ANSWER The Strategy

Open Response Grading

• Thoroughness Did you answer the question entirely?

• AccuracyAre your answers correct?

• Clarity Can I understand you?

• Use of textual evidence Did you use support from text?

The open response questions measure comprehension. Not creativity or style.

Snafus

• Endurance

• Weak vocab (remember that list I gave you yesterday…?)

• Open response experience with a brand, shiny new text

• A Analyze the question

• N Note plan

• S Skim, Read (“Skread”), Select

• W Write the response

• ER End by Reviewing

A Analyze

• Determine the ESSENTIAL QUESTION (about what are you being asked to write)

• Determine what info is REQUIRED TO ANSWER THE QUESTION

• Mark KEY WORDS in the question

• Ignore the multiple choice!

In this passage, Gene describes Finny’s magnetic personality. Using clear examples from the text, show how Finny’s charisma draws other people to him.

N Note Plan

• Set up two-column notes• Restate question at the top

• Main idea column in the LEFT

• Support details in the RIGHT

Practice: In this passage, Gene describes Finny’s magnetic personality. Using clear examples from the text, show how Finny’s charisma draws other people to him.

Main Idea: Finny’s Charisma

1.

2.

3.

Supporting Details

Prompt: Using clear examples from the text, show how Finny’s charisma draws other people to him.

Practice A and N

• In the excerpt, Burn Sanderson’s arrival affects Mama, Travis and little Arliss differently. Describe how each character reacts to Burn Sanderson’s visit. Support your answer with important and specific details from the excerpt.

Practice A and N

• In the excerpt, Burn Sanderson’s arrival affects Mama1, Travis2 and Little Arliss3 differently. Describe how each character reacts to Burn Sanderson’s visit. Support your answer with important and specific details from the excerpt.

Prompt: Describe how each character reacts to Burn Sanderson’s visit. Support your answer with important and

specific details from the excerpt.

Main Idea: Effects of Burn Sander’s arrival on main characters

1. Mama

2. Travis

3. Arlis

Supporting Details

Practice A and N

• Elie Wiesel describes how the arrival at Birkenau creates both anxiety and disbelief among the prisoners. Explain how the various people react to the horror they experience. Be sure to give three examples with specific examples from the text.

Prompt: Explain how the various people react to the horror they experience. Give three examples with specific

examples from the text.

Main Idea: Prisoner’s anxiety and disbelief created by horror experienced as they arrive

1.

2.

3.

Supporting Details

S Skread (Skim, read, Select)

• Only highlight for RELEVANT content

• Chart WHILE reading

W Write

• First Sentence• Keep it to the point

• Restate the question

• Evidence• Start with each main idea in the LEFT COLUMN of notes

• Add the SUPPORTING DETAILS from the RIGHT COLUMN to generate one or two sentences

• REPEAT for each main idea

W Write

• Use transition words! I have a list for you…

• The answer does NOT have to be multiple paragraphs!

• No need for a concluding sentence!

ER End by Reviewing

• Reread the question

• Make sure you FULLY answered it• Is it Thorough?

• Is it Accurate?

• Is it Clear?

• Did you use the Text effectively?

ExamplePrompt: Analyze what Howard’s thoughts throughout the passage reveal about his personality. Use information from the passage to support your analysis.

Response:

Howard’s thoughts reveal that his appreciative personality is rooted in his respect for his past. Even though he has been living “out east” for years, his source of inspiration is firmly grounded in the West of his childhood. When he is staring out the window of the train, he thinks of the passing landscape as being “his West.” Later on, when he accepts a ride home from his uncle, he feels like “he had been away only for a month or two,” instead of 10 years. Finally, when he and his uncle are looking at the beauty of the fields and hills from the buggy, both Howard and his uncle know not to disrupt the subtle beauty of the scene by talking.

• The student has given a clear, complete, and accurate analysis by stating what Howard’s thoughts throughout the passage reveal about his personality (“Howard’s thoughts reveal that he is sentimental about his hometown”). The student supports the analysis with relevant and specific information from the passage (“he feels pride for being a ‘Western man,’” “He thinks the green hills . . . are beautiful and majestic,” and “he recognizes the men near the salt barrels and smiles because they are unchanged”).

Practice!

• On the back of the sheet given to you, fill in the steps for the ANSWER acronym

• In the box below that, fill in the steps for the Note Taking Chart (write, in order, how you would complete your notes chart)

• To the right of that, create an example chart (how you would set it up)

• In the top right, list what you should not do as you write your response

Practice! Part Deux.

• Using “Two Tramps in Mud Time” apply the ANSWER strategy.

• Use a separate sheet of paper, read the prompts (one at a time) and FOLLOW ALL STEPS

• We will review this poem together Friday in more detail, so no worries if there are nuances you are confused about