Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing

Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing
Slide 1 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide MATERIALS: LCD projector and laptop Teacher Edition (TE) for every teacher present Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Session Guide Presenter’s Handout: “Unit 1, Lesson 1 TE Critical Reading and Writing with Notes.pdf” for slide 29 on Kazam “Handout: Sample Essays” for essay-scoring activity on slide 40 Chart paper and markers SETUP: Check your computer/projector or overhead projector. Write “Presenter: [your name]” on any flip chart or blackboard available. Show this slide as teachers enter the room. As teachers are coming in, chat with them informally in order to get a profile of their students. You want to see: how they view their students how they are likely to feel about using the Kaplan materials what kind of instructional schedule they are dealing with what they know about Kaplan what they hope to get out of the session OPENING: Open the lesson in a cheerful and upbeat way. “Good afternoon! My name is [name]. Today, we’re going to talk about a supplemental program you will be using in your classroom called Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing.” TRANSITION: How many of you have seen an SAT question recently? Okay, let’s start with some SAT questions to refresh your memories… Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing

Warm-Up: Critical Reading and Writing
Slide 2 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Warm-Up: Critical Reading and Writing French army captain Alfred Dreyfus was unjustly ---- for the crime of espionage, but he was later ----. Have teachers read this question (not answer it). ASK: What language skills are being tested in this question? Possible Answers: context clues vocabulary syntax/sentence structure ASK: Do you teach students these skills? (The teachers, of course, DO teach these things.) Then why might students get this question wrong on the SAT? Many tough words in the answer choices Students might not understand words in the sentence, such as espionage. Two blanks to fill in Unfamiliarity with the context (Who is Alfred Dreyfus?) TRANSITION: What is the correct answer? (C) (Note: Have participants who got the answer correct explain it to those who did not. Do not spend too much time reviewing.) (A) fabricated…vindicated (B) condemned…obviated (C) incarcerated…exculpated (D) convoked…disbursed (E) promoted...absolved

It’s not what students know— it’s what they show!
Slide 3 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide It’s not what students know— it’s what they show! Knowledge Performance SAY: Even when students know the content tested on the SAT, many students who know a lot of content and have good reading skills aren’t able to show it on the test. This is a phenomenon we at Kaplan refer to as the Knowledge-Performance Gap. Some students who perform fine in class are not performing well on standardized tests. When quizzed orally, many of these students actually do know the material. Basically, there is a gap between knowledge and performance. ASK: Have you ever had students who were bright, worked hard in their classes, and then took the test and scored lower than you expected? Why does this Knowledge-Performance Gap occur on a test like the SAT? Possible Answers: A broad range of content (compared to most tests students are used to) Content may have been covered years ago. Rigidly timed—many students can’t finish. No partial credit awarded—one small error blows all the points on a question. Done during school year in addition to regular work One bad day could cause a bad score. Gridding on the answer sheet complicates test-taking process. High stakes test—students are stressed out by the testing experience. Students don’t understand what the questions are asking them. Students don’t know what skills to apply at which times. Students fall into multiple-choice traps. The tests are designed to expose students’ weaknesses, not strengths! TRANSITION: Here are a few more reasons for the Knowledge-Performance Gap.

What causes the gap? Pieces of the Puzzle
Slide 4 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide What causes the gap? Pieces of the Puzzle A broad range of content High stakes An essay in 25 minutes Rigidly timed Use this slide to summarize some of the points teachers have raised and to add more, if needed. A broad range of content Students are used to tests that cover the things they learned that week, that month, or (on a final exam) that year. This test assesses everything students have learned over their entire academic careers. High stakes, high stress The pressure on students to do well on the SAT is enormous. Students panic, rush, get overwhelmed, etc. Rigidly timed The SAT is timed so that many students cannot finish the test. This is a new situation for many students. In class, if students don’t have time to finish a test, the teacher will usually allow them to stay late or come back and finish at lunch or after school. Successful students are thrown when they cannot finish a test; this is something to which they are totally unaccustomed. An essay in 25 minutes Students will need to write an essay from start to finish in 25 minutes. This is not very much time when you consider students need to work through the steps of planning, writing, and proofing their essay.

How do we bridge that gap?
Slide 5 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide How do we bridge that gap? Knowledge Performance TRANSITION: How do we bridge the Knowledge-Performance Gap as we prepare students for the exam?

Foundations of Test Readiness
Slide 6 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Foundations of Test Readiness application of content knowledge to the test Describe the pyramid with something similar to the following: SAY: Know the CONTENT: Of course it’s impossible to succeed on any test without some knowledge of content. On a classroom assessment, your students mostly need to know the content you taught them, usually within recent weeks. On standardized tests, too, the understanding of key content areas is essential. But as we saw before with the Knowledge-Performance Gap, content mastery alone is not enough to score well on the SAT. Know the TEST: In addition to content, students need familiarity with the test—the types of questions, the way in which content is commonly tested, and the format and structure of the exam. The Kaplan program provides this for students. In every unit, they are going to see lots of sample test questions, written in the style of real SAT questions. This helps students become familiar with what the test is going to look like and how hard the questions will be. Know the STRATEGIES: Students are also going to learn strategies for reading and understanding test questions, responding to grid-ins and writing tasks, and dealing with a variety of multiple-choice questions. These strategies will allow them to tackle questions that are difficult without just saying ‘I don’t know’ and taking a random guess. TRANSITION: Let’s take a look at our agenda for this session. Know the STRATEGIES Know the TEST instruction of concepts and skills Know the CONTENT

