Supporting MCAS Open-Response Questions and Writing By Renee Abramson

OBJECTIVES Language Objective: Understanding word meaning by breaking apart words. Ex: colorful= full of color Identifying adverbs with -ly Using your word to word dictionaries Content Objective: Use of “voice” in writing Finding a unique topic Finding context clues Understanding a question without a question mark How to answer MCAS questions and write open response questions successfully.

Why Do We Need to Practice Open Response Writing as Part of Our Class Work? There are a lot of types of open-response questions. Your teachers want to see your ability to write in all areas of your school work and classes. This includes questions in Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science.

Let’s Look at Topic Choice for a Writing Prompt Choosing a unique and interesting topic is like shopping for a ‘dream car’. You do not want to drive what everyone else has………… NO MATTER WHAT IT IS.

Sure…Everyone Dreams of a Red Ferrari

But Its Been Done Before

Yeah. A Mercedes is a Nice Ride

But I’ve seen it on the road and If I have… then other people have.

Dare to Take a Topic That is Unique and All Your Own! A Pink Bentley. I bet you are the only one on the street with that ‘baby’.

REMEMBER! Who are you writing for? THE READER! (Be aware of your audience) and…… dare to take a risk and be:

BE DIFFERENT!

Hazard Zone You can often get into trouble right here because you might feel the WRITING is the important thing. You might think that it is enough to state your feelings about what you’ve read or the open response question.

It is Not Enough Do not forget to freely give ‘your VOICE’ in your writing.

When You Use Your Voice in Your Writing …  It brings your writing alive and gives it a personality and a sound of its own.  It is an opportunity to say how you truly feel.  You can sit back and think about the reader….but most important…  You can be YOU.

NEXT: Remember to Answer All Parts of the Question. Some questions have more than one part to it. Circle in your test booklet (not your answer booklet) each part of the question.

Remember Good readers (as well as test takers) use a questioning strategy for reading. This strategy will help you save time and focus energy.

Be a Detective! Gather ‘Evidence’ While Reading. Think of how you plan to gather evidence that will provide exactly the information that is asked for. You should understand the meaning of these terms that often appear in open response questions: analyze, cite, compare, contrast, decide, describe, draw, evaluate, explain, express, generalize, illustrate, interpret, list, paraphrase, point out, show, state, summarize, and support.

If You Do Not Understand These Words Then Use Your Word to Word Dictionaries! Remember: If you understand what is being asked of you then you will succeed. How Are These Ideas Similar? If you do not understand the word similar, then look it up in your word to word dictionary. Remember: If you understand the directions rather than guessing at them you will always be able to answer the question.

Ask Yourself “Did I?” “Did I fully review the question?” “Did I take the time to understand what was being asked?” “Did I get the point?”

Practice Makes Perfect! Practice ways of identifying evidence for later reference such as underline, highlight, or number (1…2…3) the information in the writing that relates to the question asked.

More Strategies Here are great ways you can practice MCAS open response questions:

Find CONTEXT CLUES because you cannot look up every word. Context clues are words or phrases around the new word that will help you find its meaning.

NEXT: Find the Topic Sentence Topic Sentence = Main Idea Your topic sentence is the first sentence in a paragraph. Remember each paragraph: Starts with a topic sentence that tells you about the main idea. Has supporting details that tell you more about the main idea. Ends with a sentence that tells you about the main idea.

Find the Main Idea in a Topic Sentence

REMEMBER: Always Ask Yourself What is the Author’s Purpose for Writing? The Author’s purpose is simply the reason why the author is writing a passage. There are five reasons why an author writes a passage. To… Persuade Inform Narrate Describe Entertain

Author’s Purpose

Remember… Do not forget to go back and check to make sure that you answered exactly what was asked.

Do Not Miss Anything. If you have been asked to support your answer with evidence from the excerpt or text and you did not, or did not give enough support, then you have not answered all parts of the question.

Stop and Always Ask Yourself: Am I answering the question? Does my answer cover all parts of the question?

Ask Yourself o Did I take the time to identify (mark) information in the reading that will support my answer?

Identify the Evidence You may need practice in identifying what evidence and supporting information “looks like.” This is a HUGE part of being a skillful reader.

Support Your Answer… o Cite specific evidence (this is extremely important) -- particular facts and details -- from the selection, which support the answer to the question being asked. Use “quotation” marks when taking a direct quote.

Use Quotation Marks for Direct Evidence.

Let’s try this: Based on the excerpt, explain why scorpions have been able to survive for millions of years. Support your answer with important and specific information from the excerpt. MCAS 2010 Scorpions have been able to survive for millions of years. The reading says:" Some early land-dwelling scorpions were three feet long. All of these giant scorpions died out, but scorpions have been a remarkably successful and diverse group on land for the past 325 million years. They thrived before, during, and after the dinosaurs.” Does this answer “why”? Scorpions have been able to survive for millions of years. The excerpt states, “Scorpions are not distributed randomly within a habitat.” In the reading Gary Polis points out “although they are primitive, they are highly successful.” Scorpions are able to adapt to their environment. The reading shows that they are successful because:" scorpions have slit-like organs on their legs that detect vibrations” and “scorpions detect air movements”. With these adaptations they have been able to survive for millions of years.

What Are They Asking Me? MCAS 2010 Writing Prompt Schools can have many types of problems such as only offering a limited number of after-school activities or having class sizes that are too large. Think about a problem at your school and how you might solve it. In a well-developed composition, describe the problem and how you would solve it. Explain why your solution would be a good one. What questions need to be answered in this writing prompt? (Warning: You do not need a question mark ? To have a question).

FINALLY: Ask yourself: Does my answer “flow” (are the ideas and evidence organized)? Take your time and go back and check.

Mechanics of Writing Although MCAS will score you on your ideas in all writing…. You are expected to demonstrate writing fluency. Of special importance are the basics of writing: Correct spelling and punctuation Well developed sentences and paragraphs

Your Final ‘Look Over’. Remember: You are looking for Errors- Is the spelling, capitalization and punctuation correct? Expansion of ideas- Have I completed and developed every thought and idea? Support- Have I supported my answers with evidence from the text? Word Choice- Have I used colorful adjectives and “better nouns”? Ex: Employment vs. Job Did I re-read (proof-read) my response to look for missing punctuation, incomplete or run-on sentences, and problems with sentence structure or paragraphs?

PROOF READING Proof-read by setting time aside for this purpose just prior to ‘turn in time’. Note: proof-reading should be limited to correcting, not expanding or creating content.

Be Confident! Usually less confident students avoid proof- reading and tend to scribble out errors that they make which creates a visual distraction on the page. Erase completely. When you proofread it may help by cupping your hands and reading into them softly so no one hears. This way it captures sound and even a faint whisper will seem very loud. This way you can hear what may have been spelled incorrectly.

There is no limit to what you can achieve if you put your mind to it. But remember: Who are you writing for? The Reader. “The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.” - Linus Pauling