Reading Sage Reviews

Passing STAAR Writing Test 2012

2012-01-13T16:19:00.005-07:00

STAAR Writing Assessments 2012: How to help your students meet or exceed on the STAAR writing assessment.

The STAAR writing test is made up of two parts, the student responses to a prompt, and a multiple choice writing conventions test. Two areas that need equal attention and must be mastered to pass the STAAR writing test. At risk students must be trained to use a systematic graphic organizer. Students must have time and multiple opportunities to learn the critical tier 2 and their 3 vocabulary that they will find on the multiple choice section of the writing test. I use a STEAL Characterization chart with my students to enhance reading instruction and writing instruction when ever possible to get students thinking and using this powerful tool. I also expose my student daily to the academic writing vocabulary.

Please use the samples STEAL chart below to start getting your student ready to pass the STAAR Writing Test this spring.

Academic Vocabulary Tier 3 Writing Glossary

PDF
Word

Practice Writing Assessment 4th Grade

“The Silver Bullet” STEAL Students Graphic Organizer

96% Passing State Writing Test 25% Exceeding State Writing

WORD CHOICE Verbs and Adverbs	Topic Sentence W.W.W. Who, What, and WHY! What: My first roller ride coaster ride Who: I am Alone Why: My parents are afraid to ride the Matterhorn Topic Sentence It introduces the main idea of the paragraph	WORD CHOICE Nouns and Adjectives
Debated decided dedicated valued chose cleaned	S – Speech/ Speaking / Dialogue Speech What does the character say (YOU, FRIENDS, FAMILY)?	swift ancient modern bitter sweet alert sane
vaulted viewed visualized volunteered Captured cared for carried caught categorized challenged	T – thoughts/feelings/attitudes Thoughts What is important about the character’s thoughts and feelings (YOU, FRIENDS, FAMILY)?	attractive sticky fuzzy giant fresh graceful harsh whispering puny harsh noisy quiet shrill
championed changed checked cleared closed coached commanded commended	E – effects on others Effect How do other characters feel or behave or react to the characters?	teeny massive careful cheap expensive rainy crystal sore dangerous combative
concentrated confronted constructed consulted continued controlled convinced cooperated copied corrected counseled	A – actions Actions What does the character do? How does the character behave?	weary dull drab dim aggressive mellow fancy excited scared filthy superior lazy excited hungry crazy
created customized joined judged observed tackled talked targeted tasted taught obtained offered translated	L – looks/ settings/ imagery/ what Looks What do you see? What do the characters look like? How does the character dress?	poor rich busy anxious steep skinny petite tiny miniscule salty delicious terrible dead alive huge tremendous elderly handsome ugly beautiful shiny
WORD CHOICE Verbs and Adverbs	Topic Sentence W.W.W. Who, What, and WHY!	WORD CHOICE Nouns and Adjectives
	S – Speech/ Speaking / Dialogue
	T – thoughts/feelings
	E – effects on others
	A – actions
	L – looks/ settings
WORD CHOICE Verbs and Adverbs	Topic Sentence W.W.W. Who, What, and WHY!	WORD CHOICE Nouns and Adjectives
	S – Speech/ Speaking / Dialogue
	T – thoughts/feelings
	E – effects on others
	A – actions
	L – looks/ settings

Practice STAAR Writing Assessments

Writing Assessment Online 4th

Writing Assessment Online7th

Grade 4 Writing	· Grade 4 Writing Test Design Schematic (English and Spanish) (11/04/10) · Grade 4 Expository Writing Rubric (10/05/11) · Grade 4 Personal Narrative Writing Rubric (09/26/11)
Grade 7 Writing	· Grade 7 Writing Test Design Schematic (11/04/10) · Grade 7 Expository Writing Rubric (10/05/11) · Grade 7 Personal Narrative Writing Rubric (09/26/11)
English I	· English I Test Design Schematic (11/04/10) · English I Expository Writing Rubric (10/05/11) · English I Literary Writing Rubric (10/18/11) · English I Short Answer Rubric Connecting Selections (10/25/11) · English I Short Answer Rubric Single Selection (10/25/11)
English II	· English II Test Design Schematic (11/04/10) · English II Expository Writing Rubric (10/05/11) · English II Persuasive Writing Rubric (10/31/11) · English II Short Answer Rubric Connecting Selections (10/25/11) · English II Short Answer Rubric Single Selection (10/25/11)
English III	· English III Test Design Schematic (11/04/10) · English III Analytical Writing Rubric (10/31/11) · English III Persuasive Writing Rubric (10/31/11) · English III Short Answer Rubric Connecting Selections (10/25/11) · English III Short Answer Rubric Single Selection (10/25/11)

4th Grade Poetry Vocabulary Quiz

2012-01-04T09:51:00.002-07:00

4th Grade Poetry Vocabulary Quiz

Academic Vocabulary Tier 3

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question.

1. the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words in a phrase or sentence.

alliteration

hyperbole

simile

assonance

2. images that are created in the mind while reading or looking at art.

simile

stanza

imagery

alliteration

3. in rhetoric, an obvious and deliberate exaggeration or overstatement, intended for effect and not to be taken literally, such as "He had a million excuses". (Cf. litotes.)

foreshadow

hyperbole

alliteration

satire

4. a figure of speech in which two different things are compared by using the words "like" or "as." "The cake was as light as a feather" is an example of a __________.

stanza

metaphor

simile

hyperbole

5. a literary or dramatic work that ridicules or derides human vice or foolishness, usually through the use of parody or irony.

stanza

alliteration

satire

foreshadow

6. a past event that interrupts the forward action of a play, movie, novel, or the like.

foreshadow

assonance

flashback

stanza

7. a group of related lines in a poem that make up one section within the poem. __________ often have a regular meter and rhyme pattern.

alliteration

stanza

assonance

simile

8. similarity in sounds, especially vowel sounds.

irony

hyperbole

assonance

simile

9. to signal or indicate beforehand; presage; prefigure.

irony

stanza

hyperbole

foreshadow

10.a phrase that describes something by comparing it to some other thing.

hyperbole

stanza

metaphor

assonance

11.spoken or written words that mean the opposite of their usual meaning.

simile

foreshadow

irony

assonance

4th Grade Poetry Quiz

January 4, 2012

the act or technique of ascribing human attributes to nonhuman or inanimate things.
allusion
oxymoron
personification
allegory
the time and place in which something happens.
homophone
allusion
setting
resolution
to be in strong opposition to.
conflict
antagonist
allusion
onomatopoeia
a state of excitement or anxiety that comes from mystery or doubt.
suspense
oxymoron
homophone
conflict
a word that sounds the same as another but has a different meaning and often a different spelling. In the sentence, "I've been feeling weak for almost a week," the words, "weak" and "week" are __________.
conflict
homophone
antagonist
protagonist
a solution or end to an argument or other conflict.
homophone
setting
resolution
suspense
a poem or song that tells a story.
antagonist
ballad
onomatopoeia
resolution
a person who fights against another; an enemy or competitor.
suspense
oxymoron
protagonist
antagonist
a figure of speech in which an apparent contradiction makes or highlights a point, as in the phrase, "a frozen flame".
protagonist
allusion
onomatopoeia
oxymoron
the leading character in a literary work.
protagonist
setting
allusion
ballad
the formation or use of words whose sounds suggest the meanings of the words, such as "bang," "moo," or "jingle".
onomatopoeia
ballad
antagonist
resolution
an indirect reference to or mention of something.
suspense
resolution
allusion
onomatopoeia
a tool in art or literature that uses concrete characters, events, or things to represent ideas or beliefs.
allegory
antagonist
homophone
conflict

4th Grade Poetry Quiz

Instructions: Write the correct word in the space before its definition. There may be more than one definition for each word.

alliteration assonance connotation denotation flashback
foreshadow hyperbole irony metaphor satire
simile stanza symbol

1.

a secondary meaning or implication of a word or expression, in addition to its primary meaning.

