 |
Home
| How It Works
| Stats
Login | Register |
|
Case: Reading Comprehension I teach world history in the resource setting and I have noticed that my students really struggle on end of unit assessments. We utilize common assessments as a department, so my students take the same tests and answer the same questions as general ed students and honors students. Most questions on the tests are all Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels 2, 3 and even 4. While my students seem to understand the content through discussions and activities, they do not perform well on the tests because of their struggles with reading comprehension. If they cannot comprehend the question how are they supposed to demonstrate their knowledge of the content? What are some strategies I can utilize to help my students raise their test scores? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) Hi eryMav, I totally agree with qasytu's suggestions about teaching vocabulary used in the exam questions, reading test answers to the students, and meeting with other teachers to see if the students are having the same struggle. I love the suggestion of beginning class with a question a day and discussing the possible solutions. I think the most important thing he addresses here is targeting key vocabulary and teaching the students test taking strategies. In my classroom, we use a CUBES method for solving problems. C stands for Circle, U stands for Underline, B stands for Box, E stands for Evaluate/Eliminate, and S stands for show your work. You could help students remember this by putting an anchor chart on the classroom wall. Basically, the students read the question and circle key words that they need to understand to solve the problem. Then, they underline what they are being asked. Then, they box the action word, such as "solve" or "explain" then they evaluate the possible answer choice and eliminate as many as they can. If appropriate for the exam, students will make sure to show their work. This strategy has worked great in the classrooms I have taught. It really makes students stop and think about what they are being asked to do. Hope this helps! Melissa |
||
Rating
|
||||||||||||||||||
Rating
|
||||||||||||||||||