ACT Reading Preparation (for use in Social Science)

1. ACT Reading Preparation(for use in Social Science) University of Illinois-Chicago Curriculum Framework Project Spring 2011

2. Schedule for Lesson #1 • Introduction to Test • Strategies

3. Introduction to the Test:Why Prepare for the ACT? • SKILLS Tested on the ACT: • Main Idea • Supporting Details • Inference • These lessons will focus on TEST TAKING STRATEGIES.

4. Introduction to the Test:Order of Passages The ACT Reading passages almost always appear in the following order: • Prose Fiction • Social Science • Humanities • Natural Science

5. Introduction to the Test:Order of Passages • By practicing with these passages, you can figure out your strengths and weaknesses. • Start with your strengths.

6. Pause and Consider Why is it important to start with your strengths? TIME!!!! Many students do not finish all 4 passages and 40 questions.

7. Introduction to the Test:Content of the Reading Test • Prose Fiction (25%) • 885 words • Questions based on intact short stories or excerpts from short stories or novels.

8. Introduction to the Test:Content of the Reading Test • Social Science (25%) • 775 words • Questions based on passages that may include: anthropology, archaeology, economics, history, political science, and sociology.

9. Introduction to the Test:Content of the Reading Test • Humanities (25%) • 600 Words • Often from first-person narrative perspective • Questions based on passages that may include: art, dance, music, philosophy, and theater

10. Introduction to the Test:Content of the Reading Test • Natural Sciences (25%) • 545 words • Questions based on passages about topics such as: astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, physics, and zoology

11. Pause and Consider Which of the 4 passages do you feel is your biggest strength? WHY?

12. Introduction to the Test:Reading Question Categories • Main Idea Questions (MI) • Supporting Detail Questions (SD) • Inference/Evaluation Questions (I)

13. Introduction to the Test:Main Idea Questions • Understanding theme/thesis • Understanding author’s purpose • Determine which of the answer choices best summarizes the information presented in the passage either as a whole or in a specific paragraph.

14. Introduction to the Test:Main Idea Question Stems • Which of the following is the main point…? • The main argument the author makes about. . . is: • What is the main purpose of [a specific paragraph or line]?

15. Introduction to the Test:Supporting Details Questions • Shows understanding of individual points • Demonstrate comprehension and careful understanding • Determine which fact(s) best supports main idea. • Sequence the events in the passage

16. Introduction to the Test:Supporting Details Question Stems • According to the [a specific paragraph/section/passage]… • Who/when/what/where did… • According to the passage, all of the following are true about ------ EXCEPT. . . • The passage makes it clear that…

17. Introduction to the Test:Inference-Evaluation Questions • Make judgments • Identify the implications of the supporting details in the passage. • Draw conclusions based on reading the passage • Determine the author’s idea through generalization of the facts

18. Introduction to the Test:Inference-Evaluation Questions • Analyze cause-and-effect relationships • Identify multiple meanings of a word and determine its definition with context clues from the passage • Determine the implications of the author’s general tone or attitude

19. Introduction to the Test:Inference-Evaluation Question Stems • The author suggests/implies/ that… • It can most reasonably be inferred that the author…. • With which of the following statements would the author agree? • According to the passage, the WORD/TERM ‘…’ means which of the following? • The idea….is best exemplified by which of the following quotations from the passage? • The attitude of the author toward x is…

20. Introduction to the Test:Roman Numeral Questions • 3 or 4 statements each labeled with a Roman numeral. • Treat each as true-false statement. • Save time by figuring out which statements are false & eliminating answers that contain that answer. Which of the following subjects are covered on the ACT: I. English Usage II. Math III. Gymnastics A. I and II only B. I and III only C. II and III only D. I, II, and III

21. Schedule for Lesson #1 • Introduction to Test • Testing Strategies

22. Tests & Strategies: Part 1 General Strategies: • Improve Your Reading Habits • Pace Yourself • Leave Nothing Blank • If Necessary, Concentrate on Three Passages Most Carefully • Know Nonfiction v. Fiction Passages • Prioritize Your Tasks

23. General Strategy #1: Improve Your Reading Habits • Read editorials • Editorials from good newspapers and some magazines are approximately the same length as ACT passages. • They also cover a variety of topics which broadens your knowledge base. Better background knowledge = faster, more accurate reading. • Read high quality texts • Make it a habit to read magazines and newspapers such as U.S. News, Time, The New Yorker, NY Times, Discovery, Science, Smithsonian, Christian Science Monitor, National Geographic, The Nation, The New Republic, Harpers, and Atlantic • Read reviews and criticism. Read columnists.