Slide 7 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Agenda Understanding the SAT Program Structure Student Introduction Assessments Appendix Lesson Structure Critical Thinking for Test Readiness: Test- Taking Strategies Essay Scoring and Strategies SAY: Here is the agenda for the workshop today. We’re going to start by talking about the SAT. This is a very different test from the tests you give in the classroom—even from the state assessments students take at the end of the year. The more you understand the SAT, the better you’ll be able to help your students prepare for it. Then I’ll go through the structure of the Advantage SAT program. We’ll talk about how the program is organized, work through the Student Introduction, look at the different assessments in the program, view the appendix, and go through the lesson structure. I will also model a complete lesson for you. Once you understand how the program is organized, we’ll talk about specific strategies included in the program and how to use them. Next, we will examine the structure and scoring of the essay section along with effective strategies that can be used. TRANSITION: To better understand the SAT, we are going to start by examining the SAT format.

Slide 8 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide SAT Format Sections Timing Question Type and (#) Critical Reading Two 25-min. sections Sentence Completions (19) Reading Comprehension (48) One 20-min. section Mathematics Multiple-Choice (44) Grid-ins (10) Writing One 25-min. section Identifying Sentence Errors (18) Improving Sentences (25) Improving Paragraphs (6) One 10-min. section One 25-min. essay Experimental Questions assess either Critical Reading, Math, or Writing Does not count toward score REVIEW: Go over the information in the slide about each section. The box below outlines changes made to the SAT in This is for your background knowledge in case teachers ask you about the differences in the current SAT versus the pre-2005 version. Background information for the presenter: SAY: The information on the slide appears in the Student Introduction. Also, a listing of tested content and other resources about the test is available to teachers online at TRANSITION: Now we will look at the content testing order on the SAT. Critical Reading and Writing Sections: No more analogies Addition of short passages Addition of the Writing section Math Sections: No more quantitative comparisons Addition of third year math content (basically Algebra II and data graphs) General: Decreases in time of sections in order to accommodate the additional section Increase in overall length of SAT (3 hours 35 minutes instead of 3 hours)

Test Order SAT Section # Time Content 1 25 min. Essay 2-7
Slide 9 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Test Order SAT Section # Time Content 1 25 min. Essay 2-7 Critical Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Experimental 8-9 20 min. Critical Reading, Mathematics 10 10 min. Writing SAY: The College Board says the following concerning test order: The SAT is comprised of 10 total testing questions. The first section is always a 25-minute essay. The last section is always a 10-minute multiple choice writing section. Sections two through seven are 25-minute sections. Sections eight through nine are 20-minute sections. Test-takers sitting next to each other in the same session may have test books with entirely different content orders for sections two through nine (math, critical reading, and writing.) TRANSITION: How is the SAT scored?

Slide 10 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide How the SAT is Scored Raw Score Students receive 1 point for every correct answer. For every incorrect answer to a MC question, they lose 1/4 point. There is no guessing penalty for grid-in questions. Scaled Score Each section is scored (Critical Reading, Writing, Mathematics) The maximum score is 2400. The average score is 1500. SAY: Another part of “Knowing the Test” is knowing how it is scored. REVIEW: Go through each part of this slide. TRANSITION: Let’s discuss the point deductions a little bit more since students have probably never taken a test that actually takes points away for wrong answers, and this can be intimidating.

Slide 11 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Guessing: Can it work? What happens if a student guesses on five questions? ASK: Losing a quarter point sounds bad. It’s even commonly known as the “guessing penalty.” Should students be afraid to guess? SAY: No. It means that they shouldn’t guess randomly. In fact, the test-makers’ desire to flatten the effects of random guessing is the reason that 1/4 of a point is deducted for a wrong answer. Suppose a student guesses randomly on five questions, as shown in the graphic on this slide. On average (in other words, if they do this many times) they will get one right and four wrong, for a net score of zero. Therefore, random guessing will not significantly increase or decrease their score. However, as soon as students can eliminate one answer choice, their odds begin to improve. The more answer choices they can eliminate, the more they should feel confident about guessing. A good general rule is if you can eliminate even one answer choice, you should go ahead and guess. Although you may not significantly increase your score this way, you are also not likely to significantly decrease it. Lastly, many students believe (mistakenly) that if they are running out of time, they should just bubble in (B) or (C) for all the remaining answer choices. Remind students that this is likely to have a net zero effect on their score, so it’s a waste of time. Students are better served by spending that extra minute answering one more question correctly and leaving the rest blank. (NOTE: Point out that all the scoring information you just talked about appears in the Advantage SAT program in Unit 1.) TRANSITION: Now let’s learn about the difference between state assessments and the SAT. Result: no gain, no loss. But if we could eliminate a few answers each time…

The SAT is Standardized
Slide 12 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide The SAT is Standardized norm-referenced vs. criterion-referenced SAY: Both state assessment and the SAT are standardized; that is, all students take the same test under the same conditions for a given test administration. However, the scoring is fundamentally different. State tests are criterion-referenced; that is, they measure how well students measure up against a certain collection of criteria (state standards). The SAT is norm-referenced. Norm-referenced tests are tests for which the distribution of scores is based on an average score. For the SAT, students’ scores depend on how they rank compared to their peers across the nation. The goal of state assessment is that all students will score at or above proficiency level. If that happened, the people who write the state test would be thrilled (provided that it is a good test and that kids didn’t cheat). In fact, the goal of “No Child Left Behind” is that every one of our students will indeed meet this standard. The goal of the SAT writers, however, is to use the raw scores to create a set of scaled scores that fit a bell curve. Here’s a simplified version of what happens. Every student takes the test and their tests are scored. The scale is set so that 500 (either Writing, Math, or Critical Reading) is the middle. The kids who scored directly in the middle (50th percentile) get a score of 500. All the other scores are given based on students percentile ranking, either above or below the 50th percentile. That is why percentiles are reported with the scaled score. If every student who took the SAT scored a perfect score, Educational Testing Service (ETS) and colleges/universities would not be happy. The test would have failed to meet its goal of ranking the students. Finally, the test writers use time restraints to make the test harder—to spread students out a bit more so they can sift out a bell-shaped score distribution. Speed is a critical factor on the SAT, whereas it often isn’t so critical on state assessment. Why is this important to know? Because teachers must recognize that most students will not have time to work out answers to all the questions. This is totally different from most other tests they have ever taken.