2.

an object or picture that represents something else.

3.

a phrase that describes something by comparing it to some other thing.

4.

spoken or written words that mean the opposite of their usual meaning.

5.

a dictionary meaning, agreed-upon meaning of a word, as distinguished from connotation. (Cf. connotation.)

6.

the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words in a phrase or sentence.

7.

a figure of speech in which two different things are compared by using the words "like" or "as." "The cake was as light as a feather" is an example of a __________.

8.

a group of related lines in a poem that make up one section within the poem. __________ often have a regular meter and rhyme pattern.

9.

to signal or indicate beforehand; presage; prefigure.

10.

a literary or dramatic work that ridicules or derides human vice or foolishness, usually through the use of parody or irony.

11.

similarity in sounds, especially vowel sounds.

12.

a past event that interrupts the forward action of a play, movie, novel, or the like.

13.

in rhetoric, an obvious and deliberate exaggeration or overstatement, intended for effect and not to be taken literally, such as "He had a million excuses". (Cf. litotes.)

1.			a secondary meaning or implication of a word or expression, in addition to its primary meaning.
2.			an object or picture that represents something else.
3.			a phrase that describes something by comparing it to some other thing.
4.			spoken or written words that mean the opposite of their usual meaning.
5.			a dictionary meaning, agreed-upon meaning of a word, as distinguished from connotation. (Cf. connotation.)
6.			the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words in a phrase or sentence.
7.			a figure of speech in which two different things are compared by using the words "like" or "as." "The cake was as light as a feather" is an example of a __________.
8.			a group of related lines in a poem that make up one section within the poem. __________ often have a regular meter and rhyme pattern.
9.			to signal or indicate beforehand; presage; prefigure.
10.			a literary or dramatic work that ridicules or derides human vice or foolishness, usually through the use of parody or irony.
11.			similarity in sounds, especially vowel sounds.
12.			a past event that interrupts the forward action of a play, movie, novel, or the like.
13.			in rhetoric, an obvious and deliberate exaggeration or overstatement, intended for effect and not to be taken literally, such as "He had a million excuses". (Cf. litotes.)

Common Core Standards Practice Test 3rd ELA

2012-01-03T16:22:00.003-07:00

Common Core Standards Practice Test
English Language Arts ELA 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Grade Sample Quiz

Tier 3 Vocabulary Test 3rd Grade

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question.

1. the part of a sentence that tells what the subject does, or what is done to the subject. It is made of the verb and all the words that describe the verb or that the verb affects.

exclamatory

interrogative

synonym

predicate

2. having to do with, forming, or being a question. "Why don't you take a walk?" is an example of an __________ sentence.

possessive

predicate

interrogative

adverb

3. a word that describes a verb, adjective, __________, or whole sentence. Many __________ in English end with the letters "ly." In the sentence "That extremely hungry cat ate very quickly," the words "extremely," "very," and "quickly" are __________.

interrogative

synonym

adverb

plot

4. a short form of a word or phrase used in writing.

interrogative

synonym

abbreviation

plot

5. the story line or order of events in a book, play, or movie.

plot

predicate

possessive

interrogative

6. a short form of two words, where the missing letters are replaced by an apostrophe. "I'm" is the __________ of "I am."

exclamatory

adverb

contraction

antonym

7. a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word of the same language.

possessive

exclamatory

antonym

synonym

8. of or expressing exclamation or exclamations.

plot

adverb

exclamatory

predicate

9. of or connected with having or possessing something. In grammar, the words "my," "the cat's," and "the doctor's" are __________ forms.

possessive

interrogative

abbreviation

exclamatory

10. a word that has the opposite meaning of another word.

abbreviation

exclamatory

antonym

plot

the story line or order of events in a book, play, or movie.
summary
hyperbole
plot
personification
the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words in a phrase or sentence.
alliteration
narrative
main
simile
most important.
idiom
metaphor
colon
main
a figure of speech in which two different things are compared by using the words "like" or "as." "The cake was as light as a feather" is an example of a __________.
idiom
plot
simile
caption
a person considered to be a perfect example or embodiment of some quality or other abstraction.
main
idea
personification
conjunction
the words that describe a picture in a magazine, book, or newspaper.
interjection
caption
hyperbole
superlative
a short and usually comprehensive statement of what has been previously stated.
colon
summary
personification
theme
the form of an adjective or adverb that expresses the highest degree of comparison. The words "best," "fastest," and "most beautiful" are __________.
main
interjection
superlative
theme
the main subject or topic.
theme
plot
colon
conjunction
a word or expression that shows strong feeling. "Oh no!" is an __________.
plot
theme
interjection
idea
a story, description, or account of events.
simile
onomatopoeia
narrative
idiom
a phrase that cannot be understood by understanding the meanings of each of its words. The phrase "fall out," meaning "have a disagreement," is an __________.
interjection
personification
simile
idiom
a punctuation mark (:). It is often used to introduce a series, quotation, or explanation.
metaphor
colon
personification
narrative
a small piece of land.
summary
plot
simile
alliteration
a phrase that describes something by comparing it to some other thing.
caption
plot
metaphor
hyperbole
the formation or use of words whose sounds suggest the meanings of the words, such as "bang," "moo," or "jingle".
plot
onomatopoeia
idea
simile
a word that connects words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. "And," "but," "because," and "before" are examples of __________.
narrative
simile
idea
conjunction
in rhetoric, an obvious and deliberate exaggeration or overstatement, intended for effect and not to be taken literally, such as "He had a million excuses". (Cf. litotes.)
onomatopoeia
hyperbole
alliteration
theme
any thought or picture formed in the mind.
theme
onomatopoeia
idea
metaphor

2nd Grade ELA Quiz

Instructions: Write the correct word in the space before its definition. There may be more than one definition for each word.

adjective composition conversation dictionary discussion fiction folk tale glossary margin message nonfiction noun predict pronoun publish purpose reread textbook

1.			talk between people.
2.			the reason that something exists or happens.
3.			a list of unusual or difficult words and their meanings. A __________ is usually placed at the end of a book.
4.			a piece of writing or music that has required thought and imagination to make.
5.			a story that has been handed down for generations among the common people of a region.
6.			the act of talking or writing about something.
7.			a book used for teaching a particular subject.
8.			the blank space between written or printed matter and the edge of a page.
9.			writing that tells a story from an author's imagination.
10.			a word that can take the place of a noun or noun phrase. In the sentence "He gave it to someone," "he," "it," and "someone" are examples of __________.
11.			restudy a written passage.
12.			a word that describes a noun. In the sentences "It was a hard test" and "The test was hard," the word "hard" is an __________.
13.			a book that lists the words of a language, with information about their meaning, spelling, and pronunciation.
14.			spoken or written information sent from one person or group to another.
15.			a word that names a person, place, or thing. In the sentence "Mary likes TV and reading," "Mary," "TV," and "reading" are __________.
16.			written works that are not fiction. Textbooks, biographies, and essays are examples of __________.
17.			to say ahead of time that something will happen.
18.			to prepare and print something for the public to read.