24. Be Aware of Your Reading Habits • Don’t mouth the words! • Keep eyes moving! • Think about groups of text rather than individual words. • Determine how fast you can skim and still comprehend.

25. Concentrate on Your Reading • Force yourself to pay close attention. • Know the difference between your interacting voice and your distracting voice. • Interacting voice: the voice that makes connections, asks questions, identifies confusions, agrees and disagrees with ideas. This voice deepens the reader’s understanding of the text. • Distracting voice: the voice that pulls the reader away from the meaning of the text. • Practice reading with concentration until you can do so easily.

26. Pause and Consider On which of these “Reading Habits” do you MOST need to improve? What is the first step you can take to improve?

27. General Strategy #2: Pace Yourself • You have 35 minutes to answer 40 questions on the reading. • This means 8 minutes and 45 seconds per passage/ten questions. • This is NOT ENOUGH TIME to understand everything in the passages!

28. General Strategy #3: Leave None Blank • There is no penalty for guessing, so it is to your advantage to answer every question during the time allowed for that test. • Make sure to leave time for guessing on the reading test. Many people will have to guess on the last passage so leave at least 30 seconds to fill in extra bubbles.

29. General Strategy #4: Concentrate on Three Passages (if necessary) If you: • find yourself unable to push your reading to complete all four passages in the time you have, then… • aim to read three really well. • can answer 30 questions correctly, then… • you will still find your score a 26 on this section. • With some good guessing for the last ten, you might raise that to a 30.

30. General Strategy #5: Nonfiction vs Fiction Passages • The approach you take to reading the passages should be different for these two types of passages. • Fiction and often Humanities passages are inferential (abstract, not concrete) and must be read “between the lines.” • The non-fiction passages do not need such a close reading for you to be successful.

31. General Strategy #6: Prioritize Your Tasks • GO WITH YOUR STRENGTHS! • LOOK AT 4 PASSAGES & COMPLETE THE EASIEST FIRST • PREVIEW FIRST AND LAST SENTENCES (prereading) • A quick preview allows you to answer: “What is the topic of the selection?”

32. General Strategy #6: Prioritize Your Tasks • READ THE TITLE OF THE PASSAGE • Read to answer the questions. • ANSWER THE QUESTIONS • Don’t waste time on ones you don’t know- guess or leave time to go back . • ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS FOR A PASSAGE BEFORE MOVING ON!

33. Schedule for Lesson #1 • Introduction to Test • Testing Strategies

35. Schedule for Lesson #2: Active Reading • Structural Clues • Annotating • Hinge Words

36. Active Reading: Structural Clues • Each passage was written by a PERSON, and people write for a purpose. • Some authors want to trace historical causes or consequences. • Some authors want to critique a theory. • Some authors want to draw a comparison between two things. • Some authors want to tell a story. • Some authors just want to describe something.

37. Active Reading: Structural Clues Why is it important to figure out WHY an author wrote a passage? Many questions ask you what the AUTHOR means, NOT what YOU think! Knowing what the AUTHOR would say can help you answer confusing questions!

38. Active Reading: Structural Clues • Think of the passage as a map • Questions are like hints as to where to go next • The passage gives you the rest: Anticipate author’s direction by noticing structural clues (how passage is organized, where paragraphs break, what words are bold or italicized)

39. Active Reading: Structural Clues • Look up the answers • Don’t remember them—find them! • Think of the passage as a reference book and refer back. • Don’t trust your memory!