Slide 13 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide The Bell Curve EXPLAIN: Look at the shaded region between the section score of 400 and This comprises 60% of the students taking the SAT. Because 60% of students are in this region, it is easier for a student’s percentile ranking to increase more per additional correct answer than a student who is in the section score range of [click the mouse to reveal animation]. SAY: The average SAT scores for 2007 were: Critical Reading = 502 Writing = 494 Mathematics = 515 TRANSITION: Let’s look at the structure of the program now. Open your TE to the table of contents. 200 400 500 600 800

Program Organization: Critical Reading and Writing
Slide 14 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Program Organization: Critical Reading and Writing Student Introduction Provides a brief introduction to the SAT and to the SAT Advantage program Unit 1 Reading Comprehension Unit 2 Sentence Completions MPT Mini Practice Test: Critical Reading Unit 3 Grammar and Usage Mini Practice Test: Grammar and Usage Unit 4 Essay Mini Practice Test: Essay Appendix SAT Grammar & Vocabulary in a Nutshell SAY: Please turn to the Table of Contents. ASK: What do you notice? How many Mini Practice Tests are in the program? Emphasize the following points: Each unit is divided into several lessons, and each lesson takes one class period to deliver. Let the teachers know we will be addressing the student introduction, Mini Practice Tests (MPTs), and the appendix in more detail. TRANSITION: Now let’s look at the Advantage SAT Student Introduction. Each lesson can be delivered in minutes.

Slide 15 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Student Introduction SAY: Please turn to page 4 in your session guide and find the Student Introduction cover page. Since there are no corresponding pages in the TE to the Student Introduction, you will write a plan of action on how you will use the Student Introduction. (Note: The footer says Student Introduction on all the corresponding pages) Steps for the Activity: First, explain to teachers that they will take the test in their session guide on Roman numeral page v. Pause for work time. Don’t go to the next step until teachers finish the test. When they are finished, they can check their answers on the next two pages in their session guide. Then, teachers should read through the rest of the introduction on their own. Finally, have them complete an action plan on page 13 in their session guide describing how they will use the Student Introduction with their students. Have teachers share their action plans with the group. TRANSITION: We are now going to look at another component of the program, the assessments.

Slide 16 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Assessments Type Basics Timing Mini Practice Test 3 tests Allows students to apply strategies they have just learned to SAT-like questions 25 min. each Full-Length Practice Provides students with a test-like experience in terms of content and length 60 min. REVIEW: Mini Practice Test (MPT): Each of the MPTs assesses the particular content cluster they follow. The MPT gives students the opportunity to apply test-taking strategies under test-like conditions with no scaffolding or hints. Please turn to the Critical Reading MPT (page 81). This particular test will give your students the opportunity to experience what the Number and Operations portion of the SAT is like. It will also give you a sense of what their strengths and weaknesses are in these particular skill sets. ASK: Do I have a volunteer to read the Teacher’s Note on this page? SAY: This Teacher’s Note appears with every MPT and is a good suggestion to follow. (NOTE: You may wish to flip to the other Mini Practice Tests so teachers can visually see the differences in the content assessed.) (NOTE: Presenter’s notes about assessments continue to the next page.)

This slide is intentionally hidden to allow for presenter’s notes.
Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Full-Length Practice Test (FLTP): The FLPT is designed to be used as a final assessment and to provide an opportunity for students to apply ALL the strategies they have learned in the program. It mirrors the actual test in length and format. Explain that Advantage SAT includes a full-length practice test, which ships separately. The test is not in the student book, and the answers are not in the Teacher Edition. The test is scored by Kaplan—which means that schools must mail their students’ completed answer keys. Turn to Session Guide p. 16 (Instructions for Practice Tests) Have participants take a minute to look over the directions for mailing in the completed Full-Length Practice Test. Point out the 4th black bullet under “Instructions for completing answer grids:” and emphasize that teachers have to score the essay. You can also have participants turn to Roman numeral page iv in their TE to see the structure of the Full-Length Practice Test reporting results. TRANSITION: Are there any questions about the different types of assessments used in Advantage SAT? Let’s turn our attention to the appendix. This slide is intentionally hidden to allow for presenter’s notes.