3rd Grade ELA Quiz

Instructions: Write the correct word in the space before its definition. There may be more than one definition for each word.

abbreviation adverb antonym apostrophe character chronological comma

contraction declarative exclamatory fact interrogative opinion organization

plot plural possessive predicate prefix run-on sentence setting singular

1.			the part of a sentence that tells what the subject does, or what is done to the subject. It is made of the verb and all the words that describe the verb or that the verb affects.
2.			making a statement, assertion, or declaration.
3.			a word that has the opposite meaning of another word.
4.			a word that describes a verb, adjective, __________, or whole sentence. Many __________ in English end with the letters "ly." In the sentence "That extremely hungry cat ate very quickly," the words "extremely," "very," and "quickly" are __________.
5.			a group of people that acts together for some purpose.
6.			having to do with the form of a word that indicates only one of a certain kind of thing. The word "box" is __________, but the word "boxes" is not.
7.			a part of a word with its own meaning that is added to the beginning of another word to change the meaning. For example, "pre" in "prepay" is a __________ that means "before."
8.			a punctuation mark ('). It is used to show where one or more letters or numbers have been left out. "Wouldn't" for "would not" and "'87" for "1987" use __________ this way.
9.			the story line or order of events in a book, play, or movie.
10.			according to the order in which things happen.
11.			having to do with, forming, or being a question. "Why don't you take a walk?" is an example of an __________ sentence.
12.			the time and place in which something happens.
13.			in writing, two or more sentences incorrectly constructed as one.
14.			what you think about something or somebody.
15.			of or connected with having or possessing something. In grammar, the words "my," "the cat's," and "the doctor's" are __________ forms.
16.			having to do with the form of a word that expresses the meaning of more than one. The words "books," "children," and "knives" are __________ nouns.
17.			all the things that make a person, place, or thing different from others.
18.			a short form of two words, where the missing letters are replaced by an apostrophe. "I'm" is the __________ of "I am."
19.			of or expressing exclamation or exclamations.
20.			a punctuation mark (,). It is used to separate words, phrases, or other parts of a sentence. It is also used in writing large numbers.
21.			a short form of a word or phrase used in writing.
22.			something said or known to be true.

Raise MAP Reading Scores

2011-12-31T14:03:00.001-07:00

How to Improve NWEA MAP Reading Scores
The quickest way to improve NWEA MAP Reading scores is to study tier 2 and tier 3 academic vocabulary, The NWEA provides RIT level vocabulary for all academic areas. Math, Reading and Language Arts are divided into individual RIT levels. The tier 2 vocabulary is not covered in the NWEA Academic Vocabulary list, BUT IS USED IN THE TESTING! The lists below are a good resource to start studying.

Links to PDF Academic Word List

Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA)

Measure of Academic Progress (MAP)

Academic Vocabulary listed by RIT level

NWEA Academic Vocabulary

School Speak Word List

The Tennessee Academic Vocabulary Project

Academic Tier 3 Reading Glossary

PDF
Word

Academic Tier 3 Mathematics Glossary

PDF
Word

Academic Tier 3 Writing Glossary

PDF
Word

Academic Tier 3 English Language Arts Glossary

Academic Tier 3 History / Social Studies Glossary

Academic Tier 3 Science Glossary (Glossary at the end of the PDF doc,)

CST and CAHSEE Academic Vocabulary

Mr. Taylor's Kid Friendly Academic Vocabulary

Third Grade

atlas

A book of maps or a book of tables, charts, pictures on one subject.

Mr. Taylor has a world atlas in his classroom.

abbreviation

A shorter form of a word or phrase, i.e. AZ for Arizona.

The abbreviation for the United States of America is U.S.A.

adverb

A word that modifies a verb by identifying time, place, speed, etc.

Quickly is an adverb in the sentence "Jose quickly finished his homework. "

antonyms

A word opposite in meaning to another word.

Cold is the antonym of hot.

apostrophe

The mark used to show a letter or letters have been left out of a word or phrase or to show ownership.

Example of letters left out: You've is short for "you have" and an apostrophe shows that "have" is missing two letters.

Example of ownership: Mr. Taylor's class reads several books each year.

Example of ownership: The apostrophe in the sentence "Mr. Taylor's class reads several books each year." shows the class belongs to Mr. Taylor.

bias

One meaning of "bias" is to like or dislike one thing over another.

Claudia has bias for chocolate over all other candy.

chronological order

To arrange events in the order they occurred.

In chronological order, our class has computer lab on Monday, music on Tuesday, gym on Wednesday, library on Thursday, and art on Friday.

complete sentence

A complete sentence includes at least a subject and a verb.

"Claudia ran." is a complete sentence.

context clues

Words, phrases or sentences around a new word that helps the reader make a logical guess about the meaning of the new word.

Use context clues to figure out what a new word means.

contraction

A word or phrase shortened by leaving out one or more letters or sounds.

"You'll" is the contraction of "you will."

compound word

A compound word is made when two words are joined to form a new word.

The words "shoe" and "string" are joined to form the compound word "Shoestring."

biography

The history of a persons life.

If you become famous, someone will write your biography.

describe

To tell or write about something.

Please describe your backpack.

declarative

A sentence that makes a statement.

"The earth is round." is a declarative sentence.

dictionary

A book of alphabetically listed words with their meanings and other information.

Students need a dictionary when they go to college.

exclamatory

A sudden, angry outcry; to cry out; shout; or speak suddenly in surprise, etc.

"Lillian, be quiet! shouted her mother is an exclamatory phrase.

fact

Something that really happened; truth; actuality; things as they exist.

It is a fact that the moon revolves around the earth.

fairy take

A fairy tale is a type of short story with fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments.

The story "Jack and the Beanstalk" is a fairy tale.

folk tale

A story or legend originating and traditional among a group of people (folk = people), especially one forming part of the spoken tradition of the everyday people.

The stories about Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are folk tales.

interrogative

Asking a question.

"Do you like chocolate ice cream?" is an interrogative.

index

One meaning of "index" is an alphabetical list of names, subjects, etc., together with page numbers where they can be found--usually placed at the end of a book.

In this book, the index says there is information about the moon on pages 31 and 73.

instructions

Education; teaching; lessons or a list of steps to be followed to complete an assignment.

(1) Every teacher at Rio Vista gives instructions to their students. (2) It is hard to use a TV remote without reading the instructions.

main characteristics

The most important things that identify a person, plant, object--or anything in the universe.

The main characteristics of most cars are four wheels, a body where the driver and passengers sit, a steering wheel, an engine, and headlights and taillights.

nonfiction

Books and stories which only include real people, animals, plants, science, events, etc.

A book about birds in Tucson is a nonfiction book.

main idea

The main idea of a passage or reading is the the most important thought or message. (In contrast to the term topic, which refers to the subject under discussion.)

The main idea of Mr. Taylor's instructions is that it is important to follow directions.

multi-meaning words

Words which have more than one meaning.

Multi-meaning words will have the different meanings listed and numbered (1, 2, 3, etc.) in the dictionary.

opinion

A person's belief based on what seems true, or probable; a person's judgment.

Many people have the opinion that French cooking is the best in the world.

organization

A group of persons organized for some specific purpose, such as a club, business, team, etc.

The Rio Vista band is an organization of students with an interest in music.

personal narrative

A story that tells a story based on a personal experience of the writer.

Jasmine wrote a personal narrative about a trip to visit her grandmother.

plural

More than one of something.

The plural of bone is bones.

plot

The arrangement of the main events in a book, story, poem, or film, also known as the "story line."

The plot of most mysteries starts with a murder.

point of view

A way of viewing things; an attitude or the position from which something is observed or considered; a standpoint.

It is Mr. Taylor's point of view that students must be held responsible for completing their work.

possessive

The form of a word that shows ownership.

The possessive form of John is John's. For example, to say John owns the airplane, you would say "It is John's airplane."

predicate

In a sentence, the verb (action word) or the verb and words that describe the verb.

"Runs fast" is the predicate in the sentence "Magaly runs fast."

prefix

A prefix is placed at the beginning of a word to change its meaning.

In the word "unhappy," "un-" is the prefix.

prefixes

Prefixes are placed at the beginning of words to change their meanings.

