Reading Test Prep - Helping my fourth graders master their passages

Getting my fourth graders comfortable with reading passages is not my favorite thing to do, but it's something we do practice.

My first few years in the upper grades I used all the acronyms, all the anchor charts, and all the different techniques. What I realized at the end of the day was it didn't matter what technique we used if the kids spent more time breaking down the passage than they did reading it.

Watching my kids and talking to them, it became apparent that they weren't reading the passages. They read the questions first and then hunted down the answers by skimming the text. They were missing out on so much context and meaning. I knew I needed to change something.

So I simplified my method.

First we read the passage. All the answers are in the passage, so if the kids read the passage, they're on their way.

Next we do a quick summary. I let the kids pick which summary they want to use - which makes sense to them. I don't care so long as they can summarize. This is their tool to check their understanding.

I've taught my kids that if they can't fill out a basic summarize graphic organizer, then they need to go back

and read the passage again.

After they've completed the summary the next step is to read the question and think about what it's asking them. Highlight keywords if they need to, BUT then they need to go and find the answer in the passage! They prove to me

that they completed this step by recording the paragraph number on their answer key.

The last step to complete is the answer.

Want to try it in your classroom? Download the file below and let me know how it works out!

Passage Responses - Test Prep.pdf

Download PDF • 3.72MB