SBAC PREPARATION 7th Grade ELA

Building SBAC Test-Taking Strategies – Slides for Use with 7th Grade ELA SBAC Practice Test 1

Information for Teachers

Begin by administering SBAC Practice Test 1 to evaluate your students’ current level of SBAC readiness. SBAC Practice Test 1 is available on Socrative if you choose to administer it digitally. The share codes are 14801917.

The test is also available on wingsofthebyrd.weebly.com > Teacher Tools > 7th Grade SBAC Practice Test 1 to view and download in a Word document if you choose to administer it in paper form.

To administer the test, you will need the TedEd video “I’m Batman” AND two Gale Reference Library texts: “Bats” AND “Worth Defending”. The video is accessible via TedEd at . The texts are available to view and download at wingsofthebyrd.weebly.com.

Next, use this presentation to teach SBAC test-taking strategies. You will need access to the video and texts to model the strategies with your students.

Finally, retest your students with SBAC Practice Test 1 to evaluate your students’ progress. Evidence collected throughout the pre-test, teaching and post-test process supports NEPF Instructional Standard 5:

Indicators 1 – 4 and Professional Responsibility Standard 1: Indicator 2, Standard 2: Indicator 1, and Standard 3: Indicator 3.

For more information about how this practice test supports these standards, please view and / or download the accompanying lesson plan at wingsofthebyrd.weebly.com > Teacher Tools > 7th Grade SBAC Practice Test 1.

If you have questions about any of these steps, contact Amanda Byrd – albyrd1@interact.ccsd.net.

DO NOW

Enter silently and find your seat. Write down our objective and answer our warm-up

question: “How does today’s objective connect with what we have already been learning?”

Think about: What am I learning? Why am I learning it? How will I know if I learned it or not?

Objective: 1. Students will understand differences between the CRT and the SBAC. 2. Students will understand, identify and analyze SBAC question types. 3. Students will learn strategies to succeed on the SBAC. 4. Students will practice strategies to succeed on the SBAC.

How is the SBAC different from the CRT?

The SBAC has different types of questions that may seem challenging and difficult because you aren’t used to answering those types of questions on a test.

Three types of questions that are different: Multiple Response Questions – Instead of choosing just one answer, you might have to choose

two or more.

Technology-Enhanced Questions – Instead of picking multiple choices answers or writing a constructed response, you might have to do things that seem unusual on a test – like highlighting a text to find evidence.

Performance Tasks – Instead of reading one story and answering one question, you might have to look at lots of different sources and different types of sources, like videos, audio and texts, and then answer more than one question about them.

Multiple Response QuestionsWhat’s the difference between a single response question and a multiple response question?

On single response questions, you only have to pick one answer. Here’s an example of a single response question from our practice test: The video “I’m Batman” states that “I’m often misunderstood. People think I’m scary, strange and dangerous.” Which of the following pieces of evidence from the video best supports this assertion?

A. “If they only knew my story though, I’d be cheered as a hero.” / B. “When people think of bats, many think of vampires that want to suck their blood.” / C. “Out of these three, only one prefers the blood of mammals.” / D. “Even these bats mostly feed on cattle.”

On multiple response questions, you have to pick more than one answer. Here’s an example of a multiple response question from our practice test: The video “I’m Batman” states that “Vampires bats can be a great help to humans”. Which of the following pieces of evidence from the video provides evidence to support this statement? Select all that apply.

A. A chemical found in bat saliva helps break down blood clots and is being tested by recovering stroke victims. / B. About 70% of remaining bat species feed on insects. / C. Bat species that feed on insects help control mosquito populations. / D. A single brown bat can eat 1,000 insects every hour./ E. Bats provide an estimated $3.7 billion dollars of free pest control.

Multiple Response QuestionsWhat’s the difference between a single response question and a multiple response question?

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: Look at the two questions posted below. Which one is single response and which one is multiple response?

