Outside+Reading

=Whole School Literature Circle Activity:=



Rubric:

 * [[file:admissions+ticket+rubric (1) (1).doc]]

Example Admissions Tickets:

=Outside Reading Independent Project=

SAT Prep. Independent Reading Project

“[...] book reading, which profits a reader, an author, and a democratic society, is also the single activity that consistently relates to proficiency in reading, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress” - Nancie Atwell, the author of The Reading Zone

Objectives: 1) Since the only proven way to improve on the SAT or any other standardized test (other than taking Ms. Innes’ SAT Prep class) is to read a lot, we want to make sure everyone is doing some independent reading outside of class. Remember the SAT is primarily a reading test--even the math section--because if you can’t read well, you won’t even be able to understand what each question is asking, and how can you answer a question when you don’t understand it?

2) The other objective of this project is for you to think like an exam creator. The more you understand how these exam creators think, the better you will be able to navigate potential pitfalls while taking the SAT.

What to do: 1) Read at least one book between now and October 24th.

2) While you read, write down 10-15 unfamiliar vocabulary words and their definitions. (This means you will need to pick a book that has some vocabulary that is unfamiliar to you. If you need help with this, try finding your lexile level from last year and using lexile.com, or skim through a few pages of a book to make sure there are a few unfamiliar words on those pages.)

3) When you finish reading, take these words and create SAT sentence completions, using all 10-15 words as the correct answers to fill in the blanks. Since these are multiple choice questions, come up with four other possible answers for each question. > > >
 * For each question, underline the trigger words (See p. 43) and/or trigger punctuation (p. 44).
 * Use two blanks in half your questions. (This is what the exam writers do!)
 * Use at least three positive/negative connotation questions (p. 48). Label these with a + for a positive connotation or a - for negative connotation.

4) When you’ve finished reading, choose a passage from your book to create 10 Reading Comprehension questions. Label each question as one of the categories below: > > > > >
 * Include 2 detail questions (p. 60)
 * 2 purpose questions (p. 61)
 * 2 suggest/infer/imply/agree questions (p. 61)
 * 2 vocab-in-context questions (p. 62)
 * 2 tone/attitude questions (p. 63)

5) Turn in the following: > > >> >> >> >> > > >> > >> >
 * List of 10-15 unfamiliar vocab. and their definitions
 * Sentence completion questions
 * using 10-15 unfamiliar vocab. words
 * with underlined trigger words
 * three labeled as positive (+) or negative (-) connotations
 * half with two blanks
 * The answer key to your sentence completions
 * The excerpt you chose for the reading comprehension questions
 * This could be typed out, photocopied or printed out from online.
 * Ten reading comprehension questions
 * Label what type of question each one is (See above.)
 * The answer key to your reading comprehension questions

6) You will receive your graded project back on Monday, October 28th, and you will have until Wednesday, October 30th to revise it for a higher grade if you choose to do so.

7) We’ll take each other’s exams during the last week of class.

SAT Prep. Independent Reading/Test Creation Project

Name:_______________________________________________Date: _____________________

A ||  Meets Expectations B ||  Approaching Expectations C-D ||  Doesn’t Meet Expectations F ||
 * Exceeds Expectations
 * Uses 15 unfamiliar vocabulary words

Uses very effective trigger words and punctuation

Follows directions: uses two blanks for half of sentence completions, underlines trigger words or punctuation, labels connotation for three questions, labels comprehension questions, list of words, answer keys, and reading excerpt.

Uses connotation very effectively on three questions

Uses all types of reading comprehension questions very effectively || Uses 10-14 unfamiliar words

Uses effective trigger words and punctuation

No criteria for this level

Uses connotation effectively on three questions

Uses most types of reading comprehension questions effectively || Uses 7-9 unfamiliar words

Uses somewhat effective trigger words and punctuation

Follows most directions correctly

Uses connotation on three questions

Uses some types of reading comprehension questions effectively || Uses fewer than 7 words

Uses poor or no trigger words and punctuation

Follows few directions correctly

Does not use connotation on three questions

Uses few types of reading comprehension questions effectively ||