Appendix: SAT Critical Reading and Writing in a Nutshell
Slide 18 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Appendix: SAT Critical Reading and Writing in a Nutshell Overview p. A1 Appendix teaching suggestions SmartPoints p. A3 Ranks most frequently tested skills Content pp. A4-A33 Content summarizing sections Overview: SAY: Turn to p. A1 in your TE. The teaching notes on this page include ideas for using the appendix in your lessons. Take a moment to read over some of the ideas. FACILITATE: After the group seems to have completed reading, ask the teachers to share with a partner any ideas they would like to try in their classroom. (They may like an idea on the page or come up with a new one altogether.) (NOTE: If the group is smaller than four teachers, share out as a whole group.) SmartPoints: SAY: Turn to p. A3 in your TE. Kaplan SmartPoints were calculated by determining how many times each skill was tested on previously-released questions from the College Board. To get the most points on Test Day, it makes sense to focus more on mastering the most frequently tested skills. ASK: Look at the table briefly. What do you notice? Possible Answers: The essay and inference questions in the reading comprehension section are tested more often than all other topics. I shouldn’t focus as much on word choice because this topic only earned five SmartPoints. Content: SAY: Turn to p. A4 in your TE. This is the start of the content section. Take a few minutes to look through pages A4-A33. TRANSITION: Now let’s take a closer look at the lessons.

Slide 19 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Unit Introduction Objectives identified for each lesson in the unit SAY: Please turn to Unit 1, page 1 in the TE. At the beginning of every unit, the lesson objectives are listed, along with a short summary of the strategies students will learn or review in the unit. This page will help you plan. Also notice that within the TE there is a snapshot of the corresponding page from the student book. When there are activities on the student page, answers will appear in red in the TE. TRANSITION: There are four units and the lessons within them follow the same structure. Explanations of strategies students will learn

Advantage SAT: Lesson Structure
Slide 20 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Advantage SAT: Lesson Structure PROGRAM COMPONENT DESCRIPTION APPROX. TIME Thinking KAP Each lesson begins with a brief warm-up activity. 4 Min. Instruction Students learn new strategies and practice them with feedback from the teacher. 24 Min. Independent Practice Students practice applying the strategies on their own and then review their work. 12 Min. KAP Wrap Students reflect on what they have learned in the lesson. 5 Min. REVIEW: Over the next few pages, you’ll move page by page through the lesson. On this slide, simply discuss the structure of the lesson. They are the same in every Advantage SAT lesson, so what you are saying now applies to the entire program. You may wish to summarize the lesson structure by explaining that each lesson has an opening (Thinking KAP) and closing (KAP Wrap). In between, there is whole-group instruction, Independent Practice, and time to review. (Note: It is important to point out that the Independent Practice means independent of the teacher but only if students are ready.) The lesson structure should be viewed as a gradual release of responsibility. Students receive more help from the teacher at the beginning of the lesson, but as they improve, the teacher eases back, relinquishing more and more of the responsibility to the student.

Slide 21 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Thinking KAP SAY: Please turn to the first page of Unit 1, Lesson 1 on p. 3. This is a Thinking KAP, or opening activity. The purpose of the Thinking KAP is to activate prior knowledge and draw students into the content of the lesson. Have a volunteer read the Thinking KAP as an example. ASK: In the Thinking KAP, what are students doing? What is the teacher doing? Possible Answers: Students are working quietly and independently. working with little or no guidance from the teacher. sharing their ideas. Teachers are taking attendance and attending to other logistics while students are working. facilitating a SHORT classroom discussion when students have finished. NOTE: Emphasize that the Thinking KAP should not take more than five minutes. Students should walk into class, take out their books, and get to work. Teachers should set the expectation that all students must complete the activity within three minutes. Then teachers should keep the discussion short and focused. TRANSITION: Now let’s take a closer look at Instruction. Please turn to the next page in your TE (page 4).

Slide 22 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Instruction SAY: There are always four pages dedicated to Instruction. Students review key content covered on the test and learn strategies they can apply to problems about this content. ASK: How can you maximize student participation (get everyone involved) in the Instruction section? FACILITATE: At this point in the workshop, have teachers turn to a neighbor and work together to answer this question. Give them five minutes to read through page 4 and brainstorm specific strategies that maximize student participation. Have pairs share out some of their ideas to the group. Provide an example to get things started: Critical Reading and Writing: The first page of instruction has a lot of text to read. If I call on a student to read aloud, I only get one student engaged at a time. Instead, I might have students read the page in pairs. When they finish, they can answer the question at the bottom, so I’ll know they are done. Then I would ask thumbs-up/thumbs-down questions (true/false) to check their comprehension of what they have read. TRANSITION: There are a few other features I want to review.

Slide 23 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Student Supports Hints that support working with the content SAY: The instructional pages have a lot of exercises for students to complete. They are SAT-like questions, and they often have reflective and/or scaffolding prompts that follow them. REVIEW: Remember boxes support students as they are working with specific content. Inside the SAT! boxes provides information to the student about the SAT test. These boxes also give suggestions in light of that information. Try it Out exercises have two main purposes: Modeling: When a Try It Out appears immediately after a strategy box, use it to model the strategy. Guide students through the strategy and use the prompts to keep the discussion focused on the strategy. Application: Let students apply the strategy independently or in pairs. Then review, again focusing the discussion on the strategy, not the answer to that particular question. TRANSITION: Are there any questions about the Instruction section? Now let’s take a closer look at the Independent Practice section. Turn to page 8 in your TE. Provides helpful information about the SAT Opportunity to apply strategies

Slide 24 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Independent Practice 6-8 questions in each section Hints provided for each question SAY: The Independent Practice gives students the opportunity to apply test-taking strategies on test-like questions. However, since students have just learned the strategy, every question has a hint to guide students in the right direction. QUESTION: What can you do as students answer questions on their own? Possible Answers: Circulate around the room. If you have students working in pairs, listen to student conversations to informally assess. Intervene when necessary. Identify the question students are having the most difficulty with and plan to review it as a whole group. TRANSITION: Advantage SAT provides the teacher with great support for facilitating and reviewing the Independent Practice.