The prefixes we will see often are "pre-" (before), "post-" (after), "un-" (opposite of), "anti-"(against), "hemi-" (half), "non-" (absence of), "out-" (exceeding), "trans-" (across), etc.

The sentence "John was unhappy in preschool" has two prefixes.

punctuation (commas)

Special marks in sentences or phrases that make the sentences or phrases easier to understand. Some common punctuation marks are: . , ' ; ? !

The comma ( , ) tells where to pause or take a breath.

root word

A word that can start to build the meaning of many words.

"Corn" is the root word of : popcorn; cornflower; cornmeal; cornbread; and cornmeal: all the words mean something about corn.

run-on sentence

A run-on sentence is a sentence in which two or more independent clauses (i.e., complete sentences) are joined without appropriate punctuation ( ; ) or a conjunction (and, for, nor, but, or, yet and so).

"Sydney and Sabrina were in the band Sydney played the saxophone Sabrina played percussion" is an example of three run-on sentences.

introduction

The introduction is at the beginning of a story and it tells you what the main idea(s) will be; it lets you

"meet" the main idea.

An introduction to your teacher lets you meet.

singular

In grammar, the form of a word that says there is only one of something.

In the sentence "There was only one Juliana in the class, but there were two Gabriels," Juliana is singular and Gabriels is plural.

sign

The word "sign" has many meanings. Among them are: to write your name (signature); a symbol with a specific meaning ( $ meaning dollars); and hand gestures that give information (sign language).

When you vote in any election, you have to sign your name.

story elements (character, setting, plot)

The who, what, where and why--the parts that make up a story.

In Harry Potter, the main characters are Harry, Hermione, and Ron; the setting is Castle Hogwarts; and the plot is to learn to be wizards and keep Harry safe from Voldemort.

schedule

The way things are planned to happen in our lives, schools, or work.

Sometimes Mr. Taylor's class schedules a trip to the gem and mineral show in February.

subject

The person, place or thing that does the action in a sentence.

In the sentence "Michael finished his report before lunch," "Michael" is the subject, and "finished" is the action (verb).

suffixes

Letters or syllables added to the end of a word to change its meaning.

Suffixes such as "-ish" and "-er" can be added to the word "small" to change its meaning to smallish and smaller.

summarize

To state briefly; to shorten to its most important parts.

Mr. Taylor asked us to summarize the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone.

supporting details

They come after the topic sentence, making up the body of a paragraph. What do they do? They give details to develop and help the reader better understand the topic sentence (main idea).

If your topic sentence is "Harry Potter has a special wand," you could add supporting details about the wand, such as where he got it, what it's made of, and why it's a special wand.

synonyms

Different words that have the same meaning.

Synonyms of "bend" are curve and twist.

verb (types and functions)

A word that in a sentence that tells you the action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), or a state of being (be, exist, stand).

In the sentence "Anthony ran his race and is now standing next to the track," "ran" (the action) and "standing" (state of being) are both verbs.

Fourth Grade

acronym

A word that is made by putting together parts of other words.

The word "radar" is an acronym that was built from "radio detecting and ranging"

( "ra + d + a + r" ).

adjective

A word or phrase that modifies (describes) a noun .

The word "brilliant" is an adjective in the sentence "Yatzari is a brilliant student". "Brilliant" describes the noun "student".

adverb

A word that Modifies (describes) a verb.

"Suddenly" is an adverb in the sentence "Anthony suddenly remembered his homework assignment". "Suddenly" describes the verb "remembered."

almanac

A book that gives useful information about a particular subject; sometimes published in a month-by-month order.

For example, a gardening almanac might tell when to plant different flowers and vegetables.

analogy

A phrase or sentence that shows how different things may be alike in some ways.

"A human heart is like a pump" is an analogy. The heart and pump are alike in one way: they each pump something.

anthology

A book that is a collection of different writers' works (essays, stories, poems, etc.).

"Mr. Taylor had so many interesting stories to tell. One day he was going to publish his collection as 'An Artist's Anthology.' "

antonym

A word that has an opposite meaning.

An antonym of "hot" is "cold"; an antonym of "fast" is "slow".

aphorism

A short, clear, wise statement that tells an opinion or a saying that many people believe is true.

An aphorism about a famous musician is the sentence "Irving Berlin has no place in American music - he IS American music."

audience (as listeners and readers)

A group of people that gather to see or hear a performance - when the performance is an "out-loud" reading, the performers are the readers and the audience are the listeners.

For example: "Mr. Taylor and Maria were taking turns reading 'The Chamber of Secrets' to the class. The audience was very quiet as the readers reached a scary part of the story."

author's purpose

The reason for writing - to inform, to question, to entertain.

"Fernando worked hard on his first prompt. His author's purpose was to entertain his readers with his funny story."

autobiography

The story of someone's life, written by that person.

"Mr. Taylor had given the students their first assignment of the year: a one-page autobiography."

bibliography

A list of the books and materials consulted; appearing at the end of the text.

"Leslie was sure to include her bibliography at the end of her science report."

brochure

A booklet or pamphlet that describes a subject; often an advertisement.

"Mrs. Kuhn carefully read the brochure that announced the opening of the University Science Fair."

caption

A short description or title of an illustration in a text.

"Gloria had written the caption ' What I Want to be When I Grow Up ' under her drawing of a jet pilot ."

The Future of Public Education

2011-12-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

What is the Future of Public Education?
      Have we labored under the delusion or illusion of Americas greatness the last 20 years. Are we neglecting public education, especially 21st century academic and vocational skills. When we neglect modern curriculum and 21st century skills we are creating a true digital/knowledge divide that leaves students with no future. All but a few public schools can focus on critical/modern academic areas because of budgetary constraints. Area such as IT, computer programing, web development, engineering, medical science, advanced math and science are not possible with no money.
     We are still debating full-day kindergarten and extending the school year, REALLY?! The Common Core Standards redress the lack of academic rigor the last 10-20 years but does little for promoting 21st century skills that cost real money to implement. Longer school years, early childhood education starting at age 3, full day kindergarten, modern vocational training, small primary class sizes, schools paying for supplies not teachers, and a few more things are just the start to redress 20 years of neglect.
     The rest of the world has modified the agrarian school calender making it more responsive to a changing future. While we keep the same short agrarian school year that seems to fit budgets more than modern times. At the same time neglecting a rigorous modern academic path because it takes money, teacher buy in, and most important a strong work ethic from our students, parents and educators.
     Public school teachers have become political footballs lately because we have not raised our voice and fought for real change when we saw problems. Teachers are in part to blame as we did not push back when parents, students and administrators demanded we lower standards, pad grades, promote every child, ditch rote memorization and make all lessons fun and easy with no rigorous standards needed. (generalizations) Most teachers spend to much instructional time trying to redress/appease the lowest quartile students and parents with lowered behavioral expectations and or lowered academic standards. The future of public education will be in doubt if we do not demand real change We are going to warehouse (not educate) tens of millions of students the next 10 years if we leave things the way they are.

The last ten years has shown us It takes ferocious vigilance to keep greedy/feckless men from doing no evil. We are sacrificing the future of our nation to balance budgets. Ten years of tax cuts and two wars un funded have left pubic schools holding the bag for many sate budgets.
Sean Taylor Dyslexic Teacher

Common Core State Standards Practice Test

2011-12-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

Common Core State Standards Practice Test: ELA English Language Arts and Reading

The Common Core Standards will be implemented fully in 2013-2014 in 47 states. The Standards are 1.5 standard deviations above today’s mean. Publishers (Harcourt Educational Measurement, CTB McGraw-Hill, Riverside Publishing (a Houghton Mifflin company), and NCS Pearson) and software developers (NWEA MAP) are writing and developing criterion/standards based assessments that meet the new higher standards. Teachers need to have access to assessments that give a baseline of skills and ability to meet these higher standards TODAY! The best free resource for teachers to do test prep and asses student readiness are the TAKS and CRCT released test. Teachers may want to use the grade higher to make sure they are evaluating student readiness.

