Reading STAAR Test-Taking Strategy

Is annotating the text important?

• Yes

• No

Answer explanation

Believe it!

How does annotating the text help you take the test?

• Improves your memory of the text

• Gets you the answers before even seeing the questions

• Helps you understand the text's deeper meanings

• All of the above

Answer explanation

It's great, please please please do it!

What's the first thing you should do with any Reading STAAR text?

• Read the text all the way through without making any notes.

• Read the title, look at the pictures, scan the paragraphs to figure out the genre, and then make a prediction.

• Read all the questions before reading the text.

• Read the title and make a prediction based only on that.

Answer explanation

Always make a prediction, get your brain warmed up and thinking critically about what you're reading!

Should your annotation strategy change based on whether the text is fiction, nonfiction, or poetry?

• Yes, each genre has an annotation strategy that works best for it.

• No, you should annotate them all in the same way no matter what.

Answer explanation

Customize your notes to match the situation!

When you're annotating ____________, you should highlight key details and write a one-sentence main idea for every paragraph.

• fiction

• nonfiction

• poetry

Answer explanation

Nonfiction is the most straightforward genre, so our note-taking is equally simple.

When you're annotating ___________, you need to look for details about characters, setting, and conflict.

• fiction

• nonfiction

• poetry

Answer explanation

Fiction stories are always about people and their problems. ;)

When you're annotating __________, you should think about the rhythm of the lines and how they'd sound if you read them out loud.

• fiction

• nonfiction

• poetry

Answer explanation

Poetry is all about flow!

When you're annotating poetry, after you've made your prediction, you should read it all the way through without stopping.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Poems are short, and things like the rhythm, flow, and overall emotional impact are important to them, so make sure to read it all the way through once before stopping to make notes.

When you annotate poetry, you should summarize what's happening in every...

• line

• paragraph

• stanza

• sonnet

Answer explanation

Stanza = Paragraph for poetry

What do you need to be able to do if you want to correctly answer Paired Text questions?

• Guess and get lucky.

• Compare and contrast related texts and make connections between them.

• Rub your belly with one hand and pat your head with the other, all while standing on one foot.

• Read a single text and understand it without making connections to anything else.

Answer explanation

You don't want your test scores to end up on the Missed Connections page on Craigslist... :'(