Welcome Welcome

How do I prepare How do I prepare forfor

PSSA?PSSA?Fairview Elementary Fairview Elementary

February 15, 2011February 15, 2011

Objectives

Provide overview of PSSA Introduce test format Practice sample questions Identify ways to help Have fun!

Testing Calendar 2011

Assessment Dates Grade(s)

PSSA Writing March 28-April 1, 2011 5, 8, 11

PSSA Reading & Math March 14-March 25, 2011 3 through 8, 11

PSSA Science April 4-April 8, 2011 4, 8, 11

An Academic Training Program

Students doing their best depends not only on their skills, but also on knowing these three things…

what to expect on these types of tests

strategies for answering questions

that they have practiced their skills

Test Blueprint

MATHReporting Categories

•Numbers and Operations

•Measurement

•Geometry

•Algebra

•Data Analysis

What will WE do?

Introduce robust vocabulary for reading, math, science and

writing

Use PSSA rubrics

Practice tests

Parent Clinics

After-school practice clubs

Infuse PSSA prep across all subject areas

What will YOU do?

Schedule no appointments

Ensure a good night’s sleep

Prepare a healthy breakfast

Arrive to school on time

Encourage your child

Ask about the test

Reinforce the need to go back and review answers

Let’s try a few samples…

Please find our first passage…Ella’s Friends

Please turn off your iClicker while you are reading!!

Here we go students and parents. The next questions relate to thereading passage.

1. What is an egret?

A. a bird

B. a bug

C. a plan

D. an elephant

Why did the egrets and all the other animals love Ella?

A. She was big.B. She was kind and helpful.C. She was funny.D. She could run fast.

How did Ella warn the animals of danger?

A. She stomped the ground.B. She ran through the grass.C. She used her trunk like a trumpet.D. She flapped her ears.

How did the egrets know that Ella wasn’t feeling well?

A. She fell down.B. She walked slowly and breathed hard.C. She began to cry.D. She stopped eating.

5. How did the elephants hug Ella?

A. They wrapped trunks.

B. They wrapped ears.

C. They stood around her.

D. They stomped their feet.

The special plant in the story is most like…

A. a bed.B. a trumpet.C. some feathers.D. some medicine.

7. At the end of the story, the animals are happy because…

A. Ella feels better.B. Ella goes to sleep.C. Ella is moving trees.D. Ella is eating insects.

8. The setting for this story is…

A. a zoo.

B. a jungle.

C. a river.

D. a house.

9. The theme of this story is…

A. sleep if you are tired.B. plants make good medicineC. you can always count on your friends.D. never work too hard.

10.What genre is this story most like?

A. Realistic fiction

B. Autobiography

C. Poetry

D. Fable

Constructing an Open Response -

RAPS

What is the theme of this story? Support your answer with two examples from the text.

R Restate the question.

Constructing an Open Response -

RAPS

What is the theme of this story? Support your answer with two examples from the text.

A Answer the question in your own words.

Constructing an Open Response -

RAPS

What is the theme of this story? Support your answer with two examples from the text.

P Prove your answer by providing 2-3 examples from the

text.

Constructing an Open Response -

RAPS

What is the theme of this story? Support your answer with two examples from the text.

S Sum it up!

A. 1/3

B. 3/8

C. 3/5

D. 5/8

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A. 86

B. 87

C. 96 D. 177

Poetry Break

Please read When All the World Is Full of Snow and New Year Snowbird and then turn on your iClicker.

Read the lines from “When All the World Is Full of Snow.”

“I only want/to watch and wait,/while snow moths settle/on the gate”

A. to have an agreementB. to make a decisionC. to come to restD. to drop to the bottom

Which meaning of the word settle is used in the poem?

In “When All the World Is Full of Snow,” the speaker compares snowflakes to

A. bees and gates.B. moths and trees.C. bees and mothsD. trees and gates

What does the speaker compare glistening boots to in “New Year Snowbird”?

A. swingsB. snow.C. shadowsD. wings

Which phrase from “New Year Snowbird” is an example of alliteration?

A. “faraway stars”B. “whistling wings”C. “snowflakes bounce”D. “stars tickle”

The following questions relate to BOTH poems.

Which lines from the poems contain a simile?

A. “When I jump toward the light/I close my eyes tight”B. “I never know/just where to go,/when all the world/is

full of snow.”C. “I fly through the shadows waiting to pounce/on the

porch light”D. “I only want/myself to be/as silent as a winter tree”

Which word best describes how the speakers in both poems feel when it is

snowing outside?

A. anxiousB. delightedC. disappointedD. silly

What do the speakers of both poems have in common?

A. The both enjoy snow.B. They both play in the snow.C. They both pretend to fly.D. They both like the stars.

Give at least two ways the poems are alike and one way they are different, using specific examples from the poems to

support your answer.

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

Thank you for coming!

We are:

Spend your time wisely.

Mark your best answer.

Always do your best.

Recheck your answers.

Think positively.

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