I teach 4^th grade in a Title I school with 90% free and reduced lunch and my students have the highest reading and language arts score in the district as measured by percentile of student growth and number of student meeting or exceeding state assessments. My students have used the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grade TAKS released test and the CRCT practice test. They are a great free resource that exposes students to key Tier 2 and Tier 3 academic vocabulary.

Released Practice Test

Social Studies Quiz A
Social Studies Quiz B
Social Studies Test A
Social Studies Test B

Link to All TAKS Released test

Link to Online TAKS Released Test

Harry Potter Christmas

2011-12-13T22:39:00.002-07:00

A Very Merry Hogwarts Christmas wish to you and yours this holiday season.

From Rubeus, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Sean

Visions of a Hogwarts Enchanted Christmas

Hark! how the bells
sweet silver bells
All seem to say
throw cares away.

Christmas is here
bringing good cheer
To young and old
meek and the bold

Ding, dong, ding, dong
that is their song,
With joyful ring
all caroling

One seems to hear
words of good cheer
From everywhere
filling the air

O, how they pound
raising the sound
Over hill and dale
telling their tale

Gaily they ring
while people sing
Songs of good cheer
Christmas is here!
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!

On, on they send
on without end
Their joyful tone
to every home

Hark! how the bells
sweet silver bells
All seem to say
throw cares away.

Christmas is here
bringing good cheer
To young and old
meek and the bold
Ding, dong, ding, dong
that is their song
With joyful ring
all caroling.

One seems to hear
words of good cheer
From everywhere
filling the air

O, how they pound
raising the sound
Over hill and dale
telling their tale

Gaily they ring
while people sing
Songs of good cheer
Christmas is here!
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!

On, on they send
on without end
Their joyful tone
to every home.

On, on they send
on without end
Their joyful tone
to every home

Ding, dong, ding, dong

Bomm

Newt Gingrich, "Palestinians are Invented People"

2011-12-12T18:32:00.004-07:00

Newt Gingrich says Palestinians are Invented People: Palestinians are invented people?

Who else may be invented people according to Newt Gingrich?

Americans (Are Americans invented?)
Poor People
Illiterate People (Newt, "Dismantle the Department of Education"
Hungry people
Occupy protesters (Newt, Take a shower and get a job" )
Unemployed people (Newt, "Lazy people")
Native peoples ( Native Americans, Aborigines, Inuit… )
Free People
Sami
Basque

We have people cheering when people talk without thinking in these politically sophomoric times, and we want these people running our country!

I have lost all desire to take any politician seriously when they want to destroy the ability of the poor and unemployed to better their condition.Dismantling the Department of Educations is the last thing we need in the information age.

Please share your list of possible additions to the Newt Gingrich *Invented People List

CRCT Reading Test Online

2011-12-11T22:28:00.001-07:00

Reading Strategies

2011-12-08T22:34:00.001-07:00

Reading Strategies for Dyslexic and Learning Disabled Students

Sean Taylor: The Dyslexic Reading Teacher

I learned most of my reading strategies and compensatory learning skills trying to pass unnoticed in my regular education classes as a child. My peers that struggled with learning disabilities and reading problems exhibited at times antisocial behaviors, depression, and or just shut down as a defense mechanism because of the failure. Learning and using reading and learning strategies literally saved my academic future from falling through the educational cracks. Taking to heart the meaning of philosophy, the love of learning, wisdom and knowledge, this was my key to success. Learning did not have to mean phonics drills, decoding words from a book, it could be learned from sage conversations with wise teachers that stretched the mind.I knew most teachers focused on the mechanics of learning not the comprehension and understanding. The mechanics of reading was a tiresome slow path for learning, understanding, and knowledge. I knew I had to find my own path or I was going to waist my time in school spinning my wheels not learning. I personally did not care about the methods for acquiring the knowledge, wisdom and understanding just that I wanted to comprehend and understand the world.
My peers may have understood the mechanics of English better than I ever could, but they could not comprehend the deeper insight that a mind freed of conventions is aloud to reason and dream. I freed my mind from the mechanics/conventions of learning because my dyslexia gave me no choice.. I could not physically read very well, but I new that I could understand and comprehend the deepest ideas that writers are sharing on a page if I train my self to actively think and reason through the ideas and make my own meaning. You may ask how can a child learn to think and reason critically, the simple answers is the fear that people might think I was STUPID. One of those irrational fears that kids have, that set my mind to inventing compensatory learning skills. As they say necessity is the mother of invention.

TOP 10 Reading Strategies

Read out-loud and have deep conversations about the readings
Ask lots of questions to populate your minds curiosity
Seek wise teachers that share the truth ( many teacher dumb things down for kids)
Use a giant old encyclopedic dictionary to look up words
Take notes and write words that your brain can chew on
Reread everything and find new ideas and meaning every-time
Read like actors reading for a play with passion and enthusiasm
Find books that create a passion for learning
Go to poetry readings
Learn to sing new lyrics and songs
Play strategy games that engage deep concentration
Create time in your life to create serenity, bliss and wisdom from beautiful prose and poetry
MAKE READING A DAILY HABIT IN YOUR HOME

FCAT Reading Test 4th Grade

2011-12-05T12:09:00.010-07:00

FCAT practice reading comprehension test 4^th grade

The fcat reading test 4th grade is a comprehensive reading test that students must pass to go on to the next grade in the State of Florida. High stakes testing is not going away, it is just become more rigorous with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Please use these fcat reading test to help you and your students practice for the fcat 2011-2012 testing window.

Reading fcat practice test 4th grade

Grade 4
Test Book (2MB)
Test Book with Answers (2MB)

This is a list of all the FCAT Released Tests
Reading
Grade 5
Test Book (1MB)
Test Book with Answers (1MB)

Grade 6
Test Book (2MB)
Test Book with Answers (2MB)

Math
Grade 5
Test Book (2MB)
Test Book with Answers (2MB)

Grade 6
Test Book (1MB)
Test Book with Answers (1MB)

2006 FCAT Released Tests
Reading

Grade 3
Test Book (1MB)
Test Book with Answers (2MB)

Grade 7
Test Book (947KB)
Test Book with Answers (1022KB)

Grade 9
Test Book (1MB)
Test Book with Answers (1MB)

Grade 10
Test Book (2MB)
Test Book with Answers (1MB)

Math
Grade 3
Test Book (865KB)
Test Book with Answers (914KB)

Grade 7
Test Book (628KB)
Test Book with Answers (685KB)

Grade 9
Test Book (784KB)
Test Book with Answers (831KB)

Grade 10
Test Book (851KB)
Test Book with Answers (928KB)

2005 FCAT Released Tests

Reading
Grade 4
Test Book (2MB)
Test Book with Answers (2MB)

Grade 8
Test Book (2MB)
Test Book with Answers (2MB)

Grade 10
Test Book (713KB)
Test Book with Answers (803KB)

Math
Grade 4
Test Book (977KB)
Test Book with Answers (1MB)

Grade 8
Test Book (1MB)
Test Book with Answers (1MB)

Grade 10
Test Book (846KB)
Test Book with Answers (905KB)

Budget Cuts in Education

2011-12-02T16:42:00.004-07:00

Public School Budget Cuts in Critical Academic Programs Have Reached a Harmful Level: Title I funding being misappropriated by cash strapped districts and state departments of education?

In the next four year we will cut billions if not trillions from state education budgets to balance the revenue short fall from the state and federal government. Some Title I monies are being diverted away from the intended purpose of helping at-risk and disadvantaged students.

