshine State Standards (SSS).

Reading Benchmarks Addressed on the FCAT

WORDS & PHRASES IN CONTEXT

meaning of words in context

word analysis

Reading Benchmarks---ContinuedMAIN IDEA, PLOT & PURPOSE

main idea

supporting details

chronological order

author’s purpose in a simple text plot

development & conflict

Reading Benchmarks---Continued

COMPARISONS & CAUSE/EFFECT use of comparison & contrast

cause & effect relationships

similarities & differences among characters, settings, events

Reading Benchmarks---Continued

REFERENCE & RESEARCH • organization & interpretation of

information

How is my child preparing for the FCAT Reading in school?

Weekly Reading Assessments Small Group, in which students practice reading

texts at their own reading level and through social studies and science connections (I.e. finding the author’s purpose and main idea of texts in those subject areas.

Individual Intervention with instruction created to meet the individual need of the students.

Homework and special assignments which help supplement taught benchmarks.

How Can I Help My Child Prepare At Home?

Encourage your child to read non-fiction (true) texts (including menus, maps, charts, instruction manuals, newspapers, etc.). These reading materials comprise 40% of FCAT passages.

Make sure your child completes his or her homework assignments. Homework helps reinforce what’s taught in the classroom.

Encourage your child to attend Saturday school!

Read aloud with your child. Make reading aloud a bedtime routine. Alternate between reading to your child and having him read to you to ensure he hears fluent reading and practices his reading strategies (Visualizing, Summarizing, Asking Questions, Making Connections, Predicting, Fluent Reading).

How Can I Help My Child Prepare At Home?

Encourage your child to create a personal dictionary.

Read and discuss a newspaper article with your child. Ask him what was the main idea and to list or discuss the supporting details. Many FCAT questions ask the student to pick out or find the main idea in a passage or paragraph. You could extend this activity to your favorite television program.

When your watching a DVD stop and ask your child to predict what they expect to happen next.

The night before, make sure your child gets plenty of rest and arrives at school on time. Encourage your child not to skip breakfast! The body needs fuel to think!

In Summation:Most importantly, be encouraging during FCAT testing.

Remember this may be a stressful time and your child may need a little extra love.

And finally parents, Thank you for supporting our efforts. We look forward to a successful outcome! Onward and Upward!

At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of parents. ---Jane D. Hull Noted Educator and Philanthropist

Resources

http://fcat.fldoe.org/pdf/rubrcw04.pdf http://fcat.fldoe.org/default.asp http://schools.firn.edu/websites/broward/tra

dewinds_elementary_school/classrooms/lisa_widelitz/fcat_information.htm

http://fcat.fldoe.org/aboutfcat/english/writing/writing.html