Reviewing Independent Practice
Slide 25 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Reviewing Independent Practice As Students Work: Redirect students as needed by asking effective questions. SAY: Teachers can ask guiding questions to help those students who need that extra support. In the TE delivery notes, some of these effective questions are provided. [Point out circle 1.] After each answer explanation in the TE delivery notes, you will find a hazard symbol that alerts you to common student errors. [Point out circle 2.] There will not be enough time to review every question. Instead, focus on difficult questions that most students got incorrect. When reviewing answers, focus discussion on “What did you do?” instead of “What did you get?” One way you can do this is by having students present their answers and model their reasoning to the class. TRANSITION: Turn to page 10 in your TE to see the last part of a lesson, the KAP Wrap. To Review: Focus on students’ solutions, not their answers. Look out for classic traps.

Slide 26 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide KAP Wrap Purpose: To apply, review, and reflect on strategies SAY: The KAP Wrap is a targeted open-response question that requires students to apply, review, and reflect on the strategies they learned in the lesson. It could be assigned as a homework assignment or journal prompt. Students can work alone or with a partner. QUESTION: Why is it important to close the lesson? Possible Answers: It gives students time to reflect on what they have learned. It can be used as an informal assessment by the teacher. It lets students explain what they understand and maybe what they don’t understand. It emphasizes the objective of the lesson. TRANSITION: Are there any questions about the structure of lessons? Let’s continue looking at lesson structure in terms of the teacher-support features available. We have already discussed the hazard symbol, but please flip through Unit 1, and tell me, what other notes do you see? Complete: For homework, for a journal entry, with a partner, or alone

Instructional Support
Slide 27 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Instructional Support Content Background boxes provide content tips as needed. ANSWERS: Teacher’s Notes, Inside Looks, and Hazards Go through each feature, and ask teachers to find examples of each one in their TE. If time allows, you may wish to have teachers share examples of each that seem particularly helpful to them. NOTE: Teachers will not find the “Content Background” section until Unit 2, Lesson 1. TRANSITION: Are there any questions about the structure of the lessons? Teacher’s Notes provide tips from mentor teachers. Hazard symbols alert you to common student errors.

Activity: Teacher and Student Roles
Slide 28 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Activity: Teacher and Student Roles In each section of the lesson, what does the teacher do? What does the student do? What would you do differently? SET UP: Have participants open their session guide to page 15. SAY: I am going to be teaching Lesson 1 from Unit 1 now. If I am the teacher, then I need you to act as my students. I am going to do some things well and some things not so well. As you participate as my students, I need you to also be making some observations. What is the teacher doing during each part of the lesson? What is the student doing during each part of the lesson? What would you do differently? TRANSITION: You will need a pencil as we start the lesson.

Slide 29 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Unit 1, Lesson 1 Thinking KAP, session guide page 17 Instruction, session guide pages 18-21 Independent Practice, session guide pages 22-23 KAP Wrap, session guide page 24 FACILITATE: At this point in the presentation, you are going to teach Lesson 1 from Unit 1. Please refer to the presenter’s notes for tips on teaching this lesson. You can find these notes on Kazam under the file name “Unit 1, Lesson 1 TE Critical Reading and Writing with Notes.pdf” It is important to read through the lesson, including all teacher notes and time recommendations prior to teaching the lesson. You will find this lesson in the TE on pages 3-10. SHARE: After teaching the lesson have groups share their findings with the whole group. What is the teacher doing during each part of the lesson? What is the student doing during each part of the lesson? What would you do differently? You may want to keep track of their findings on chart paper or the blackboard. (optional) TRANSITION: Now that we know a little more about the test and program structure, let’s look at a systematic approach to problem solving that can help students succeed.

Critical Thinking: Knowing what to do NEXT!
Slide 30 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Critical Thinking: Knowing what to do NEXT! SAY: There is only so much content we can cram into students’ heads a few weeks before the test, especially if they had trouble learning skills the first couple of times around. And although the SAT does reward students with large vocabularies, great writing skills, and strong math skills, it also rewards students who think flexibly, creatively, and strategically. Basically, the SAT rewards good critical thinking skills. Good test takers think about why the test writers included a given question, what that question is testing, and why the wrong answers are wrong (in addition to why the right answer is right). They also analyze each question, decide what kind of question it is, think about what they know and what they are being asked to do, and choose an answer based on their analysis. This is good critical thinking. TRANSITION: But how do you teach critical thinking skills to students? Well, it helps to break it down a little bit. But how do we teach it?

Meeting the Challenges
Slide 31 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Meeting the Challenges Kaplan’s programs meet the challenges of test taking with a toolbox of strategies. SAY: In the Kaplan program, challenges are met with several strategies for specific question subtypes. Because of the vast range of content on the exam, students are inevitably going to encounter questions they are unsure about. They may not: understand all the vocabulary in a question, recognize the type of question, or have a solid grasp of a concept. A few weeks before a test, students are probably not going to suddenly acquire all the content skills that they didn’t understand during the entire previous year. Test-taking strategies can help them make the most of what they already do know and earn points even when they don’t understand every aspect of the question. Strategies also help students to avoid getting “thrown” by things they don’t know. Good test takers think about why the test writers included a given question, what that question is testing, and why the wrong answers are wrong (in addition to why the right answer is right). They also analyze each question, decide what kind of question it is, think about what they know and what they are being asked to do, and choose an answer based on their analysis. This is good critical thinking.

