ACT Reading & ELA Preparation Color:________

Red Orange Green Blue

STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU TEST BETTER ON THE ACT ACT Reading Test and ELA Test © 2011 Paul Kaliher and Joan Geyer Kaliher

Jigsaw Activity Jigsaw group will be your collaborative group. Each of you will assign yourself a color that will be associated with the section of reading that you will do. Give students time to read over their segment at least twice and become familiar with it. You will take notes on your colored section. You will temporarily meet with your “expert groups” by having one student from each jigsaw group join other students assigned to the same section. You will then meet back with your jigsaw group. You will present your information to the group. Every group member wiill then take notes in your ELA composition book.

Expert Group: Each person will go around and share one item from their list that they took away. Everyone else will place a check on their list if they have the same thing or something similar. If you don’t, you need to add it to your list. Ask any clarifying questions about anything you’re not sure about. If nobody in your expert group is clear, look it up on your iPad. Place a star next to information that will be valuable to your group.

Jigsaw Group: Each color will share what you learned from your section. Red, Orange, Green, Blue Everyone will take notes in their composition book. Once everyone is done, you will answer the Post Questions which is the purple slide at the end of the powerpoint. Once you are 100% complete, come to my desk and I will give you a stamp.

The ACT Reading Test 40 questions covering 4 passages that need to be answered within 35 minutes 8 to 8 ½ minutes to read each passage and answer the questions

Questions will cover Prose Fiction, Humanities, Social Studies and the Natural Sciences Reading Test score will include subscores on 20 questions in the Arts/Literature sections and 20 questions in the Social Studies/Sciences sections

The Reading Test evaluates your ability to understand the passages that are in the test, not your ability to remember facts. When reading the Prose Fiction passage, do not just note events. Be aware of the tone and mood of the passage, the relationships of the characters, and the emotion implied by what the characters are saying

The Humanities passage is factual, not fiction The information presented in the Humanities passage is important, but you also need to pay attention to the author and his or her point of view

You may be asked to project how the author would respond to a situation based on what the passage says about the author’s opinions The passage may have characters who are historical or contemporary people who have lived, not fictional characters like those is the Prose Fiction passages. You will be asked to infer or identify relationships between ideas, events, trends, people, or thoughts

The Social Studies passage will present information obtained through research Pay attention to dates, names and concepts Understand cause-effect relationships, sequences of events, and comparisons

The Natural Sciences passage will usually present you with a scientific topic and the significance of this topic Be aware of cause-effect relationships between natural phenomena Be aware of comparisons and sequences of events

Track but do not memorize rules, theories, or scientific laws that are mentioned If jargon or technical language is used, the passage will help you understand the meaning from the context in which it is used

Two types of questions are used: – Referring – Reasoning

The questions will test your ability to: Determine the main ideas of the paragraph(s) or passage Identify details and the meanings of those details Understand comparative relationships (how things compare and how they contrast) Understand Cause and Effect relationships

The questions will also test your ability to: Make generalizations (draw a conclusion) Figure out the meaning of words from the context Understand the sequence of events (the order in which they occur) Draw conclusions about the author’s voice and approach (Inferential; you have to understand attitude and point of view of author and the main purpose of the article)

Test Taking Strategies Pace Yourself 2-3 minutes on each passage and an average of 35 seconds to answer each question Think of the test as four 8 ½ minute sections If you are a slower reader, preview the questions and then look at or scan the passage for the answers

Test Taking Strategies Answer all questions, even if you have to guess Keep the passage as whole in mind as you answer the questions Read quickly but carefully. Know what each question asks and select the best answer Sample practice tests will help you get a complete picture

The ACT English Test 5 essays 75 questions 45 minutes (36 seconds per question) 9 minutes for each essay and its questions

Test Taking Strategies Skim essay and questions to get a feel for the writing style and types of questions Select the answer which considers the context of the question in relation to the writing style of the essay Read a sentence or two beyond the sentence containing the portion being questioned

Test Taking Strategies Try to get an understanding of what the writer is trying to say Eliminate answer choices that are clearly wrong or ridiculous Look for degrees of correctness as several answers may appear to be correct Avoid making new mistakes when selecting answers to correct mistakes in an essay

Test Taking Strategies Pay attention to the wording of each question Watch out for absolutes in the answer choices (for example; Always, Never ) Some questions will ask you to choose the alternative for the underlined portions that is NOT acceptable or LEAST acceptable, rather than the best choice

Test Taking Strategies Choose the BEST answer based on the question and the essay Reread the sentence and substitute each answer choice and decide which is best Reread your selected answer. If the underlined portion is already correct, then select the NO CHANGE answer

Test Taking Strategies Some questions ask about a section of the essay. They are identified by a question number contained in a box after the relevant section At the end of an essay, you may find questions which ask about the essay as a whole with instructions in a box telling you this

Test Taking Strategies Use care in 2 part questions such as those with a yes or no answer, followed by a supporting reason for the answer. In 2 part questions, you have to decide which option is best, and then which reason best supports that option and most accurately reflects the essay. Awareness of the type of question helps, but the most important thing is for you to focus on exactly what the question asks and then select the best answer.

How will we apply this information to our preparation in this class? We will focus on each Reading Topic by splitting them up into units and reading several pieces that relate to the topic. We will focus on mastery of questions related to: – Main point, purpose, argument – Inference and attitude – Interpretation of words We will build on the following skills throughout each unit: – Vocabulary – Root words – Grammar – Writing conventions – Writing strategies

Post Questions: 1)What information stood out to you and why? 2)What information do you think would be most valuable to remember and/or apply? Why? 3)What areas do you think you will have the most trouble with in ELA/Reading of the ACT? 4)What strategies do you think will help you the most and why?