40. WRITE ON THE TEST as you read!! Use different marks to mean different things. Circle names of people Underline critical phrases, terms, main ideas Number (“1,” “2,” “3,” etc.) ideas in a sequence No matter what, underline “key words” in the question stem. Look for those “key words” in the passage. Active Reading: Annotate

41. Active Reading: Example from Humanities (56A) Question Text from Passage “Undoubtedly, each of these notions does explain part of the soaps’ mass appeal. Soaps can ease the loneliness and boredom of life. They do offer advice, sometimes implicitly, often explicitly, on what to wear, how to conduct love affairs, how to save a marriage, how to handle one’s children, how to cope with heartache, how to enjoy the intrigue of romance.” (lines 19-25) “Loneliness, we are repeatedly told, has become pandemic in America…Whether through religion, clubs, associations, or support groups—or through daily immersion in a favorite soap—many Americans search for some kind of communal life to counter varying degrees of social isolation and alienation.” (lines 42-48) 21. The passage indicates that religion, support groups, and soap operas are alikein that they all: A. Are circulated by a common culture B. Provide a way to combat loneliness. C. Appear intimate but are remote. D. Enable people to participate vicariously.

42. Active Reading: Example from Social Science (56A) Question Text from Passage “Women’s suffrage challenged one of the fundamental assumptions of American politics: that the basic unit of political life was the family, with the father standing at its head representing and protecting his wife and children in the wider world. To grant suffrage to women would be to break up that fundamental unit.” (lines 12-18) 13. The passage indicates that at the time of the women’s suffrage movement, one of the fundamental assumptions of American politics was that the basic political unit was the: A. Individual voter. B. Precinct C. Village or town D. Family

43. Underline or circle hinge words Words or phrases that are used to alert you to shifts in thought Words or phrases that are used to drive a point home Answers are often located near hinge words! Common Hinge Words but, although, yet, however, as a result, nevertheless, on the other hand, despite, while, in spite of, consequently, therefore, thus, alternatively Active Reading: Hinge Words

44. Active Reading: Example from Social Science (56A) Question Text from Passage “In 1910 the fight for women’s suffrage was more than sixty years old, a national campaign by the National American Woman Suffrage Association was twenty years old, and yet women could vote in only Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado.” (lines 3-7) (this implies that there HAD been action, but the word “yet” tells you that the long period of action had not accomplished much!!!) 15. The passage presents the information that in 1910 “women could vote in only Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado” (lines 6-7) primarily to make the point that the: A. Women’s suffrage movement had made little progress up to that time. B. Women’s suffrage movement was just then beginning to get started. C. Women’s suffrage movement has made tremendous strides since then. D. Western states were the first to be receptive to the cause of women’s suffrage.

45. Schedule for Lesson #2: Active Reading • Structural Clues • Annotating • Hinge Words

47. Schedule for Lesson #3 • Examine Specific Questions from Practice Test 56A • Identify Strategies to Help Answer Difficult Questions • Practice the Strategies

48. Practice Test Question 11: Supporting Details Question Text from Passage ”Men gradually agreed to extend property rights to women, because property in a wife’s name could save a man from his creditors.” (lines 44-46) 11. The passage indicates that women’s demand for property rights was agreed to primarily because men realized that: A. Women were indeed individuals deserving of their own rights. B. If they gave in on the property rights issue, they’d be able to hold firm on suffrage. C. Conceding the right would provide men with a way to protect themselves from creditors. D. Women had unique interests and were needed as students in universities and teachers in schools.

49. Strategies to Help Answer This Question • Active Reading: Underline “key words” in the question stem. • Identify which key words in the question stem also appear in the text. • Look back at the passage! Do not try to REMEMBER the answer. • When looking at the answer choices, think about meanings, not exact words.

50. Practice Test Question 11: Supporting Details Question Text from Passage ”Men gradually agreed to extend property rights to women, because property in a wife’s name could save a man from his creditors.” (lines 44-46) 11. The passage indicates that women’s demand for property rights was agreed to primarily because men realized that: A. Women were indeed individuals deserving of their own rights. B. If they gave in on the property rights issue, they’d be able to hold firm on suffrage. C. Conceding the right would provide men with a way to protect themselves from creditors. D. Women had unique interests and were needed as students in universities and teachers in schools.