State and federal governments need to find an equitable way to fund public education, not based on political whims or the fluctuation of the economy. The nation is at risk if we sacrifice this generation to give billionaires tax cuts. We borrow billions and trillions from China to pay for our two wars that are not over and give everyone a tax break! Students in our country deserve better from all of us.

What are the State Budget Cuts in Education in Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa,
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia ,
Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, Nevada,New Hampshire, New Jersey,New Mexico, New York,
North Carolina,North Dakota, Northern Marianas Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island , South Carolina, South Dakota,Tennessee,Texas,Utah,Vermont, Virginia Virgin Islands,Washington,West Virginia,Wisconsin,Wyoming? Billions or Trillions!
Arne Duncan address the use of Title I money to help with district short falls.

Here is the official release from the DOE:

A new report from the U.S. Department of Education documents that schools serving low-income students are being shortchanged because school districts across the country are inequitably distributing their state and local funds.

The analysis of new data on 2008-09 school-level expenditures shows that many high-poverty schools receive less than their fair share of state and local funding, leaving students in high-poverty schools with fewer resources than schools attended by their wealthier peers.

The data reveal that more than 40 percent of schools that receive federal Title I money to serve disadvantaged students spent less state and local money on teachers and other personnel than schools that don't receive Title I money at the same grade level in the same district.

"Educators across the country understand that low-income students need extra support and resources to succeed, but in far too many places policies for assigning teachers and allocating resources are perpetuating the problem rather than solving it," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. "The good news in this report is that it is feasible for districts to address this problem and it will have a significant impact on educational opportunities for our nation's poorest children."

In a policy brief that accompanies the report, a Department analysis found that providing low-income schools with comparable spending would cost as little as 1 percent of the average district's total spending. The analysis also found that extra resources would make a big impact by adding as much as between 4 percent and 15 percent to the budget of schools serving high numbers of students who live in poverty.

The Title I program is designed to provide extra resources to high-poverty schools to help them meet the greater challenges of educating at-risk students. The law includes a requirement that districts ensure that Title I schools receive "comparability of services" from state and local funds, so that federal funds can serve their intended purpose of supplementing equitable state and local funding.

In recent years a growing number of researchers, education advocates, and legislators have highlighted that by not requiring districts to consider actual school-level expenditures in calculating "comparability of services," the existing comparability requirement doesn't address fundamental spending inequities within districts. Instead, districts can show comparability in a number of easier ways, such as by using a districtwide salary schedule. This masks the fact that schools serving disadvantaged students often have less experienced teachers who are paid less. It also undermines the purpose of Title I funding, as districts can use federal funds to fill state and local funding gaps instead of providing additional services to students in poverty.

For the study, Education Department researchers analyzed new school-level spending and teacher salary data submitted by more than 13,000 school districts as required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This school level expenditure data was made available for the first time ever in this data collection.

Using the data from the ARRA collection, Department staff analyzed the impact and feasibility of making this change to Title I comparability. That policy brief finds that:

Fixing the comparability provision is feasible. As many as 28 percent of Title I districts would be out of compliance with reformed comparability provisions. But compliance for those districts is not as costly as some might think—fixing it would cost only 1 percent to 4 percent of their total school-level expenditures on average.
Fixing the comparability provision would have a large impact. The benefit to low-spending Title I schools would be significant, as their expenditures would increase by 4 percent to 15 percent. And the low-spending schools that would benefit have much higher poverty rates than other schools in their districts.

Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights, said that this analysis shows that closing the comparability loophole is within reach and would provide meaningful help to low-income schools.
"Transparency on resource allocation within school districts is critical to ensuring every child has access to the same educational opportunities. These new data highlight that the Title I comparability provision is broken and has failed to provide access to equitable resources, and that it is possible to fix it."

Under President Obama's Blueprint for Reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Title I comparability provision would be revised to ensure that state and local funding levels are distributed equitably between Title I and non-Title I schools. Language to reform Title I comparability is also included in the bill to reauthorize ESEA that the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee passed last month.

"Comparability of State and Local Expenditures Among Schools Within Districts: A Report From the Study of School-Level Expenditures" and "The Potential Impact of Revising the Title I Comparability Requirement to Focus on School-Level Expenditures" are available from the Department's website at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/reports.html#title. The ARRA data set of school-level expenditures also is available on the same webpage. This data can be used to further explore disparities in school-level expenditures, the impact of district budgeting practices, and Title I comparability reform.

State Budget Cuts in Education are going to cost so much more to the future prosperity of the United States! Sean Taylor

Free iPad Books for Kids

2011-11-30T20:18:00.008-07:00

Free iPad Apps and Books for Kids and Teens

Tis the holiday season, and finding great free books to load onto you iPad for the holidays will be a challenge. I will search for the best free iPad books for toddlers, children and teens and share them with you to bring joy to your littler ones on Christmas. The criteria will be the best free illustrated books for toddlers, preschool and preteen books. With over 140,000 educational apps and books on the Apple iTunes store, finding a good free iPad children's book is not an easy task for kids and parents.

My first iPad discovery is an amazing free iPad book from the Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo.

Chimps Should Be Chimps

The free iPad book is called Chimps Should Be Chimps – it is a FREE download from the App Store, and is designed for early readers ages 3 - 8 years. The aim of the book is to raise awareness about the welfare of chimpanzees living in the United States. Often kids see chimpanzees dressed up in human clothes and used in movies, TV shows and commercials… this type of portrayal leaves kids (and adults) with a misguided impression and perspective about chimpanzees. Chimps Should Be Chimps provides kids, and their parents, with a different impression – one that looks at life from a chimpanzee’s perspective. Through rhyming, lyrical prose, the story is told through the eyes of two chimpanzee characters: wise old Poe and his granddaughter Lulu who live amongst other chimpanzees at a local zoo. The engaging story is highlighted with bright, colorful and playful illustrations which seem to come to life with the stroke of a finger on the iPad screen. This multisensory book includes the sounds of waterfalls, music and birds that help bring the characters to life. The story highlights things that chimpanzees love to do including climbing and swinging in trees, fishing for termites, building nests and playing with other chimpanzees. The story also carefully conveys a message about things that do not make chimpanzees happy, such as being separated from their mother at an early age and being isolated from their peers so they can be used for performance in movies or circuses.

LINK TO FREE iPad BOOK

This free iPad kids book launches @ the Apple iTunes App Store tomorrow! December 1^st 2011

The Best Resource For Free iPad Books online is http://en.childrenslibrary.org! They have over 400 free books in their English collections and thousand's in other languages from Mongolian to Farsi.

Link to hundreds of free iPad books from the childrens library.

More to come soon! Please share your favorite free iPad apps and books with Reading Sage.

Bloomberg reports 7.7 trillion in loans to big banks and Wall Street

2011-11-29T22:09:00.005-07:00

Bloomberg financial news reports 7.7 trillion dollars in US backed loans given starting in 2007 to big banks and Wall Street financial institutions! The real question is, how was this hidden from Americans for the past 6 years.
Did Wall Street run the US economy into the ground starting in 2005, 2006, and were they rewarded with trillions in low interest loans? Did the US economy need to be resuscitated in late 2006 because of financial mismanagement, and why has it been hidden from the public for the last six years? Have we become a true plutocracy?
How do we justify giving billions and trillions in loans to save Wall Street Banks yet stand by as our state and public education system are destroyed with billions and soon trillions in budget cuts. Bloomberg news had to fight all the way to the Supreme Court to get the real totals and the names of these financial institution that received these almost free loans. Shame on America for choosing Wall Street before our children and a dream of a quality education.

Interest on the Federal loans was at an amazing 0.01% FREE!

