LA PAT Part 2 - Exam tips and strategies

LA PAT PART 2 Study Guide!

Reading Strategies

Students encounter a variety of text in their school day.  The ability to understand and use this text is very important.  In order for you to be a successful student you will need to develop a repertoire of strategies that will help you with the various text that you read.  Effective readers use strategies to understand what they read before, during, and after reading.

Before reading, they:
• use prior knowledge to think about the topic.
• make predictions about the probable meaning of the text.
• preview the text by skimming and scanning to get a sense of the overall meaning.

During reading, they:
• monitor understanding by questioning, thinking about, and reflecting on the ideas and information
in the text.

After reading, they:
• reflect upon the ideas and information in the text.
• relate what they have read to their own experiences and knowledge.
• clarify their understanding of the text.
• extend their understanding in critical and creative ways.

The pages and links below will show you how to use some of these strategies.  Think of them as tools for your success.

Engaging in Reading: Reading Between the Lines (Inferences)

An inference is the ability to connect what is in the text with what is in the mind to create an educated guess. (Beers, 2003)
Making inferences from words that are read or spoken is a key comprehension skill. You may miss vital information if you fail to make appropriate inferences.

What is the purpose of making an inference?
• Draw meaning from text – through explicit details (what is right there) and implicit clues (implied - reading between the lines).
• Connect prior knowledge and experiences to the text in order to make good guesses about what is happening, may have happened, or will happen in the future.

What is the payoff of making an inference?
You will:
• develop greater awareness that texts can be understood on more than one level.
• become capable and confident in comprehending the subtle meanings in texts.

What are some tips and resources for making inferences?
• Explicit details appear right in the text (for example, names, dates, descriptive details, facts).
• Implicit details are implied by clues in the text. Readers are more likely to recognize implicit details if they relate to prior knowledge and experiences.
• Inferences are conclusions drawn from evidence in the text or reasoning about the text.
• These sentence starters may help you make inferences:
     - I realize that...
     - Based on…I predict that…
     - I can draw these conclusions...
     - Based on this evidence, I think…    

     - I can now conclude

     - I think.... because

Engaging in Reading: Visualizing

Unseen text is the information that resides inside the reader’s head: ideas, opinions, essential backgroundknowledge. The unseen text is unique to each reader. (Cris Tovani, 2002)

Visualizing text is a crucial skill for students because if you can get the picture, often you’ve got the concept.  Visualization can help students to focus, remember, and apply their learning in new and creative situations. It is an invaluable skill in subjects such as Math, Science, and Design & Technology, where understanding spatial relationships can be a key to solving complex problems.

Purpose of Visualizing:
• Promote comprehension of the ideas in written texts by forming pictures in the mind from the words on the page.

Payoff of Visualizing:
Students will:
• reread and reflect on assigned readings.
• develop skills for independent reading.
• improve focus and attention to detail.

Tips and Resources:
• In order to visualize text, students must understand the concepts of seen text and unseen text. Seen textinvolves everything they can see on the page: words, diagrams, pictures, special
typographical features. Unseen text draws on student background knowledge and experiences, and your word knowledge as you come across unfamiliar vocabulary.

·       Listen carefully to the text, trying to picture the words.

·       Read silently and make notes about mind pictures that emerge from the words in the texts.

·       Compare and discuss their mental images.

·       Ask questions of each other to determine why the mental images may differ.

 THINK LITERACY: Cross-Curricular Approaches, Grades 7-12 R

Skimming and Scanning to Preview Text

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Student Resource

Skimming

What is it? When you SKIM, you read quickly to get the main idea of a paragraph, page,

chapter, or article, and a few (but not all) of the details.

Skimming allows you to read quickly to get a general sense of a text so that

you can decide whether it has useful information for you. You may also skim to

get a key idea. After skimming a piece, you might decide that you want or need

to read it in greater depth.

1. Read the first few paragraphs, two or three middle paragraphs, and the

final two or three paragraphs of a piece, trying to get a basic

understanding of the information.

2. Some people prefer to skim by reading the first and last sentence of each

paragraph, that is, the topic sentences and concluding sentences.

3. If there are pictures, diagrams, or charts, a quick glance at them and their

captions may help you to understand the main idea or point of view in the

text.

4. Remember: You do not have to read every word when you skim.

5. Generally, move your eyes horizontally (and quickly) when you skim.

What is it?

Why do I scan?

How do I scan?

Read in this

direction.

When you SCAN, you move your eyes quickly down a page or list to find one

specific detail.

Scanning allows you to locate quickly a single fact, date, name, or word in a

text without trying to read or understand the rest of the piece. You may need

that fact or word later to respond to a question or to add a specific detail to

something you are writing.

1. Knowing your text well is important. Make a prediction about where in a

chapter you might find the word, name, fact, term, or date.

2. Note how the information is arranged on a page. Will headings,

diagrams, or boxed or highlighted items guide you? Is information

arranged alphabetically or numerically as it might be in a telephone book

or glossary?

3. Move your eyes vertically or diagonally down the page, letting them dart

quickly from side to side and keeping in mind the exact type of

information that you want. Look for other closely associated words that

might steer you towards the detail for which you are looking.

4. Aim for 100% accuracy!

Scanning

Why do I skim?

How do I skim?

Read in this

direction.

 THINK LITERACY: Cross-Curricular Approaches, Grades 7-12 R

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Clues for Using Context to Find Meaning

Student Resource

-The unfamiliar word is specifically defined in

the sentence, or in the preceding or following

sentences.

-The unfamiliar word is illustrated by one or

more examples.

-Characteristics or features of the unfamiliar

word are described.

-The unfamiliar word is shown in a diagram,

picture or map.

-The meaning of the unfamiliar word is restated

in slightly different language, summarized, or

paraphrased.

-The meaning of the unfamiliar word is provided

in parentheses directly following the

word.

-The meaning of the unfamiliar word is provided

by contrasting or comparing it to another

word, phrase or concept.

-Additional information about the unfamiliar

word is provided in the following sentences

and paragraphs. This may be a description of

a related event, process or product, or a

question prompt.

-Design features draw attention to important

words and concepts, and to their definitions.

• “is” or “which means”

• commas that set off a

qualifying phrase

• “for example,”

“including,” or “such as”

• pictures or diagrams

• descriptive words

• sensory words

• adjectives and adverbs

• “see figure 2.1”

• graphic features on the

page

• “in other words,” “sim -

ply,” “clearly”

• (......)

• “such as,” “like,” “compared

to,” “unlike” or

“similar to”

• synonyms, antonyms

• charts

• “in addition,” “another,”

or “consequently”

• bold, italics, and other

embellishments