Activity: Strategy Synopsis
Slide 32 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Activity: Strategy Synopsis Using your assigned strategy: Summarize the strategy in your session guide (pp ). Present your strategy to the group in a 3-minute presentation. Steps for the Activity: Have teachers work independently or in pairs to prepare a strategy to present to the group. Have teachers turn to pages in their session guide for the highlighted strategies. Divide the 11 strategies equally among the teachers so that all of the strategies are assigned. (NOTE: Teachers will see the Reading Short Passages strategy listed first among these strategies. This is for their reference and has already been presented by you when modeling the lesson.) Explain that teachers are to read through their assigned strategies and prepare to summarize those strategies using the reference pages from the TE as support. (NOTE: You may wish to ask teachers to model the strategies. However, some strategies, such as the first three (long, short, paired), should just be summarized and not modeled for the group since they require reading through a passage to apply the strategy.) Are there any questions about what you need to do? (NOTE: Answer any questions that arise. If teachers forget what to do, refer them to the slide.) As teachers work, you should be monitoring their work, discussing with them what they find, making yourself available for questions. After about 10 minutes, have the teachers present their strategy to the group. (NOTE: When facilitating groups of 12 or less participants, assign more than one strategy per teacher or pair)

Strategy: Knowing vs. Knowing
Slide 33 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Strategy: Knowing vs. Knowing This slide provides an additional opportunity to talk about strategies. Strategies are not a magic formula. They cannot help a student who doesn’t know any content ace the test. However, strategies can turn knowledge of content into more correct answers on a test. This slide shows three categories of circumstances students find themselves in on a given question. Starting from the outside… (You can work the opposite direction, too) “Don’t Have a Clue” This is when a student reads a question and doesn’t recognize enough of the content to figure anything out. Strategies can’t help students confidently answer these questions, but perhaps they can eliminate some unreasonable answer choices and make a better guess. “Sort of Know” Assure teachers that students fall into this category for many questions on a test. One approach to test readiness is to quickly cram content into students in an attempt to increase the number of questions that they “Know for Sure.” Gently say that this is not the most effective approach: the scope of content on the exam is too great. Students won’t be able to suddenly learn enough that they failed to learn over the past few years to “Know for Sure” on enough questions to pass the test. For these students, strategies can often turn what content they do know into performance on questions in the “Sort of Know” category—or at least help them avoid dismissing those questions as the “Don’t Have a Clue” type. NOTE: This is a critical take-away point for teachers. “Know for Sure” Strategies help students stay in this category. For example, the 4-Step Method checks their overconfidence a little bit, so that they don’t miss key words due to their preconceptions of what a question will be. TRANSITION: Let’s move on by focusing on the SAT Essay. Sort of Know Know for Sure! Don’t Have a Clue Don’t Have a Clue Sort of Know

Slide 34 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Plan an Essay Carefully consider the following quote and the assignment below it. “Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” Albert Einstein, Autobiography Assignment: Does reading divert us from creative work? In an essay, support your position by discussing an example (or examples) from literature, the arts, science and technology, current events, or your own experience or observations. Steps for the Activity: Ask participants to turn to page 31 in their Session Guide. Explain that the text reflects the style of the SAT prompt and assignment. Read aloud the prompt and assignment on the slide. Give participants 3 minutes to plan this essay. Follow this time allotment strictly. ASK: How many of you are ready to write this essay after only 3 minutes of planning? (Pause for a show of hands.) With only 25 minutes to read a prompt like this one, plan an essay, write that essay, and proofread, what challenges will students face? Possible answers: Students may get stuck right at the planning stage if they don’t understand the quotation or do not have enough background information on a statement about an issue. Students may panic under the time pressure. They may take too much time reading and planning and may not have time to finish the essay. Students may not have strong opinions on the question, and their essays may unintentionally reflect their half-hearted points-of-view. TRANSITION: We have come to the conclusion that the SAT essay is no easy task, and let’s continue by better understanding how the essay is scored.

Slide 35 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide How is the Essay Scored? SAY: The essay is scored holistically on a 6-point scale. Let’s watch this clip about scoring the essay [click the black box for a PC and the green video icon for a MAC]. Summarize: Two independent, highly-trained readers give a score on a scale of 1 to 6. The scores are combined resulting in a score ranging from 2 to 12. “If the two readers’ scores differ by more than one point, a third reader scores the essay. Fewer than 5 percent of all scored essays call for a third reader.” From the College Board Website: TRANSITION: Now let’s take a closer look at the SAT Essay Scoring Guide. Note: Steps for linking the movie file are on the next page.

This slide is intentionally hidden to allow for presenter’s notes.
Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Steps for Linking the Movie (PC): A movie file is always linked from another location; it is not part of the PowerPoint file. This means you will have to link it. (NOTE: If you ever move the ppt file, you will have to relink the movie file.) Download and save the ppt file and the movie file to the same folder. Open the ppt, View > Slideshow, find this slide, and click on the black box. If the movie plays, you do not need to follow the rest of the directions. Return to View > Normal, and delete the black box on the slide. On the toolbar, click Insert > Movies and Sounds > Movie from File. Find the movie file where you saved it in Step 1 and click OK. You will then be prompted on if you want the movie to play “Automatically” or “When Clicked.” Select “When Clicked.” A new black box will appear. Right-click on the black box and select “Edit Movie Object.” Under “Display Options”, check “Zoom to full screen.” Click on the volume button and increase your volume to the highest setting. Click “OK.” In View > Slideshow, click on the black box to confirm that the movie will play. Steps for Linking the Movie (MAC): A movie file is always linked from another Return to View > Normal. On the green video icon select CTRL+Mouse Click. Click Hyperlink > Edit Hyperlink. Select Hyperlink to: > Other File. Select the file from your computer titled, Holistic Scoring Movie.wmv. In View > Slideshow, click on the green video icon to confirm that the movie will play. This slide is intentionally hidden to allow for presenter’s notes.

