James Bowie High School       March 2008         Volume I, Issue III

A Note from the Teacher

Standardized tests have become a fact of life in
our schools. Lack of certain skills and self-esteem
are factors that may cause students to do poorly on tests. Struggling readers generally rush through tests, answer questions out of sequence, do not read test directions, and do not
respond in complete sentences when answering
short response questions.
In preparation for the upcoming TAKS assessment, that will take place inMarch, this month's small-group lessons will

focus on test-taking strategies. Presently we
are working on two related writing skills. The
first involves writing the answer to a question by
rephrasing the question as a statement, then
answering the question with text evidence from
the passage. For example, if a question asks,
"Why do you think the author waits until the end of the story to reveal the truth about Mama's bank account? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the selection." Students should do the following:

*  Restate the question: "I think the author waits until the end of the story to reveal the truth about Mama's bank account ____."
*  Look in the passage for text evidence needed to complete the statement.
*  Write the answer as a complete sentence.

Answering test questions by writing in complete sentences can be a challenging step for many students who habitually begin a test answer with because or I don't know!

IMPORTANT DATES:

Together Everyone Achieves More!

To help your child get in the good habit of
restating questions, model this strategy in
your daily activities at home.           

For example, if
you ask your child, "What did you think of the vegetables we had at dinner tonight?" expect

your child to respond, "I think the vegetables we had at dinner tonight were____."