Thursday, October 31, 2013

Post date: Nov 3, 2013 11:22:09 PM

I'm posting this a little late, but I just wanted to get it in. Next week is ITED's and the schedule of events is going to be quite crazy, especially because the play is on Friday and Saturday.

In all my classes we reviewed the strategies for taking ITED's. Everyone should remember to manage your time well. Don't rush at the beginning or at the end. Another strategy is the process of elimination. I think that most questions can have a few answers eliminated. That will increase your odds. I was always talked myself out of the correct answers, so a strategy I used was covering the answers with either my hand or a card. My first instinct was often the correct one. Finally if you have to guess, use the same answer (letter) for your guess. You won't have a lot of questions where you'll have to guess. SCAN is one of the most powerful strategies used in the reading tests (which includes the social studies and science test). Survey the headings and turn them into questions. Don't skip over those headings that look like directions. Next caption the captions or visuals. Take a look at the graphs, maps, diagrams. etc. Then attack those bold faced words (or italicized words). Register them and try to figure out what they mean. The most important part is to read the question stem BEFORE you read the passage. It helps to focus your mind on the reading at hand. Good luck!

In Literature 9 we finished "Red Carnations." (First hour you have just a little to finish on your own). We will complete the vocabulary lesson and graphic organizer next week.

In English 10 we dazzled everyone with our parts of speech knowledge. We didn't have a lot of time after that, but we tried to come up with our three main points for the body of our demonstration speech. Everyone should be working on their Demonstration Speech outline.

In American Literature we demonstrated our knowledge of the "Star Spangled Banner". We watched Whitney Houston's rendition of our national anthem - it gave several of us goose bumps. Then we reviewed the Age of Reason vocabulary. We'll be in a holding pattern for awhile until ITED's are over.