NJ READ 180 Teachers - HSPA Open-Ended Question Prep

I am a NJ READ 180 Teacher in Atlantic County, NJ. In order to prepare my students for the NJ HSPA's open-ended questions, I have replaced the Quickwrites provided for independent and modeled reading texts with open-ended questions and a format for answering and grading them. Using the open-ended questions throughout the year, students continually practice this skill, becoming more comfortable and confident in their writing as the year progresses. Open-ended questions are created as students select their independent reading books, and not all at once. Creating the questions is not difficult. Currently, out of my 300 book library, I have about 1/3 of the open-ended questions completed. Each book, dependeing on the point value, has either 2 or 3 open-ended questions. Debbie

would you feel that you could share these questions.. at least get me started!!!! merrilbs my email is borucm@d11.org

Suzanne, Did you receive the sample open-ended questions I sent you? Debbie

Sure. Here is one example from Level C and one from Level B: NAME: _____________________________________ PER. _____ Cleopatra VII 920L / 8pts Open-Ended Questions / Quickwrites Use information from the story to support your one paragraph response to the following questions. Be sure to follow the ACE Rubric as you answer them. 1. The Barbarian, Pompey (After page 90) When Pompey insults Cleopatra and her father, Cleopatra stands up to Pompey. • What does Cleopatra’s response to Pompey’s insults tell you about Cleopatra? 2-3. Cleopatra Returns to Egypt (After page 180) Upon Cleopatra’s return from Rome, she was overjoyed to see her friends again. She was also concerned that she make the right decisions as the daughter of her father, King Ptolemy Auletes, and as a future queen of Egypt. • What does Cleopatra learn from her experiences in Italy that will help her become a better queen? • If you lived during Cleopatra’s lifetime, what advice could you give this future queen? NAME: _____________________________________ PER. _____ Freak the Mighty Open-Ended Questions / Quickwrites Answer each of the following open-ended questions using the ACE Rubric. For each question, you will need to cite information from the chapter to support your answer / opinion. 1. American Chop Suey (after page 87) Max is convinced that he is stupid – a “butthead” – or he did until Kevin came into his life. o How does Kevin prove to Max he (Max) is not a "butthead"? 2-3. What Loretta Said (End of the book, after page 160) Afterwards, Max hid for days and days, keeping the door closed. He felt like a deflated balloon. • How does Max finally get over his anger over Kevin’s death? • Explain how the novel's plot is circular. (Hint – check your Smiley-Face Tricks) Of course, they look better formatted with one book to a page, but this gives you an idea of what I am talking about. Debbie

Have you thought about adding them to the resources in the Community.  If you do, be certain to put your name in the footer so others will know who developed them because I am certain other teachers will start passing them around.

I just posted in Resources the format my students use to write responses to open-ended questions. It includes a color-coding format that helps students learn to re-read what they have written, and to edit and revise so they completely answer and give support for the questions. This is especially helpful to New Jersey teachers as NJ HSPA/NJ ASK test prep. I have found that by using the color-coding strategy, it also makes my students' writing easier to read, conference, and grade. http://educatorresources.scholastic.com/index.php?tab=view_published&resourceId=665 Two of the files are labeled as Folder 1 and Folder 2. These are laminated into a brightly colored folder for students to use as a resource as they are writing. The Folder 2 sign is also enlarged and posted in my classroom (I used Print Shop 22 to create the larger poster). Debbie