Slide 37 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Scoring Guide 6: Clear and consistent mastery 5: Reasonably consistent mastery 4: Adequate mastery 3: Developing mastery 2: Little mastery 1: Very little or no mastery SAY: Please turn to page 32 in your session guide. This scoring guide is from page 32 in the SAT Program Handbook by College Board. You can find this resource at REVIEW: Give participants a few moments to read through the scoring guide and share some observations with a partner or with the whole group. Use the following points below to support the discussion. Upper-half scores These are the essays that create an overall positive impression. The grader is struck by the good things about these essays more than being struck by the flaws. The most important thing to remember about a 6 essay is that it shows original insight. It presents some new or interesting thinking. A 5, however, shows the same level of writing mastery as a 6—just without the marked insight. A 4 essay is competent. This essay takes and supports a point of view with organized and developed examples, but it may be inconsistent in structure, support, and/or use of language. Lower-half scores These essays have significant flaws. A 3 essay shows developing mastery. There are good things going on, but there are also serious flaws in the development of ideas and the use of examples to support those ideas. There are language and mechanics issues as well. A 2 essay shows little mastery. There is very little organization and support, and the essay may not even take a clear position on the issue. The essay usually has poor vocabulary, sentence structure, etc. to the point where it may even interfere with meaning. A 1 essay shows little to no mastery. These are the ones where there’s no thesis, or no support for the thesis, or both. Language use is often so poor that the grader has to guess at what the writer is trying to say. TRANSITION: Now, let’s compare some scored, sample essays.

Slide 38 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Anchor Papers Read each anchor paper and identify the defining qualities of each paper by considering the following: Point of view Support Organization Use of language Mechanics SAY: Please turn to page 33 and look for the statement and essay assignment. Follow along as I read, “Consider the following statement and the assignment below:…” REVIEW: Give participants a few moments to read 6 Score Essay, as well as the 6 Score Critique, and share some observations with a partner or with the whole group. Use the following points below to support the discussion. POINT OF VIEW: The paper offers a clear thesis: quality is more important than quantity. SUPPORT: This essays offers particularly well developed examples. It is not the sheer number of examples that’s important; it’s the development of them. (Particularly appropriate point to make given the topic of this essay!) ORGANIZATION: Excellent. This writer introduces a thesis and says she’ll support it with current events and literature, then supports it with two examples, then wraps it up. Nice restatement of the thesis at the end of the third paragraph to transition into the conclusion. USE OF LANGUAGE: Good vocabulary (buffet, plummeted, humanitarian, scandals, assumptions, engaged, slant, etc.). Also, good variety of sentence structure—some questions, some statements, complex sentences with several clauses. MECHANICS: Spelling and grammar are both impeccable here. In fact, this writer could have made a few more mistakes and still have received a 6. Also, this paper shows the insight required for a 6. The writer doesn’t have to invent cold fusion to show insight—she just needs to show some good, original critical thinking that goes beyond the confines of the prompt. This writer introduced the idea of quality over quantity. She also developed her examples quite insightfully, citing the contrast between economic worth and intrinsic human worth in the first example and contrasting depth and breadth of writing in the second example. This is definitely sufficient to constitute insight. ACTIVITY: Give teachers 10 minutes to skim the other papers on their own and consider what makes each paper a 6, or a 5, or a 4, etc. They can use the qualities listed on the slide as a guide. TRANSITION: Let’s review the other criteria College Board sets for their scorers, and then we will score some sample essays.

Essay Scoring Criteria
Slide 39 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Essay Scoring Criteria Use the Essay Scoring Guide. Read quickly to gain an impression of the whole essay. Read the entire essay before scoring, and then score it immediately. Read supportively, looking for and rewarding what is done well than what is done badly or omitted. Disregard the quality of handwriting. Judge an essay by its quality, not by its length. Understand that no one aspect of writing is more important than another. REVIEW: [click the mouse 8 times to reveal points] Point out that all this information can be found at the College Board website listed on the slide. Steps for the Activity: Ask participants to work in pairs—they will represent scorer 1 and scorer 2. Point out the scoring grid on page 39 in their session guide, review the directions, and review the essay prompt. You will need copies of “Handout: Sample Essays.” Give each pair two copies of the same essay. (NOTE: The essays are numbered 1 through 10 for identification, so clarify that those essays numbered 1 through 6 do not reflect a score of 1 through 6.) Each person should read and score the essays WITHOUT discussing with their partner. Each pair should then discuss the score they assigned the essay. If the scores are the same or within one point of each other, they have determined the final score. If there is a point discrepancy larger than one, act as the third scorer and give the score from the answer key. If time allows, you may want to circulate the essays around the room so that each pair has practice reading and scoring multiple sample essays. Close the activity by going over the scores on the answer key. Answer Key Essay 1 Score 3 Essay 2 Score 1 Essay 3 Score 6 Essay 4 Score 4 Essay 5 Score 1 Essay 6 Score 2 Essay 7 Score 3 Essay 8 Score 5 Essay 9 Score 2 Essay 10 Score 3 TRANSITION: Now that we have a good understanding of the SAT essay writing section, let’s see how the Advantage SAT program supports this section.

