Grade 10 Science: Your Toolkit for Success on the OSSLT

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test a provincial test of reading and writing skills You need to pass the Literacy Test to receive your Ontario Secondary School Graduation Diploma. You have until you graduate to pass it (but you want to pass it this year!!)

March 31, 2011, morning 2.5 hours (with breaks)

You will be doing a practice test on March 21 so you can see what it is like. Your English teacher will take up the practice test with you

in June a report will tell you if you have been successful You won’t receive a mark—just whether or not you have passed This goes on your transcript as a checkmark (you got your Literacy credential) When will I know the results?

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 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 :

NARRATIVE TEXTS ( 550 to 600 words) 1. A dialogue: presents a conversation between two people (225 to 250 words) 2. A real-life narrative: presents an account of a significant time in an individual’s life ( words) Reading Tasks (p.2)

INFORMATION TEXTS (225 to 250 words) 1. Information paragraph 2. News report : presents information in the form of a news story TODAY! Reading Tasks (p.2)

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)

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

Reading “on the lines:” using the information that is directly stated in the text. It’s right there. You just have to find it. Reading On the Lines

Reading “between the lines:” using the facts and details as clues to make reasonable guesses about what is not directly stated in the text (making inferences) Reading Between the Lines What is most reasonable, most likely, most probably true?

Reading “beyond the lines:” using the literal facts and details and your inferences to make connections to the world and ideas outside of the text (making connections) Reading Beyond the Lines

Corandic is an emurient grof with many fribs. It granks from corite, an org that cairns like lange. 1.What is corandic? 2.What does it grank from? 3.What is corite? What’s the difference?

Corandic is an emurient grof with many fribs. It granks from corite, an org that cairns like lange. 1.What is corandic? an emurient grof 2.What does it grank from? corite 3.What is corite? an org that cairns like lange Reading on the Lines questions

Corandic is an emurient grof with many fribs. It granks from corite, an org that cairns like lange. Discuss with a partner how to classify corandic. Is it: a) an animal b) a plant c) a mineral or element d) a bacillus or virus Be prepared to give reasons for your choice.

Corandic is an emurient grof with many fribs. It granks from corite, an org that cairns like lange. If you and your partner could defend your choice with reasons, you were MAKING INFERENCES. You were using clues in the text and your knowledge of scientific terminology to make a “best guess” about the meaning of the passage. Reading Between the lines

Corandic is an emurient grof with many fribs. It granks from corite, an org that cairns like lange. You have just read the whole text passage, and you have learned that corandic: 1.Is an animal that becomes a mineral when it dies. 2.It lives in the oceans and creates important ecosystems in shallow seas. 3.The first three letters of its name is a clue. What is corandic? Reading Beyond the lines

Corandic is an emurient grof with many fribs. It granks from corite, an org that cairns like lange. If there were more corite(s) in the world, would it be a better place? Support your opinion with reasons and details. Reading Beyond the lines

If there were more corite(s) in the world, would it be a better place? Support your opinion with reasons and details. To answer this question, you need to make connections: corite (what it does, the effect it has) people places systems plants animals Reading Beyond the lines

When you make connections, you are going outside/beyond the lines. You are bringing yourself and things from outside the text into your answer.

…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…

With your table group, sort the key question words under the headings: TIP: six or seven in each category Try it! Reading on the lines Reading between the lines Reading beyond the lines

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

Discuss in your groups: 1 a)What type of text is this--informational, narrative or graphic text? (go back to page 2 of your handout to help you decide what text form this is.) b) What form is it specifically? c) What makes you think that? 2. What features of this text confirm that you are correct? Hadfield spacewalk giant step for Canada

1. Skim the passage. Discuss with your group: What’s this going to be about? What do We know about this topic already? 2. Look carefully at the photograph: What information do we get from the photo? 3. Now read questions 1 to 6. Decide as a group: what type of skill will we need to use in each question? reading on the lines? reading between the lines? or reading beyond the lines? 4.Read the selection, and answer the questions as a group. As a group:

Hadfield spacewalk giant step for Canada Reading Skill typeAnswer Reading between the lines A J Reading on the linesB F Reading between the linesD Reading beyond the linesAsks how you would feel

Graphic Text next week in your Math class Do the Long Distance Pen reading and questions on your own Answers will be posted in “OSSLT” in the pick-up folder. Next…