Based on evidence from the video, the most likely reason why fruit bats are also referred to as “mega-bats” is best described by which of the following statements?A. There are thousands of species of fruit bats. B. Fruit bats are prolific pollinators. C. Fruit bats are unusually large in size. D. These types of bats eat more insects than any other species.

Which of the following choices accurately describe this statement from the video: “As heroes of the ecosystem, bats have their own unique utility belts”? Select two responses. A. This statement uses figurative language to reference the video’s controlling metaphor, which relates bats to the well-known hero Batman. B. This statement emphasizes the differences between real bats and Batman by using literal language. C. This statement is introducing a new topic in the video by opening a discussion of bats’ attributes and qualities that make them “heroes of the ecosystem”. D. This is a concluding statement to close the video’s discussion of ways in which bats are useful to humans.

Multiple Response QuestionsChange How You Think

Single response questions might seem easier than multiple response questions BUT that isn’t always the case.

Instead of thinking about multiple response questions as difficult, think of them as different. You need to change how you think.

The steps you need to go through to answer a multiple response question are different.

Some strategies to help: When you read a question, watch out for words that let you know it is a multiple response question.

Spotting these questions fast will help you succeed.

When you read through the answers, remember that MORE THAN ONE IS CORRECT. Try to eliminate answers that you know are wrong FIRST, then go back and decide if the remaining answers are correct.

Multiple Response QuestionsWhat should I do when I have to answer a multiple response question?

Use READ steps to help you succeed with multiple response questions:

Recognize that you are dealing with a multiple response question.

Eliminate answers that you are sure are wrong as you read through the answer choices.

Assess the remaining choices and think about which ones are a good fit to answer the question.

Decide which answer choices are correct.

Multiple Response QuestionsLet’s Try It!

QUESTION: The article “Bats” asserts that “Bats, the only mammals that fly, are among nature’s least understood and fairly maligned creatures.” Which of the following textual details support this statement? Choose all that apply.

A “Bats are extremely valuable animals.”

B “Superstitions about and fear of these nocturnal creatures have led to their persecution and elimination from many areas.”

C “Superstition about and prejudice against bats have existed for hundreds of years.”

D “Bats do not carry bed bugs and do not become entangled in women’s hair.”

READ STEPS: 1. RECOGNIZE – The

words “all that apply” at the end of the questions let’s us know this is a multiple response question.

2. ELIMINATE – Answers A and D seem to be wrong. Why?

3. ASSESS – Answer B and C seem to be correct. Why?

4. DECIDE – I am going to choose B and C.

Multiple Response QuestionsLet’s Try It!

Work with your group to use READ to successfully answer a multiple-response question.

1. Read and discuss the question and write an explanation of your reasoning for each step of READ.

2. RECONGIZE – Explain how you and your group recognized that this is a multiple response question. What word or words show that this is a multiple response question?

3. ELIMINATE – Explain how you and your group eliminated some of the answer choices.

4. ASSESS – Explain how you and your group picked the right answer choices.

5. DECIDE – Explain how you and your group decided to choose the answers. “I am going to choose ___________ BECAUSE ____________.”

READ STEPS: 1.RECOGNIZE2.ELIMINATE 3.ASSESS 4.DECIDE

Technology-Enhanced QuestionsWhat is a technology-enhanced question?

The SBAC is a digital test, so you will be taking it on a computer.

Some of the questions ask you to do tasks that would be impossible on a paper test like the CRT. These types of questions are called “technology-enhanced”.

These types of questions usually ask you to read a text and then look for specific information and evidence. Then you have to click on it to highlight it.

Technology-Enhanced QuestionsExample: This picture shows an example of a technology-enhanced question. The story is on one side and the question on the other side asks you to “select” evidence by scrolling through the story and clicking on the text.

Technology-Enhanced QuestionsWhat should I do when I have to answer a technology-enhanced question?

Use STEM steps to help you succeed with technology-enhanced questions.

SLOW down and think about the instructions. Make sure you understand exactly what the question is asking you to do and how you need to do it.

TAKE time to scan the text and make your choices.

