Reading Strategies for Testing

What is the best thing I should do before I read the passage?

• take a nap

• read the questions

• draw on scratch paper

What is the next best thing, after reading the questions, I should do before I read the passage?

• Look at the title, images, and unfamiliar words.

• Do not look at the images or title. Go ahead and start reading.

• Stare in Lala Land.

What should I do while I read the passage? I already read my questions and looked at the title, images, and unfamiliar words.

What should I do if i do not know a word that is in a question? For example I may see academic vocabulary such as "personification" or "conflict" and not know exactly what it means.

How many times should I read the passage?

• Once is all you need. I annotated and should be fine.

• Twice because I want to make sure I did not miss important information or did not comprehend the text accurately.

• As many times as I need, in order to make sure I comprehend the text and use text evidence to answer all of my questions. 3 times is the magic number.

How do annotations look to you? Draw a quick example.

What are some things I can do when I read my questions first?

What are the main steps you are going to take when you take your STAAR Test to increase your chances of scoring higher than before? Please number your steps. 1)...2)...3)...4)...5)...