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Helping Kids Succeed on Open Response Questions

Helping Kids Succeed on Open Response Questions. Haverhill Middle School teachers November 3, 2009. Essential Questions. How can we help students slow down, focus on the text, and monitor their understanding while reading? What are the elements of a high-scoring open response answer?

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Helping Kids Succeed on Open Response Questions

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  1. Helping Kids Succeed on Open Response Questions Haverhill Middle School teachers November 3, 2009

  2. Essential Questions • How can we help students slow down, focus on the text, and monitor their understanding while reading? • What are the elements of a high-scoring open response answer? • How can we help students include those elements so they can achieve high scores?

  3. The MCAS is a Reading Test.

  4. “The Contender” • Read “The Contender.” DO NOT read the test questions first. • As you read, note strategies that you use to make sense of the text. • Do the multiple choice questions. • Do the Open Response question. • Note any strategies or procedures you use to answer the questions

  5. Reading Strategies You Used

  6. Question-Answering Strategies You Used

  7. Getting Ready to Read: PSST!! Purpose Setting Statement (PSST!) • In italics at the very beginning of the text. • Includes key words to identify genre and focus for the reading. • Each text has different purpose and focus; reader’s strategies will vary with text. • Students need to choose what best response and approach will be.

  8. Stop and Think Strategies • Write a short SUMMARY. • Summary of facts (“the lines”) • Summary of inferences (“between the lines”) • Ask a QUESTION. • DRAW a picture.

  9. Modeling the Strategies • Think-alouds • Stress importance of “tracks in the snow”: making thinking visible • Students use strategy notes to talk with each other, as a whole class and in small groups • Students prepare and give think-alouds

  10. Multiple Choice = Reading Task Students need to have justification from the text for their answers. • THE TEST IS NOT • A test of what they remember • About what THEY would do or think • STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO • Locate a paragraph where their answer was found • Describe in words their reasoning for their answer

  11. Open Response • OR’s assess reading comprehension and content only (not writing skill) • Students must answer the question asked • Answers are found or implied in text • Answers should be supported with details, evidence from text • Conventions/organization are NOT scored

  12. Open Response = Reading Task

  13. Using Colors to Plan an OR Answer • Choose any two colors for students to associate with parts of a successful response. • FROM YOUR HEAD (Answer and explanation/elaboration---Ideas) • FROM THE TEXT (Evidence from the passage---Support) • We will be using redfor Ideas and greenfor support • Model to students how to analyze their responses using these colors.

  14. How to Answer an ELAOpen-response Question Read the question carefully. Explain your answer. Add supporting details. Double-check your work.

  15. Approaching the Open-Response Read the question carefully. Explain your answer. Add supporting details. Double-check your work.

  16. Colored OR Question for “The Contender” Based on the excerpt, explain what Donatelli means when he says, “Everybody wants to be a champion. That’s not enough.”Support your answer with relevant and specific details from the excerpt.

  17. Rereading with a Purpose • Students have already read the article once, for overall understanding and made “tracks in the snow.” • They have also reread certain paragraphs in order to answer their Multiple Choice questions, so they are familiar with the article content. • Now they should reread or skim with a focus: find interesting facts and elaboration and/or support. • They can star the facts and put “S” beside the support/elaboration.

  18. Helping Students Plan Answers

  19. Open-Response Rubric • 4 = Clear, complete & accurate explanation; specific detail. • 3 = Mostly clear complete & accurate explanation; general detail. • 2 = Partial explanation; limited detail. • 1 = Minimal explanation; little or no detail.

  20. Open-Response Rubric • 4 = Clear, complete & accurate explanation; specific detail. • 3 = Mostly clear complete & accurate explanation; general detail. • 2 = Partial explanation; limited detail. • 1 = Minimal explanation; little or no detail.

  21. Looking at Performance Standards • Found in “anchor” papers • Student work that demonstrates examples of work at score points 0 - 4 • Scoring is matching an answer to the question’s rubric and anchor papers • *Marking up/coloring text is a teaching technique and is not a DESE program or strategy

  22. Now Let’s Use the Colors to Analyze the Anchors

  23. Putting This Into Practice • Working with a partner at your table, read and score the responses in the Practice Set. • Record the score and reason on Scoring Chart. • Be ready to share. We will discuss each piece as a group at the end.

