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Preparing for the Test
Whether you’re preparing
students for the new SAT, facing state-mandated assessment, or strengthening
students’ skills for other writing under pressure, these resources
can provide tools to help students get ready. While these articles refer to
students at specific levels, most of the ideas are appropriate for any level.
In “Teaching True and To the Test in Writing” (E)
from Language Arts, researchers share what they learned from six exemplary teachers
of writing who teach within high-stakes accountability systems while remaining true to sound theory and practice in teaching their children to write.
One of the most important ways to prepare students for tests and writing
under pressure is to focus on how to read and respond to test prompts. The
Voices from the Middle article “Test-Smart Language Users:
Understanding the Language of Testing” (M) offers instructional suggestions for helping
students understand the specialized language used in standardized tests they
will encounter.
Practice writing sessions can help students become more accustomed to the demands
of timed writing.“Quick-Writes: Leads to Literacy” (M) from Voices from the Middle and “Preparing for a Timed Essay” (C) from Teaching English in the Two-Year College provide strategies for getting in-class writing started and then practicing with extended
writing sessions.
Perhaps nothing can cause failure in timed writing more quickly
than anxiety and doubt about writing skills. The English Journal article “Minimizing
Writing Apprehension in the Learner-Centered Classroom” (S) lists
the characteristics of apprehensive writers and offers a number of strategies
for drawing them
out.
The new SAT essay section will ask students to develop a point of view on
an issue. The trick for students, at any level, is to understand the difference
between an personal essay and an autobiographical essay. Explore the distinctions
between personal and autobiographical with “Linkages
of Nonfiction and Selfhood: The Places of Personal Essays” (S)
from
English Journal, which includes a classification system for kinds
of personal essays and connections to student writing.
The Teaching English
in the Two-Year College article “Expanding the Scope of Personal
Writing
in the Composition Classroom” (C) outlines three classical forms of
personal
writing, any one of which could become the structure a student’s point
of
view on an issue.
The best personal essays, of course, grow
from the personal relevance of the subject. The Language Arts article “Reading
and Writing Essays about Objects of Personal Significance” (E) explores
a project that taps students’ experiences to encourage engagement
in the essay genre. Though the specific activities are more suited
to younger students, the idea of connecting concretely to meaningful
personal experience can provide ideas for writing
at any level.
To read more, check out the NCTE title The
Essay: Theory and Pedagogy for an Active Form (S-C), which
explores the origins of the essay and suggests ways to help students
compose in this challenging
form. Chapter
One is available online.
NOTE: Free access to journal articles mentioned in this Inbox is provided
for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available
to journal subscribers only. This Inbox Idea was published 03-08-2005.
Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary,
M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, G=General).
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