Just think if the Federal Reserve has the power to loan 7.7 trillion dollars in secret, what else are we being kept from finding out?

The Daily Show with John Stewart: government bailouts 7.7 trillion

Link to Bloomberg Article

Top 10 Christmas Songs

2011-11-28T17:58:00.004-07:00

Top 10 Christmas Songs for Caroling With Children

Classic Christmas Caroling Songs with lyrics

Hark how the bells,

sweet silver bells,
all seem to say,
throw cares away

Christmas is here,
bringing good cheer,
to young and old,
meek and the bold,

Oh how they pound,
raising the sound,
o'er hill and dale,
telling their tale,

Gaily they ring
while people sing
songs of good cheer,
Christmas is here,

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,
On on they send ,
on without end,
their joyful tone to every home
Dong Ding dong ding, dong Bong

Cuts to Education

2011-11-27T14:58:00.000-07:00

Cuts to Public Education in the Billions 2011-2012
With educational cuts to public schools in the billions what is the future of public education?
The next four years are going to test public school teachers and students resolve with giant class sizes and no budgets for supplies, books, maintenance, and technology. Title I schools are going to feel the pain more than affluent districts that can make up short falls with budget overrides and additional bonds. What is the political thinking and a lack of public outcry that we are balancing state budgets on the backs of teachers and students.Students that receive one to two years of less than optimal academic instruction have almost no chance of graduation. We are packing classes with so many students that even the top students will struggle in this daycare environment. Most States fund daycare and prisons better than they do Title I public schools,WHY?

Please share your thought and stories!

Why Students Drop Out of School

2011-11-17T18:43:00.002-07:00

Why Students Drop Out of School!
Students don't drop out of high school at the age of 16 because they feel socially or academically lost... Students start dropping out of school in the first and second grade, just pretending they are students, when they cant read or write. Students pick up a litany of bad habits (coping mechanisms) from peers as a way to deal with the stress, fear, humiliation, and embarrassment of being a "Loser, Stupid, or Dumb". Students act institutionalized after twelve years of forced school participation (Failure). Always having to be on the defensive is a sure fire way to get burned out to drop out.

many parents that have not taught their child to read before they enter kindergartner have sealed the fate of their child to 12 years of playing ketchup!

I spent most of my time in public school feeling dumb, embarrassed, scared, humiliated, lost, and stupid because of my severe dyslexia and dysgraphia! Sean Taylor

A funny video to remind you and yours of the negative emotions that we may instill in our students!

Dedicated to my class and a brilliant student that is never afraid to ask questions!.

Common Core ELA Test 4th Grade

2011-11-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

Common Core ELA Sample Test 4^th Grade

English Language Arts Tier 3 Academic Vocabulary Test

1. in rhetoric, an obvious and deliberate exaggeration or overstatement, intended for effect and not to be taken literally, such as "He had a million excuses". (Cf. litotes.)

hyperbole

interjection

idiom

adverb

2. the time and place in which something happens.

superlative

colon

simile

setting

3. a phrase that describes something by comparing it to some other thing.

abbreviation

metaphor

idiom

antonym

4. a word that describes a verb, adjective, __________, or whole sentence. Many __________ in English end with the letters "ly." In the sentence "That extremely hungry cat ate very quickly," the words "extremely," "very," and "quickly" are __________.

atlas

caption

onomatopoeia

adverb

5. a short form of a word or phrase used in writing.

plot

atlas

idiom

abbreviation

6. a word that connects words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. "And," "but," "because," and "before" are examples of __________.

interjection

conjunction

simile

caption

7. a story, description, or account of events.

caption

setting

narrative

abbreviation

8. a figure of speech in which two different things are compared by using the words "like" or "as." "The cake was as light as a feather" is an example of a __________.

simile

plot

alliteration

theme

9. the story line or order of events in a book, play, or movie.

plot

idiom

atlas

adverb

10. a phrase that cannot be understood by understanding the meanings of each of its words. The phrase "fall out," meaning "have a disagreement," is an __________.

set

caption

hyperbole

idiom

11. the words that describe a picture in a magazine, book, or newspaper.

abbreviation

caption

superlative

setting

12. a person considered to be a perfect example or embodiment of some quality or other abstraction.

caption

hyperbole

personification

set

13. a punctuation mark (:). It is often used to introduce a series, quotation, or explanation.

abbreviation

idiom

colon

plot

14. the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words in a phrase or sentence.

conjunction

set

abbreviation

alliteration

15. a word that has the opposite meaning of another word.

idiom

simile

antonym

hyperbole

16. to put in a particular place.

antonym

idiom

set

interjection

17. the main subject or topic.

personification

idiom

alliteration

theme

18. a short and usually comprehensive statement of what has been previously stated.

metaphor

alliteration

colon

summary

19. a book of maps.

atlas

plot

interjection

simile

20. a word or expression that shows strong feeling. "Oh no!" is an __________.

adverb

simile

interjection

theme

21. the formation or use of words whose sounds suggest the meanings of the words, such as "bang," "moo," or "jingle".

colon

personification

onomatopoeia

narrative

22. the form of an adjective or adverb that expresses the highest degree of comparison. The words "best," "fastest," and "most beautiful" are __________.

atlas

conjunction

caption

superlative

The Akash or Sky Tablet Android 2.2 Tablet PC

2011-11-14T21:30:00.003-07:00

The Aakash or Sky Tablet (India's) Android 2.2 Tablet PC will have a price point of $38!
The $38 students Aakash was developed by the Indian Government and Datawind to meet the needs of India's 22 million students with a $22 subsidized price. Datawind will also develop a retail (Android 2.2 Tablet PC) for business with more memory and options that will sell for about $38-$48. The desired price point for both models with %100 Indian production will be an amazing $10-$20! The first goal of the Indian government is to get the Aakash into the hands of their 22 million students and eventually available worldwide. The government will subsidize the production of the students tablet to help slow the widening digital gap among the poorest students in India and around the world. Eventually 1 billion students worldwide will have a powerful computing device available to learn and discover the shrinking world in the palsm of their hand.

Back Story From WIKI

Aakash is an Android tablet computer jointly developed by the London-based company DataWind with the Indian Institute of Technology and manufactured by the India-based company Quad, at a new production centre in Hyderabad — under a trial run of 100,000 units.The tablet was officially launched as the Aakash in New Delhi on Oct 5, 2011. A substantially revised second generation model is projected for manufacture beginning in early 2012.
The seven-inch touch screen tablet features 256 megabytes of RAM, uses an ARM 11 processor with the Android 2.2 operating system, has two USB port and delivers HD-quality video. For applications, the Aakash will have access to Getjar, a proprietary market, rather than the Android Market
As a multi-media platform, the Aakash project, beset by delays and setbacks, has been developed as part of the country's aim to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities in an e-learning program Original projected as a "$35 laptop", the device will be sold to the Government of India at $50 and will be distributed at a government subsidized price of $35. A commercial version will be marketed as the UbiSlate 7 at a projected price of $60 WIKI

Specifications

As released on 5 October 2011, the Aakash features an overall size of 190.5 x 118.5 x 15.7mm with a 7” resistive screen, a weight of 350gms and using the Android 2.2 operating system with access to the proprietary marketplace Getjar (not the Android marketplace), developed by Datawind.
The processor is 366 MHz with Graphics Accelerator and HD Video Co-processor and the tablet features 256 MB RAM, a Micros SD slot with a 2GB Micro SD card (expandable to 32GB), two full-size USB ports, a 2100mAh battery, Wi-fi capability, a browser developed by Datawind, an internal cellular and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) modem, using a power consumption of 2 watts with a solar charging option. The device features 3.5mm audio output and input jack.