  24. Which Strategies or Activities Do You Plan to Try Out in Your Classroom?

  25. TIME FOR LUNCH! See you at 12:30!

  26. “Brothers and Sisters:”Try Out the Strategies • Read “Brothers and Sisters…” Don’t read the questions first! • As you read, try out making “tracks in the snow:” summary, question, picture. • Note what additional knowledge or strategies kids might need to make sense of the passage • Do the multiple choice and record where in the text you found the answers

  27. Thoughts on Strategies

  28. Thoughts on Multiple Choice

  29. Fiction Narrative mode Teach students to identify character, conflict, and plot elements to fully understand the text. Non-Fiction Narrative, persuasive, informational, descriptive, compare/contrast… Teach students to correctly use headings, images, captions, and sidebars to understand the text. Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

  30. FICTION Commonly asks for inference. Student must state inference(s) Student must support inference(s) with evidence from text. Student must explain how evidence supports inference(s). NON-FICTION Commonly asks for answers right in text. Student must state answer(s). Student must elaborate or explain answer(s) using support from text and/or own ideas grounded in text. Fiction vs. Non-Fiction OR Questions

  31. Past Grade 6 OR Questions • Based on the selection, describe how the Japanese paper house was designed to be flexible and convenient for daily life. (08) • Based on the article, explain how dogs are trained to be actors and how they are treated while working. (07) • In Paragraph 1, the author states that if you have not heard about hypothermia, it is “something you should know about.” Using information from the article, explain the most likely reason the author makes this statement. (08)

  32. How to Answer an ELAOpen-response Question Read the question carefully. Explain your answer. Add supporting details. Double-check your work.

  33. Using Colors to Analyze Student Work • Answer(s), often from the text (Red) • Details from the text that support or elaborate the answer(s) (Green)

  34. Approaching the Open-Response Read the question carefully. Explain your answer. Add supporting details. Double-check your work.

  35. Open-Response Rubric • 4 = Clear, complete & accurate explanation; specific detail. • 3 = Mostly clear complete & accurate explanation; general detail. • 2 = Partial explanation; limited detail. • 1 = Minimal explanation; little or no detail.

  36. Open-Response Rubric • 4 = Clear, complete & accurate explanation; specific detail. • 3 = Mostly clear complete & accurate explanation; general detail. • 2 = Partial explanation; limited detail. • 1 = Minimal explanation; little or no detail.

  37. Colored OR Question for “Brothers and Sisters” Based on the article, explain how siblings can work together to get along.Support your answer with important information from the article.

  38. Finish the Planning Chart

  39. Now Let’s Use the Colors to Analyze Student Work

  40. Active Reading is Not Just for MCAS!! • Strategies supported by research (Reading Next 2004) • Explicit teaching of strategies • Word attack, fluency, vocabulary • Comprehension - summary (synthesis), inference, etc • Consistent reinforcement throughout school • Strategies embedded in subject-matter content • Modeling by a proficient readers (“think alouds”) • Opportunity for choice • Use of multiple types of texts • Collaboration • Writing instruction and technology use

  41. Practicing Active Reading in Class • Teachers plan and model active reading strategy • Students practice and demonstrate skill in strategies in variety of materials • In groups • Orally • Individually • In writing • Teachers scaffold down support

  42. The Progress from Dependence to Independence Students take the MCAS test ALONE YOUR CHALLENGE: How can you plan your year so that your students feel ready and confident by MCAS time---prepared for independence?

  43. A Useful Mnemonic for Planning • TIC • Teacher in center • TAC • Teacher as coach • TOE • Teacher on edge

  44. Tic-Tac-Toe in Action • TIC Teacher models strategies in Think-Alouds • TAC “Brain Game:” while reading as a whole class, teacher asks students to orally model strategies • TOE Students prepare and give Think-Alouds in small groups Students discuss questions/ideas in small groups Students practice strategies in writing while reading on their own

  45. Which Strategies or Activities Do You Plan to Try Out in Your Classroom?

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