ALL THINGS ENGLISH II EOC!

First -- no matter how much you know -- or how brilliant you are -- you MUST PREPARE the COGNITIVE part of your BRAIN to succeed -- this is a long and frustrating test! I may be the best shooter this side of the Mississippi, but if my body is not prepared for 4 quarters of physical endurance and "knowing the game" -- won't matter. (I am a phenomenal shooter, by the way 😂)

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER -- the test is designed to SEPARATE YOU -- the CAREFUL from the CARELESS

>>MARK something in EVERY PARAGRAPH - striking passage, imagery, figurative language, key ideas, names, etc -- but don't mark so much that you aren't creating a TREASURE MAP!

>>Use Textual Evidence (and practice online or with a split screen)

>>ELIMINATE 2 before choosing 1 (that online will put you above the average score, I promise -- elimination is the key because some of their questions and answers just make my mouth fly open)

PREPARE THE BODY

1. Water and the Brain -- READ

• "Water and Brain: Improving Memory and FOCUS"

• "Hydration is the Key: Water Your Brain!"

2. FRUSTRATION AND ANXIETY - READ

When someone says, "I just don't take tests very well" --- they are not making excuses . . . text anxiety BEFORE and DURING a LONG test is a REAL thing -- and none of you have EVER taken a TEST as long as the ENGLISH II EOC -- or as challenging.

RESILIENCY is your best weapon. Go back to those pictures and quotes we did about "resiliency" at the beginning of the year -- find a new one -- IMPRINT the quote on your BRAIN!

But also, since this is not a NORMAL experience, make sure you prepare yourself to meet the challenges -- you can change your TESTING PERSPECTIVE and then change your TESTING EXPERIENCE.

Your brain and normal human responses after one hour .... two hours ... three hours ... will want you to stop doing the hard work of marking and using textual evidence and eliminating two before choosing one -- it will want to make you "drift off" to somewhere else -- but YOU control your BRAIN. Take deep breaths through your nose and get oxygen to your brain! Stop for one full minute -- then resume the test.

• "Test Anxiety" - ways to help (this is the most important one - but you need to click and read through -- that alone will help with ANY text anxiety

• I"10 Ways to Overcome Test Anxiety" -- and believe me, after a couple of hours, you will experience frustration and anxiety!

• "How to Overcome Test Anxiety: 5 Strategies That Work"

PRACTICE . . . PRACTICE . . . PRACTICE . . . PRACTICE . . . PRACTICE

PRACTICE ONLINE as much as possible -- the ANSWER KEY is below - so each time you finish a passage or poem, you can check your answers!!! Be SURE to practice marking -- it is not exactly easy on the EOC.

>> NCTEST tutorial and practice on RELEASED TEST

ENGLISH II EOC PRACTICE (NCDPI RELEASED EXAM) -- print copy. (open with Kami so you can mark if you are practicing some with print!)

If you are using the PRINT COPY to PRACTICE for some passages, then USE A SPLIT SCREEN -- I've divided the test into passages and questions - one-by-one, so you can practice a split screen as we do in class! USE the TEXT.

ENGLISH II EOC PASSAGES and ENGLISH II EOC QUESTIONS --- separate for a SPLIT SCREEN.

ANSWER KEY to ENGLISH II EOC PRACTICE (NCDPI RELEASED EXAM)

EXEMPLARS FOR CONSTRUCTED RESPONSES (but you have the best formula -- don't forget it!)

Think about how hard you have worked -- and have confidence and resiliency --