Success on the OSSLT: GRAPHIC TEXTS Grade 10 Math Classes Dr. Norman Bethune CI

What the OSSLT is (p.1) Who is writing it When you will write it, and how long (p.1) Where you will write it (p.1) Why you write it (p.1) and how to do well on it (p. 2-10)

Practice Test March 21

NO--it’s a reading and writing skills test. You use reading and writing skills in ALL your subjects. Most of what you will do on the test is NON- FICTION reading and writing. Why am I hearing this in Math and Science? Isn’t this an English test?

Informational Texts (225 to 250 words) -paragraph -news report Narrative Texts ( 550 to 600 words) -real-life narrative -dialogue Graphic Text (fewer than 150 words) Three types of Reading Tasks

multiple choice: choose the right answer from the four given open response: write your answer on the blank lines they give you R Two types of reading questions:

Two long writing tasks -series of paragraphs expressing an opinion (fill 2 pages) -news report (fill one page) Two short writing tasks (6 lines to fill up) Writing Tasks

Multiple choice questions will ask you to show your understanding of how writers: -develop a main idea with supporting details -organize their ideas -use language conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation and word usage) W And some writing questions :

1. Reading “on the lines” 2. Reading “between the lines” 3. Reading “beyond the lines” Three Reading Skills Tested (p. 3)

…in a good way. They are LOADED WITH CLUES for you about: the type of reading skill they’re testing where to find the answer how to give the answer The OSSLT questions are LOADED

Reading “on the lines:” right there in the text—just find it. Reading On the Lines According to the text… Who is… Where is… How is… When is/was… What is/was…. If it sounds like there is a definite answer, it’s probably “on the lines.”

Reading “between the lines:” the answer isn’t right there: reread and use clues to come up with the best, most reasonable, most probable, most likely answer. Be a detective (or a scientist). Reading Between the Lines The most likely… The best answer… Why… What could…. Who might… If it sounds like you are being asked to make the best choice or reasoned guess, it is probably “between the lines.”

These questions will ask you to connect your own knowledge to what is presented in the text. Be an expert. Reading Beyond the Lines If it asks for an opinion, addresses “you”, and asks you to explain, you need to go “outside” the ideas in the text and think about that topic. Why do you think … What is the purpose of… Use your own ideas to explain… Explain whether or not…

1. Preview the text passage first by skimming it. This will give you an overall impression of what it is going to be about. 2. Look carefully at the photograph or diagram. That will give you clues to the meaning of the text. 3. Next, read the questions. This will give you some things to notice or look for when you read the text passage. Another Success Secret: use strategies before you start to read

GRAPHIC TEXTS (less than 150 words) - presents ideas and information with the help of graphic features, such as diagrams, photographs, drawings, sketches, patterns, timetables, maps, charts or tables Reading Tasks (p.2)

I chose this graphic form for my slides with purpose. What important message do I want you to get about reading and writing from the photos on the slide?

A graphic text is DESIGNED and STRUCTURED (puposely) to help you understand the information. Let’s test that hypothesis.

1. What is similar about these two? A1 A2 A3 2. What is different about these two? What process is each describing? A1 A2 A3

1. What is similar about these two? A B C A B C 2. What is different about these two? What is each graphic describing?

1. What is similar about these two? 2. What is different about these two? What is each graphic describing? A Y X X Y A

1. What is similar about these two? 2. What is different? What is each describing?

Examining a Graphic Text: The Chemistry Behind Ice Cream (on pink) A. Features of the text: 1 a) How many text boxes are there? b) What is the purpose of the text boxes? c) How do the headings in some of the text boxes help you as a reader? 2. a) How many different graphic elements are there? What are they? b) Graphic elements usually have labels. Give two examples from the text.

Examining a Graphic Text: The Chemistry Behind Ice Cream (on pink) B. Help yourself “match up” text & graphics: The text boxes contain important information. You can help yourself as you are reading by “matching up” words and graphics. You can draw arrows from the words in the text box to the graphics on your page. For example:

Examining a Graphic Text: The Chemistry Behind Ice Cream (on pink) “…Ice reduces the temperature of the cream to the freezing point of water (0° C), but this is not cold enough to freeze the cream, which has a lower freezing point than water.” 25º 20º 15º 10º 5º 0º -5º -10º -15º

You can start reading anywhere on the text. You often read graphic texts from the bottom up. Skim the graphics first, then: graphics  words  graphics  words Make notes, draw arrows, write on the text Reading Graphic Texts: TIPS

Questions on the Graphic Text: The Chemistry Behind Ice Cream (on pink) 1.With your table partners, decide what reading skill is required by each question—is it: on the lines; between the lines; beyond the lines 2. With your table partners, answer the questions.

Questions on the Graphic Text: The Chemistry Behind Ice Cream (on pink) 1.C (on the lines – bottom text box) 2.C (between the lines) 3.D (beyond the lines) 4.D (between the lines) 5.B (on the lines-- “heat loss”) 6.A (between the lines)

Take a close look at the three different graphic texts from previous OSSLTs. For each of the them, discuss: 1.What is the text mainly about? What tells you that? 2.What is a good way to read this text? Where would you start? Does it matter? 3.What features do the texts have that help you to read them easily? 4.Put them in order of easier to hardest to read. Be prepared to explain why you think so. As a group:

1.What is the text mainly about? What tells you that? Yellow BlueGreen How to use the TTC Telephone Information system How an Eco- friendly Fish Farm Operates Using the National Archives Web site

2. What is a good way to read this text? Where would you start? Does it matter? Yellow BlueGreen Find the category of information you want and follow the arrows. Examine the graphic and the labels first. Then read the text blocks. Browse the whole page quickly. Then follow the numbers.

3. What features do the texts have that help you to read them easily? Yellow BlueGreen -numbers -arrows that show steps in the process -shading -Legend -arrows -labels -blocks of text that refer to parts of the diagram to explain processes -numbers -arrows -headings -underlined words -text block that explains the site

4.Put them in order of easier to hardest to read. Why do you think so? Hardest? Moderate? Easiest? Yellow Blue Green Yellow Blue Green Yellow Blue Green

Writing the News Report – History Class Samples will be posted in “OSSLT” in the pick-up folder Practice Test March 21 OSSLT March 31 Next…