The Aakash is designed to support various document (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, ODT, ODP,PDF), image (PNG, JPG, BMP and GIF), audio (MP3, AAC, AC3, WAV, WMA) and video (MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, FLV) formats and includes an application for access to YouTube video content

Aakash or Sky Tablets that are available in the United States have met with mixed reviews!

Programmers get ready to develop software for 1 billion students!

If you get an Aakash or Sky Tablet please write a Review for Reading Sage! Thanks Sean Taylor

Characteristics of high school dropouts:

2011-11-08T19:47:00.001-07:00

Characteristics of high school dropouts: Key factors in high drop out rates in high school.

Top Ten Reasons Why At-risk Teens Drop Out of High School.

Low academic skills
Poor student attendance
Social and emotional problems
Emotionally detached from school and learning
Choosing low performing or troubled friends
History of failure and retention
Social alienation or bullies
Finding and keeping a job
Feckless academic institution
Please share your tenth reason why students drop out!

St. Louis Teachers Voices Struggles Over Dropouts

"If you taught concentrated phonics to everyone in first grade -- they're dying to read -- they would stand on their heads. But the problem is, they don't drop out in high school. They drop out in second grade, and they hang around for eight years." PBS News Hour

Inspirational kids teaching adults!

2011-11-08T09:55:00.001-07:00

Students are the best teachers! Can inspirational kids teach adults a new way of thiniking and interacting with children? Adora Svitak teaches adults that her parent’s high expectations are the reason she is a reading and writing phenom! Kids can meet any academic challenge with success when the parents, students, and teachers believe the possible.

Student Centered Learning

2011-11-04T20:17:00.002-07:00

Student Centered Education

Child centered or student directed learning may be the best way for digital natives to self teach and self advocate. If students are interested, learning will happen with ease and students will find their best path. Interest creates desire, desire creates passion, passion creates change. Crossing the digital divide with student centered digital learning will help the billion poorest children have access to a world of academic learning.

2011 National Report Card Reading Results NAEP

2011-11-02T10:08:00.001-07:00

2011 National Report Card Reading Results

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah
Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Nationally representative samples of 213,100 fourth-graders and 168,200 eighth-graders participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading. At each grade, students responded to questions designed to measure their reading comprehension across two types of texts: literary and informational.

Author: National Center for Education Statistics
Download The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2011 PDF for viewing and printing (29895K PDF)

Sample Students’ reading comprehension NAEP questions

NAEP Sample Questions booklets PDF

Assessment Year	Subject(s)
2012	economics (3567K PDF) long-term trend mathematics and reading (3108K PDF)
2011	mathematics and reading at grade 4 (4946K PDF) mathematics, reading, and science at grade 8 (4799K PDF) economics at grade 12 (3357K PDF)
2010	civics, geography, U.S. history, writing, mathematics at grade 4 (3837K PDF) civics, geography, U.S. history, mathematics at grade 8 (3656K PDF) civics, geography, U.S. history at grade 12 (3248K PDF)
2009	mathematics, reading, and science at grade 4 (969K PDF) mathematics, reading, and science at grade 8 (955K PDF) mathematics, reading, and science at grade 12 (926K PDF)
2008	music and visual arts assessment (602K PDF) long-term trend assessment in mathematics and reading (867K PDF)
2007	mathematics and reading at grade 4—part 1 (810K PDF) mathematics and reading at grade 4—part 2 (442K PDF) mathematics and reading at grade 4—part 3 (807K PDF) mathematics and reading at grade 4—part 4 (736K PDF)
2007	mathematics, reading, and writing at grade 8—part 1 (841K PDF) mathematics, reading, and writing at grade 8 part 2 (932K PDF) mathematics, reading, and writing at grade 8—part 3 (804K PDF) mathematics, reading, and writing at grade 8—part 4 (737K PDF)
2007	writing at grade 12—part 1 (1078K PDF) writing at grade 12—part 2 (56K PDF) writing at grade 12—part 3 (804K PDF) writing at grade 12—part 4 (736K PDF)
2007	mathematics in Puerto Rico at grade 4 (768K PDF)
2007	mathematics in Puerto Rico at grade 8 (831K PDF)
2006	civics, U.S. history, mathematics, reading at grade 4—part 1 (1,026K PDF) civics, U.S. history, mathematics, reading at grade 4—part 2 (668K PDF)
2006	civics, U.S. history, mathematics, reading, writing at grade 8—part 1 (392K PDF) civics, U.S. history, mathematics, reading, writing at grade 8—part 2 (849K PDF) civics, U.S. history, mathematics, reading, writing at grade 8—part 3 (658K PDF)
2006	civics, U.S. history, economics, mathematics, reading, writing at grade 12—part 1 (539K PDF) civics, U.S. history, economics, mathematics, reading, writing at grade 12—part 2 (849K PDF) civics, U.S. history, economics, mathematics, reading, writing at grade 12—part 3 (708K PDF)

Suggested CitationNational Center for Education Statistics (2011). The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2011 (NCES 2012–457). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.

Singapore Math Model Drawing

2011-10-27T16:00:00.001-07:00

Using the Singapore Math Model Drawing

Singapore Math is sweeping the US and the world with its right brain approach to teaching visual thinking students. Students that may struggle with traditional algorithms may find a new way to look at Math that frees them from the fear of failure. Singapore Math Modeling is a visual way for students to break down word problems into easy workable pieces.

Success with Word Problems: Using Singapore Math Model Drawing
Free PDF Samples of Sigapore Math Modeling

Singapore Math is a teaching method based on the primary textbooks and syllabus from the national curriculum of Singapore. These textbooks have a consistent and strong emphasis on problem solving and model drawing, with a focus on in-depth understanding of the essential math skills recommended in the NCTM Curriculum Focal Points (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics),the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, and the proposed Common Core State Standards.
Explanations of math concepts are exceptionally clear and simple (often just a few words in a cartoon balloon), so that students (Singapore is a cosmopolitan nation) can read it easily. The method has become more popular since the release of scores from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 2003 showed Singapore at the top of the world in 4th and 8th grade mathematics. This was the third study by the NCES, and the 2007 TIMSS was released in December 2008. WIKI

Free Pdf Samples of Sigapore Math Modeling
The links below are for teachers and students for education purposes!

4th Grade Singapore Math Model Drawing Online Tutorials

Short introduction to Singapore's model drawing in a fourth grade classroom!

Math Play Ground is the best SMARTBoard website to use and model

Singapore Math Modeling with your class!

http://www.mathplayground.com/thinkingblocks.html

Great Free Singapore Math Model Drawing Resources and Test Online

Easy Origami For Kids

2011-10-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Simple Easy Origami for Teachers and Students.
Origami teaches students focus, concentration, attention to details, complex problem solving, and a joy of learning. Teaching students Origami will help students that struggle with math and other academic areas that follow a set of patterns and rules. Students learning Origami must be precise and follow a set of directions to be successful. Please share your best origami video tutorials for teachers and students with reading Sage!

Origami (折り紙?, from ori meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper"; kami changes to gami due to rendaku) is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD at the latest and was popularized outside Japan in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form. The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of material into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques, and as such the use of cuts or glue are not considered to be origami. Wiki

Origami Star Box

Origami Bento Box

Origami Bowl

Origami Flexicube

Origami Paper Hat

Big Origami Box

Origami Flexagon

Origami Butterfly

Origami Crane

Origami for kids blog and video

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The Akash or Sky Tablet Android 2.2 Tablet PC

Specifications

Characteristics of high school dropouts:

St. Louis Teachers Voices Struggles Over Dropouts

Inspirational kids teaching adults!

Student Centered Learning

2011 National Report Card Reading Results NAEP

Sample Students’ reading comprehension NAEP questions

NAEP Sample Questions booklets PDF

Singapore Math Model Drawing

Easy Origami For Kids