Strategy for Essay Writing
Slide 40 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Strategy for Essay Writing Know it and understand it. Collect your ideas. Write the essay. Read for consistency and errors. PROMPT PLAN PRODUCE PROOFREAD SAY: One thing I haven’t mentioned yet but is extremely important in terms of being prepared for Test Day: the essay section of the SAT is always first. This may calm some students; they will get the hardest part of the SAT over with first. In order to manage the strict time constraints of the SAT Essay, students should have a strategic plan of attack—or the Strategy for Essay Writing. I want to quickly review the first and last step, and then I will give you more time to look at the heart of the strategy—Plan and Produce. Step 1: Every prompt has one or two quotes and an assignment. Although the quote is important, it is mainly there to spark students’ thinking; they are not required to refer to it in their writing at all. The assignment is most important because it presents an issue that students have to address by developing and supporting their point of view. Step 4: Scorers know that students only have 25 minutes to write this essay, so they are not looking for impeccable writing. Instead, they are looking for a clearly stated position, support and structure, and writing that flows. Students will not be penalized for some spelling and grammar errors. However, if their writing is littered with so many errors that it affects meaning, their scores will be affected. Therefore, students should plan to take a few minutes at the end to proofread their work. Steps for the Activity: Ask participants to work with the same partner they had for the scoring-essays activity. Ask participants to turn to page 40 in their session guide. Point out the page references in the Teacher’s Editions (i.e., Unit 4, p.160). One partner will be responsible for reading and summarizing the second step, Plan, which includes the Formula for a Five-Paragraph Essay. The other partner will be responsible for reading and summarizing the third step, Produce, which includes the Say it! Support it! Explain it! strategy. Allow 10 minutes for reading time and 10 minutes for sharing time. Bring the whole group back together, and ask for volunteers to share their observations on Steps 2 and 3. You can use the information on the next slide to support their feedback.

Slide 41 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Plan Take a position. Write a thesis. Create an outline—Formula for a Five-Paragraph Essay Produce Write a strong introduction. Write strong body paragraphs—Say it! Support it! Explain it! Write a strong conclusion. REVIEW: Use this slide to support participants’ feedback. Plan: This step should take less than 5 minutes. Take a position: The SAT essay is a persuasive essay, so students need to take one side of the argument and prove their point. Write a thesis: A good thesis statement answers the question in the assignment and lists the writer’s ideas for support. Create an outline—Formula for a Five-Paragraph Essay: Students should take the time to write a brief outline that sets up the introduction with the thesis, body paragraphs with two to three strong examples that support their arguments, and a conclusion to sum up their ideas. Emphasize that this is a basic plan and not a detailed outline. Produce: This step should take around 20 minutes. Write a strong introduction: An introduction is like a funnel. It starts with a wide idea and slowly narrows, finally arriving at a thesis statement. Write strong body paragraphs—Say it! Support it! Explain it!: Say it! refers to the topic sentence of a paragraph. Support it! refers to the specific and relevant examples. Explain it! refers to the development of the details. Write a strong conclusion: When writing the conclusion, students should work backward from their introductions. They should start with a sentence that reiterates the thesis statement and then summarize the main points that were presented in the essay. TRANSITION: Let’s shift our focus now to the implementation of Advantage SAT.

How will you implement Advantage?
Slide 42 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide How will you implement Advantage? When will you start the program? When will you need to end the program? How many days a week will you devote? How many minutes of each day will you devote? CUSTOM SLIDE: Replace “ SAT Test Dates” with the appropriate school year. Replace all test dates with most current information. (NOTE: You can find this information at REVIEW: Go over the questions and give teachers time to think about their answers with a partner and how they will implement Advantage SAT. (Note: In the case where you cannot provide or your participants do not have the information to answer these questions, you can review this slide quickly. If participants can generate answers to the questions, you can give them more time to evaluate their implementation.) TRANSITION: Let’s continue by looking at additional implementation tips to help you plan out the first lesson you will teach. SAT Test Dates March 1, 2008 May 3, 2008 June 7, 2008

Slide 43 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Implementation Tips Section Page Number Thinking KAP p. vi Instruction p. vii Independent Practice p. viii KAP Wrap p. ix SAY: Implementation tips for each section of the lesson can be found in the Teacher’s Introduction on the pages listed on the slide. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with these tips. TRANSITION: Now, I would like to offer you an opportunity to plan out a lesson that you will be teaching back in your classrooms.

Slide 44 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Planning a Lesson Activity: Using the planning guide on pages 43 and 44 in your session guide, plan a lesson that you will use with your class. Review the sample lesson on pages 41 and 42 in your session guide. Use the implementation tips from the Teacher’s Introduction. Use the guiding questions on your lesson planning guide. Steps for the Activity: Ask teachers to start considering how a lesson will look in their classrooms. Read through the guiding questions on the slide. Look at the Sample Planning Guide in the session guide on pages 41 and 42. Review how the teacher made modifications to the lesson, and in this case, adjusted for a 45-minute period. Look at the Planning Guide Template in the session guide on page 43 and 44. Suggest that teachers start a lesson from a unit they know they will use in their classes. Allow time for work. Bring the group back together and share. TRANSITION: Are there any questions about any part of Advantage SAT?

Kaplan K12 Mission Statement
Slide 45 Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing Presenter’s Guide Kaplan K12 Mission Statement We partner with schools to provide high-quality instructional programs that improve results and help all students achieve. SAY: Kaplan K12 Learning Services is committed to providing ongoing implementation support. If you have any questions or comments, please send an . Thank you. If you have questions, please contact us at:

Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Kaplan Advantage: SAT Critical Reading and Writing"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback