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Introduction to Short Answer Questions for ELA STAAR

Introduction to Short Answer Questions for ELA STAAR. Finding a way to place “out of the box” insights appropriately into a prescribed box…. The STAAR test requires analytical reading with deep understanding presented in a formal academic way!. In the clouds Just the tip of the iceberg

yvonne-maynard
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Introduction to Short Answer Questions for ELA STAAR

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  1. Introduction to Short Answer Questions for ELA STAAR Finding a way to place “out of the box” insights appropriately into a prescribed box…

  2. The STAAR test requires analytical reading with deep understanding presented in a formal academic way!

  3. In the clouds Just the tip of the iceberg Good literal (surface) interpretation Analysis: Explanation that goes beyond what a character says, does, or learns. You’ve shown that you know there is more going on than what meets the eye. 0 1 2 3

  4. What to Analyze… • Theme is the "big idea" in the author's message such as: ambition, choices, courage, freedom, growth, beauty, identity, relationships, etc. A theme statement will be what the author feels or believes about that big idea or what a character or person learnsabout himself/herself, about others, or about life. • Conflict is the problem or struggle in the story. • Characterization is the method the author uses to show us the characters in a story. To let the reader know about a character, the author may use direct description, called direct characterization, or may use dialogue, actions or comments from others, called indirect characterization.

  5. What STAAR Short Answer Items Require… • Read well. • Think deeply. • Write formal literary analysis paragraphs.

  6. Student Friendly SA Rubric Score Point 0 – Oops! Stop! Do over! Idea is not an answer to the question asked Idea is too general, vague, or unclear Idea is incorrect - not based on the text No idea is present Score Point 1 – Almost there-Caution! Idea is reasonable, but no evidence is used Idea is reasonable, but evidence chosen does not support Idea needs more explanation Idea represents only a literal meaning Score Point 2 – Good to go! Answer + Proof (supporting quote)‏+Explanation Score Point 3 – Wow! Answer + Quotes + Explanation which shows insightful analysis

  7. How will I answer SAQs? I will ACE them. • Answer the questions directly using the same wording from the question. • Cite evidence from the selection to support your answer and embed them in your own writing. (Concrete Detail) • Explain and expand your evidence to support your answer. (Commentary) • In addition, if you are aiming for commended performance (which ALL of you should be!) you will need to add a “moral of the story” or “life lesson” to you explanation.

  8. ANSWER THE QUESTION Prompt: How does the narrator’s attitude toward his grandfather change over the course of the summer? Answer the question directly using good word choice and by restating words from the question. • A: The narrator’s attitude changes toward his grandfather over the course of the summer from being ungrateful to appreciative of his family. • This sentence provides the “A” part of A.C.E. It restates the question using the same words and directly gives an answer to the question.

  9. CITE EVIDENCE Cite evidence from the selection to support your answer. C: He says, “I hate having to take care of Grandpa” at the beginning. When summer is over he writes in his journal, “Grandpa used to be a basketball star! That’s so cool that he can teach me!” These two sentences provide the “C” part of A.C.E. It cites evidence that directly supports the answer.

  10. EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER Explain or expand on your answer: Directly tell your reader how the evidence you have just provided proves your answer. • You can begin your “E” with phrases such as: “This emphasizes…”, “This demonstrates…”, “This signifies that…” • E: This demonstrates the narrator’s attitude change as he learns new aspects of his grandfather’s life. By the end of the summer, the narrator realizes that his grandfather is not just a burden; he actually has the ability to affect the narrator’s life in a positive way. This sentence explains how the quote supports the answer to better prove the answer.

  11. Short Answer Questions (S.A.Q.) • After completing the planning grid for brainstorming, you will then use the prewriting organizational system found below: A) – Answer C) – Best Embedded Text Quotes E) – Commentary (connect the quotes to your answer)

  12. What is the difference between a Single Response and Cross-Over RespoNSe? • Single selection is only analyzing one story, while a crossover question on STAAR is comparing two different selections. • In the crossover question, you are provided more space (10 lines as opposed to 8) • It’s important in the crossover question to provide evidence from both selections.

  13. Let’s Practice • CROSSOVER SAQ Prompt: Analyze Odysseus’ character change from Part 1 to Part 2. Discuss how this change contributes to his role as an epic hero. Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the selection.

  14. CROSS OVER Questions (S.A.Q.) When writing S.A.Q.s, you will be asked to use two different systems of organization as you brainstorm and pre-write. The first organizational system is a planning grid to be used during brainstorming. Part E • Part E Part C Part C Part C Part C Part A Part E • Part E

  15. CROSSOVER – Planning Grid E) Odysseus realizes that glory and fame are not the most important priorities anymore. (Before/After) C) In Part 1, Odysseus’ ego gets the best of him when he yells out to Polyphemus that “Odysseus, raider of cities, took [his] eye”. A) Odysseus’ character changes from Part 1 to Part 2 in that he goes from a very prideful individual who wants global fame to a man who simply wants to go back to the life he once had. C) However, readers see a change in Odysseus in Part 2 when he waits to reveal an identifying “old scar from the tusk wound [he] got boar hunting” until the most opportune moment. E) The fact that Odysseus only lets a few trusted people know who he is reveals that he has changed tremendously since the beginning of the epic.

  16. Crossover Example • Analyze Odysseus’ character change from Part 1 to Part 2. Discuss how this change contributes to his role as an epic hero. Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the selection. Complete Short Answer Response: Odysseus’ character changes from Part 1 to Part 2 in that he goes from a very prideful individual who wants global fame to a man who simply wants to go back to the life he once had. In Part 1, Odysseus’ ego gets the best of him when he yells out to Polyphemus that “Odysseus, raider of cities, took [his] eye”. However, readers see a change in Odysseus in Part 2 when he waits to reveal an identifying “old scar from the tusk wound [he] got boar hunting” until the most opportune moment.The fact that Odysseus only lets a few trusted people know who he is reveals that he has changed tremendously since the beginning of the epic. Odysseus realizes that glory and fame are not the most important priorities anymore.

  17. TIPS AND TRICKS • Important Considerations: • Make sure that all of your words fit on the lines inside the provided final answer box (no doubling lines or writing vertically or horizontally along the border of the answer box). • Both text selections and student commentary need to reflect insightfulness. Do not just provide a literal, superficial response. Do not merely echo or paraphrasetext evidence in your connecting and concluding commentary. • When crafting your commentary, do not go beyond the concepts contained in the text evidence. If you provide new information, you must have textual support to defend it. • Your scores on the S.A.Q.s on the STAAR exam for English will factor 33% of your overall EOC score.

  18. What is not allowed: double lines REMINDERS NOT SCORED The State will count 10 lines and stop grading here.

  19. Prompt: What is one similarity ABOUT THE idea of captivity in the excerpt “Let Freedom Reign”and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from both selections. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pAxGbTwFm4 The free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wings in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky. But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with fearful trill of the things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own. But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. -Maya Angelou “Let Freedom Reign,” delivered by Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa on May 10, 1994 That spiritual and physical oneness we all share with this common homeland explains the depth of the pain we all carried in our hearts as we saw our country tear itself apart in a terrible conflict, and as we saw it spurned, outlawed and isolated by the peoples of the world, precisely because it has become the universal base of the pernicious ideology and practice of racism and racial oppression.

  20. YOU TRY: CROSS OVER Prompt: What is one similarity ABOUT THE idea of captivity in the excerpt “Let Freedom Reign”and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from both selections. . Part E • Part E Part C Part C Part C Part C Part A Part E • Part E

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