I discovered I’m getting excellent results with this type of daily review, and it lets me prep them for the next round of assessments (sigh).

To get up to speed on this entire thing and what pushed me to this point, check out my blog post, That Standardized Testing Grind, from a few weeks ago.

Although the questions are standardized-test style, I’ve found that the combination of re-reading key passages and discussing how to answer challenging questions is re-wiring their brains for improved critical thinking. Really.

I’m doing Gatsby right now with my juniors, so I spent a few days getting a Gatsby slideshow review knocked out to go along with an interactive groups unit for the novel. So far, so good. They’re doing a great job pulling quotes as they read, so all the hours of practice with that skill are finally paying some dividends (praise the gods). Having access to an easier-to-read version of the text is also helping a lot; the kids who struggle with reading aren’t giving up so easily. I know I’m plugging a lot of product, but I swear to you I use this suite of products in my own classroom together and the combination is so useful.

Tags: standardized test prep, MAP, ACT, review questions, multiple choice questions, close reading, test preparation, testing strategies, reading check, secondary ELA, enraged2engaged, E2E, great gatsby, f scott fitzgerald