EVALUATE your choices. Look back at the question and make sure your answers fit with what the question asked you to do.

MAKE sure you followed the instructions to show your answers before you move on. Not all technology-enhanced questions are the same – don’t assume that the instructions are the same.

]Technology-Enhanced QuestionsLet’s Try It!

EXAMPLE: The article “Bats” mentions specific conservation efforts that seek to protect bats. Select at least three examples of bat conservation efforts. Highlight your selections in the text below.

MODEL: Use STEM steps to model the process.

Technology-Enhanced QuestionsLet’s Try It!

The article “Worth Defending” seeks to inform readers about a serious threat to bat populations, White Nose Syndrome. Identify the three most important pieces of information about White Nose Syndrome included in the article. Highlight your responses in the text below.

Work with your group to answer the question using the STEM steps:

SLOW down and think about the instructions. – Write a paraphrase of the instructions.

TAKE time to scan the text and make your choices. – Explain how you found the examples.

EVALUATE your choices. Look back at the question and make sure your answers fit with what the question asked you to do. – Explain how your answers fit the question.

MAKE sure you followed the instructions to show your answers before you move on. - Explain how you know you followed the instructions.

Performance TasksWhat’s the difference between a constructed response and a performance task?

When you answer a constructed response question, you usually read one story and answer one question about it.

Performance tasks are different for three reasons: You may need to look at multiple sources. Sources may not all be texts – some might be video or audio

clips. You may need to answer multiple questions.

Performance TasksChange How You Think

Performances tasks ask you to think in ways that are more complicated than constructed responses.

Performance tasks can be very challenging BUT if you learn strategies to help you succeed now, the tasks on the SBAC will be manageable. If you get enough practice, they might even seem easy.

When you are faced with a difficult task on a test, the best thing you can do is follow steps that help break down the task and make it easier for your to understand and complete.

Performance TasksWhat should I do when I have to complete a performance task?

Use LUNGE steps to help you succeed on performance tasks:

Listen to your teacher’s instructions. There are very specific rules about what your teacher can and can’t say during the SBAC, but they will be reading instructions to you for your performance tasks.

Understand the instructions. Ask for a repetition if you need it. Outline your writing and create steps for yourself to break down the task. Performance tasks use language that you might find difficult to read and understand. Find ways to make it simpler.

Notice important details in your sources and make sure you include them in your writing. Incorporating specific details from the sources will make your writing stronger and help you succeed.

Go back to the instructions, the sources, and your notes as often as needed. Ask yourself: How does my writing answer the question or address the prompt? Have I included everything I need?

Edit and revise your work carefully. Check for obvious mistakes in capitalization, punctuation, phrasing and verb tense by rereading your work. Fix your mistakes before you submit.

Performance TasksLet’s Try It!

Item 1: The video “How Fiction Can Change Reality” opens with a quote by the poet Emily Dickinson: “There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away.”  Analyze the quote by responding to the questions below. Part 1 - What does this quote mean and how does the video build upon and develop this concept? Part 2 – In the excerpt from “The Life of Benjamin Franklin”, when asked “What description of men most deserves pity?” Franklin replies “a lonesome man in a rainy day who does not know how to read.”  Are there any similarities between Franklin’s response and Dickinson’s statement about books?  Fully develop and support your response with additional evidence from the text and quotations from the video.   

Listen to your teacher’s instructions. Understand the instructions. Outline your writing and create steps for yourself to break down the task. Notice important details in your sources and make sure you include them in your writing. Go back to the instructions, the sources, and your notes as often as needed. Edit and revise your work carefully.

Reflection: SBAC Readiness

Write a short reflection responding to the question: How did I do on the SBAC practice test and what do I need to do to improve?

Additional questions to address in your reflection: Did I do better or worse than I thought?

What SBAC testing skills am I already good at?

What SBAC testing skills do I need to work on?

What steps can I take to improve?

TOTD

What did you learn today? Why did you learn it? How do you know if you learned it or

not?