UNDERSTANDING YOUR FINAL EXAM IN ENGLISH January 2013

Breakdown of English II Exam Standards% of ?’s Total *#’s  Reading for Literature 30–34%  Reading for Information 32–38%  Writing 14–18%  Language 14–18% Multiple Choice Questions: *Approximately 60 Constructed Response: Approximately 3 to 4

How to ACE Constructed Response A - answer the question OR restate the prompt (1 specific, straightforward sentence) C -ite evidence from the prompt (pull “quotes”) OR from your knowledge of C&E E-xplain your examples in detail (2 to 3 sentences or bulleted ideas of examples and details) S-um it up (1 to 2 sentences to conclude) Constructed Response– Short In Moonrise, explain how the theme is developed throughout the poem. Use specific details to support your answer.  How would you begin to answer the CR item without reading the poem?  What does the prompt already tell you ? ACES Example

Poem Moonrise by Jenette Purcell City night sky gives itself to me again when I have so little left to receive it. I am dark, crumbling 5 and you are rivers and trees away searching your own night sky for a sign. The strong gates of your heart are wide open to me always, but, if only. 10 So I wait, as seasons before, decades before, fathers and mothers before me still inside watch and listen. Suddenly, bamboo, bones, fiber, fences, 15 water, glistening koi,* all the tiny rooms, paths and places I hold your memories relax in audible, reverent wonder 20 at the fullness forming on this horizon’s edge. *koi: colorful fish that symbolize love and friendship

Multiple Choice Questions Which word could replace reverent in line 19 of the poem? A amazed B respectful C redundant D significant Which line from the poem describes the speaker’s feelings about loving someone? A. “when I have so little left to receive it” B. “are wide open to me always, but” C. “paths and places I hold your memories” D. “at the fullness forming”

Constructed Response

C-ite from the text using E-xamples

S-um it up!

Breakdown of English I Common Exam Standards Multiple Choice Constructed Response (33 to 37 items) (3 to 4 items) Language (L4, L5) 11-15% 0% Reading for Information RI1- R % 0% RI4- RI % 2-8% Reading for Literature RL1- RL4, RL % 0% RL5 6-9% 2-4% Total percent of items 89-92% 8-11% Total percent of score points 77-83% 17-23%

Breakdown of English III Common Exam Standards Multiple Choice Constructed Response (33 to 37 items) (3 to 4 items) Language (L4, L5) 12-16% 0% Reading for Information RI2, RI411-15% 0% RI1, RI3, RI % 3-5% Reading for Literature RL1- RL4, RL % 4-6% Total percent of items 89-92% 8-11% Total percent of score points 77-83% 17-23%

Breakdown of English IV Common Exam Standards Multiple Choice Constructed Response (33 to 37 items) (3 to 4 items) Language (L4, L5) 12-16% 0% Reading for Information RI1, RI413-18% 0% RI2, 3, 5, % 4-7% Reading for Literature RL1, 2, % 3-6% RL3, 5, 6 4-6% 0% Total percent of items 89-92% 8-11% Total percent of score points 77-83% 17-23%

What To Expect:  4 TOTAL reading passages:  (2) literature based  (2) from informational texts in or SS or science.  Up to 10 multiple-choice items and up to 2 constructed response items per passage.  multiple-choice items and 3 to 4 constructed response items.  The test will be presented in (2) forty- five minute parts.  Students will be given forty minutes to complete each part  Total time: 80 minutes How Many Questions?Timed Sections

How to ACE Constructed Response A - answer the question OR restate the prompt (1 specific, straightforward sentence) C -ite evidence from the prompt (pull “quotes”) OR from your knowledge of C&E E-xplain your examples in detail (2 to 3 sentences or bulleted ideas of examples and details) S-um it up (1 to 2 sentences to conclude) Constructed Response– Short  There is a popular idiom that states, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” How does the poem “Diary” exemplify this idiom? Include at least two details from the poem to support your answer.  How would you begin to answer the CR item without reading the poem?  What does the prompt already tell you ? ACES Example

“Diary” “Dear Diary,” she wrote, her pen poised pointed and sharp, thoughts twirling swirling cavorting in the air risking life and limb and maybe some blood. (5) The ink sat waiting, impatient, annoyed, for the clarity to settle in, for the words to coalesce into some form of sanity. But somewhere in the woven threads of thought when the next swipe of the pen touched (10) the puritanical canvas that threatened her equilibrium, there came not a letter formed, not a word whispered, but another kind of line – the dancing marks finding their own path, their own mind. Words protested, “No! It is our turn!” but were ignored (15) in favor of the image spilling forth from within – a wounded dragon, reared back in a rage, hissing and spitting flames of pain and fury, pierced through the heart by a spear of loneliness and neglect. The pen flew, spatters of ink transforming into blood and tears. (20) Words retreated, knowing they’d lost the battle, soundly defeated by a power they could not match, even a thousand strong. At last, she lay, silent, sated, staring at the open page, wondering when the next attack would come.

Sample Item for English I  How would you begin to answer the CR item without reading the poem?  What does the prompt already tell you ? Multiple Choice In the poem, how are the girl and the dragon related?  A. The girl wants to write a story about a dragon.  B. The dragon represents the girl and her situation.  C. The girl wishes she could turn herself into a dragon.  D. The dragon illustrates the power the girl wants to have. English I Sample ItemAnother Example Item

On Your Own Practice  Identify the tone in the poem “Memory” and describe two examples from the poem in which the author’s use of imagery helps create the tone you identified. Short CR Item Practice What will your first sentence be? A- Answer the question/prompt

Read the poem “Memory” by Margaret Walker I can remember wind-swept streets of cities on cold and blustery nights, on rainy days; heads under shabby felts and parasols and shoulders hunched against a sharp concern; seeing hurt bewilderment on poor faces, smelling a deep and sinister unrest these brooding people cautiously caress; hearing ghostly marching on pavement stones and closing fast around their squares of hate. I can remember seeing them alone, at work, and in their tenements at home. I can remember hearing all they said: their muttering protests, their whispered oaths, and all that spells their living in distress

Designing Constructed Response Tasks for Reading Here are some example short CR to practice with in class.  Explain why _____________ is a good title for this story (poem, article). Use information (details) from the story (passage) to support your answer.  What are the main ideas in this article? Explain your answer by using information from the article.  Write a paragraph explaining what you think will happen next. Use details from the passage in your response.  In your own words, tell how to __________________. Use information from the article to support your answer.  Write a paragraph describing the speaker’s feelings about ___________________/ at the beginning (or end) of the passage (poem). Use details from the passage to support your answer.  In the story, the author/speaker says, “___________”. Use details from the story (poem) to explain what the a uthor/speaker means.  What kind of person is ___________.? Explain his/her qualities by using specific details from the story (passage).  Compare the mood (voice, tone…) in ___________ to the mood (voice, tone…) in  __________________. Use details from the passage (poem, etc.) to support your answer.