ACT Close and Critical Reading Using ACT Content Passages

Getting Ready for the Big Game! Just like playing a sport or an instrument, students need practice before game day. Preparing a game plan!

Why is this important? Today in Michigan schools, the measure of English Language Arts for the purpose of Annual Yearly Progress report will be determined by Reading only.

Why is this Important? Only 25 percent of the passages on the ACT assessment are prose fiction with the other passages equally distributed among the three areas: Social Studies, Humanities, and Natural Science.

ACT Reading The Reading Test is a 40-question, 35-minute test that measures reading comprehension. Students are asked to read four passages and answer questions that show their understanding of: what is directly stated statements with implied meanings

Timing …At a glance ACT Reading ACT Reading for Information 40 multiple choice questions (4 passages with 10 questions each) = 35 minutes That means about 9 minutes on each passage. ACT Reading for Information 33 multiple choice questions = 45 minutes That means about 1 and ½ minutes on each question.

Reading Review and Practice

Text Structures

Referring Questions (14) – they refer to what is exactly stated in the passage. Reasoning Questions (26) – they call for answers that you must reason by interpreting ideas, making generalizations, and drawing inferences and conclusions.

The Passages Each passage is about 750 words, or roughly two pages of typical book. Arranged by reading level. Ten questions are arranged according to level of difficulty.

Close and Critical Reading helps students to answer 4 main questions: What a text says What a text does What a text means What does it mean to me

What Does the Text Say? Circle the most important word or phrase in the sentence, paragraph, or text. Underline the most important things told about a word or phrase. Scan the text while following teacher instruction on what to highlight.

How Does the Text Say It? How is the information organized (e.g. by topic, in time, by idea)? What genre does the selection represent? What is the purpose of the text?

What Does the Text Mean? What does the author hope to gain from taking this position? How does the author’s position hold up to other opinions? What does the author want the reader to believe? What voices or opinions are missing?

What does this text mean to me and my world? So What? What does this text mean to me and my world? How does it affect my life? What significance does it have for my life or the lives of others?

Highlighted Reading Purpose: Engage students in print Develop fluent scanning Highlight most important information Prepare text for substantive conversation