1
How exactly do I prepare my students for the EOG?
Teach the Common Core State Standards for
Reading!
3
Step 1: Analyze the Test YourselfAt your table read and answer the
questions to the first two passages in your EOG released items.
What skills and strategies did you use to complete the questions?
What vocabulary did you have to know in order to answer the questions?
4
Step 2: Demystify the Test for StudentsAsk students:
What do you know about the EOG?What are you wondering about the EOG?
5
Explain How the Test WorksShow students the format of the
test (use the released items)
Use test preparation material that matches the actual test!
6
Step 3: Define Test–Specific Vocabulary
Using the released test:Allow students to look over the question
stems (not the answers) and have them highlight the key vocabulary
7
Then…Use the vocabulary in your everyday
instruction.
Create an EOG Vocabulary Word Wall.
Use the vocabulary in word sorts.
Play vocabulary review games.
8
Student Created PowerPointshttp://fwes.wcpss.net/LAB%20WEB/EOG_READING_VOC
ABULARY.pdf
9
10
11
Words that Help
Us Become Test-
Taking Superstars
12
13
Talk a Mile a MinuteTheme
messagelessonmoral
learnedpoem
14
Talk a Mile a MinuteKey Detail
main ideatext
fictionnonfiction
recount
15
Talk a Mile a MinuteMain Idea
topickey details
textsummarize
support
16
Talk a Mile a Minutedetermine
describedecidechoose
17
Other Games and ActivitiesK-5 Wiki
18
19
20
I Have/Who Has
More Ideas….Vocabulary Rating
SortsVocabulary CharadesDraw Me!Bingo
21
Step 4: Teach the Test Taker, Not the Test
Now it’s time to practice with sample tests!
22
Model!Remember the skills and strategies you used to take the
test in Step 1?Teach them to the students!
REMEMBERWe cannot just give students questions and expect them to
develop critical thinking. We must MODEL expected thinking and then provide multiple opportunities for
guided and independent practice.
23
Model – What do test takers do?Monitor ComprehensionAsk QuestionsDetermine ImportanceMake ConnectionsInferCreate Mental ImagesUse Fix-Up Strategies
Monitor Comprehension“…if the child comes away from the book with no plot
line, no movies-in-the mind’s eye, then this reading is destructive to the child…It is a major problem if alarm bells don’t even go off in the child's mind when print doesn’t generate sense”
~Lucy Calkins in A Teacher’s Guide to Standardized Reading Test
25
What do the standards look like on the test?We need to teach students:
Formal languageHow what we are used to in the
classroom “looks like on the test”!
26
Can you match the questions to the ELA standards??
27
Model
28
If teaching students to look at the questions
first, present the idea as a scavenger hunt. Have them read only 2 or 3 questions and then hunt for the answers as they read.
Make sure they are careful marking the answers in the test book and the bubble sheet.
Teach test taking strategies in guided readingWho? What?STPJR question cards
Group students based on need
29
Collect the StrategiesName the
strategies
List the strategies
Confer with students on the strategies they are using
30
Answering the QuestionsWhat strategy is really required to answer the
questions – decide between 4 answer choices
Cut up the answers and debate! Which one is it?
Prove it with evidence from the text
31
“Show me students who can write (answers), and I’ll show you students who can pick (answers).”
-Roger Farr
32
Tell Students:“In tests, you should never count on
just what you know from your life to give you an answer. Never. There should always be something in the passage that can give you a clue. Always.”
33
The questions are answered…Pick a Card – Any Card
Numbered Head Response
Showdown
34
Step 5: Increase Stamina!
Sticking with it, even when your body and brain get tired!
35
Students have stamina!Playing video gamesPlaying with their friendsWatching TVPracticing for a sport, dance,
gymnastics, cheerleading etc…
36
The estimated testing time is 3 hours.
The maximum time allowed is 4 hours (without accommodations).
37
What are YOU doing to prepare your students for the length of the test?
38
Teach strategiesHow to deal with difficult textRead short chunks/pause/ Who? What?/ STPRead in your head with exaggerated expressionRead quietlyRead with your finger
Increase independent reading timeMind breaks
Take a break after each passageRest your eyesStretchTake deep breaths
39
40
41
42
43
Language
44
Did You Know?If students do not understand 5% of
the words, they will have difficulty comprehending the text if they comprehend at all.
45
What standards?RL 4RI 4L4 a (context clues)L5 a (figurative language)
46
Choose the text based upon your lesson goalsDistinguishing literal from non-literal
language?Figurative language?
Choose the words and phrases you want to teach
Model for students
Give students the opportunity to practice using their vocabulary strategies
Vocabulary StrategiesJan Richardson
Reread – context cluesCheck the pictureUse a known partMake a connectionUse the glossary
48
Teach Independent Word-Learning Strategies
Model how to use the strategy
Gradual Release of Responsibility
Give students the opportunity to practice with real text
49
Other Best Practices to Consider…Grouping students by need/abilityRotations Test Prep breaks – motivationCompetitionsRole Play (students teach)
51
Motivation
52
ResourcesReading Tests as a Genre Study, Hornof,
The Reading Teacher, 2008
Five Ways to Prepare for Standardized Tests Without Sacrificing Best Practice, Hollingworth, The Reading Teacher, 2007
Meaningful Practice: Test Prep in a Third-Grade Public School Classroom, Kontovourki & Campis, The Reading Teacher, 2010
53
WebsitesGeneral Informationhttp://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/testing/
Released Formshttp://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/testing/r
eleasedforms
Standardized Tests as a Unit of Studyhttp://www.frankserafini.com/classroom-resources/stan
dardized-tests-as-a.pdf54