SOL Test Preparation 3-5

Test Nav

The SOL tests are completed by students in Virginia’s public schools using the online testing application, TestNav™. This application allows for secure administration of SOL tests to students on a wide variety of devices, including desktop computers, laptop computers, and tablets.

As a resource to school divisions and families, the VDOE provides Practice Items in TestNav. The Practice Items serve as an introduction to online test navigation, online tools, item formatting, and overall functionality and appearance of SOL tests within TestNav.

Click here to learn more about the SOL Practice Items and Computer Adaptive Testing.

Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT)

A CAT is an assessment customized for every student. How a student responds to questions determines the difficulty of the next question. Correct responses lead to more difficult test questions, while incorrect responses result in the selection of less difficult items for the student.

Click here and scroll to the bottom to learn more and watch some videos.

We have several literacy skills that are our most challenging on the SOL test.

Please use these resources to support your child at home with Main Idea & Key Details and Summarizing.

Main Idea and Key Details with Non-Fiction

Kids need to understand that a whole is something made up of parts, and it is greater than any single part on its own. In a story or text, this means when kids read sentences or paragaphs, they are able to connect it together to form a whole understanding of the text. If students cannot identify the whole, they often only process parts of what they read or hear.

A main idea is typically found in a nonfiction text (true information). Nonfiction is based on real facts, real people, and real events. Its purpose is to teach or inform.

A central idea or theme is typically found in a fiction story (made up stories). Fiction is writing that comes from an author’s imagination. The characters, events, and settings are created, even if they feel realistic.

A main idea cannot be found if only a few details have been understood.

Here is more information about how to teach main idea.

Summarizing Fiction and Non-Fiction

Summarizing is a tricky skill for students to learn if they are not able to identify the whole of the story. They have to condense the main/central idea of a text/story into a shorter version using their own words while leaving out unnecessary details, examples, or opinions.

Students have to be able to summarize both fiction and nonfiction.

In nonfiction, their summaries should include the main idea.

In fiction, their summaries should include the characters, setting, problem and solution.

Here is more information about how to teach summarizing.

Mental pictures, or visualizing, is when students make a picture of what they are reading in their minds, sort of like a movie playing in their brain. This is especially helpful with non-fiction texts because it is informational and teaching you something. That is harder to visualize or make a movie in your brain because it's not a story or fiction.

Think about this: Our current culture also doesn't have much practice with visualizing. Why might you ask?

In the past, radio shows and record stories created sounds that prompted us to create images. Podcast would be something similar today. Now, we watch a lot of shows on TV or play video games that provide the images so we don't have think and create the images in our brain.

How to teach Visualizing - even in the car!!!

In order to teach your child to visualize, you will start small and go in the following order.

1) Start with Words (students will verbalize or say what they are visualizing or seeing after reading the word)

2) Move to Pictures (students will verbalize or say what they are seeing in the picture)

3) Move to Sentences (students will verbalize or say what they are seeing after reading the sentence)

Start each time by saying, "We will picture words in our minds. We can picture a house and we can say house. Words turn into pictures and pictures turn into words. This will help us remember what we read and hear." This has set the expectation for your time together.

Finally, remember that gesturing is another form of imagery or making pictures in our minds.

Start with Words

Words turn into pictures and pictures turn into words.

With words, we are turning those words into pictures.

Here is what you do!

Ask your child, "What do you picture or see for the word ____?" and fill any word in here. This is a MUCH better question than, "What does ___ mean?"

For example, if the word was recital, I might say: "I imagine a small stage—maybe in a school auditorium or a community theater—with warm lights focused on the center. There’s a piano off to one side, a little glossy and slightly intimidating. A row of chairs is set up for the performers who are waiting their turn, some fidgeting with their sheet music.

Out in the audience, families are leaning forward with their phones ready to record. You hear those quiet pre-performance sounds—program pages flipping, someone whispering “good luck,” a piano warming up with a few soft scales.

Then one performer walks out. There’s that tiny pause where the whole room settles… and suddenly it’s very quiet. The performer takes a breath, maybe glances at the teacher or accompanist, and begins."

This can also be used for vocabulary and content as well as reading!

Pictures

Words turn into pictures and pictures turn into words.

Here, we are starting with pictures and turning it into words.

The goal is for your child to describe the WHOLE picture to you in words so that you can picture it in your head.

For example, this is not just a picture of a dog and a ball in a park. That is just a few key details. The main idea of this picture is that the dog is running after the ball in a park.

Here is what you do!

Hand your child a simple picture like the one of the dog and ball above. You won't see/don't look at the picture. It can be a simple picture of anything.

You would say this as you hand it to them, "You look at this picture and I want you to tell me about the picture and your words will help me created a picture in my mind. Here is the picture. I don't get to see it. Your words are going to help me see the picture in my mind."

After, they describe the picture with words, you might need to ask questions to help you get the whole picture. Once you feel like you can "see" it, tell your child what you pictured and have them check YOU! When done, you get to look at the picture together.

Here is an example of what your student may say to you, "A golden-colored dog is mid-run across a grassy area, its body stretched forward with energy and excitement. Its ears are slightly lifted by the motion, and its mouth is open in what looks like a joyful, playful expression—tongue just visible as if it’s happily panting.

Just ahead of the dog, a small yellow ball is suspended in the air, clearly the focus of its chase. The dog’s eyes are locked onto the ball with intense concentration and anticipation.

In the background, there’s a tall metal fence with vertical bars, suggesting this is a safe, enclosed outdoor space like a park or play area. The ground is lush green grass, and the overall scene feels bright and active—like a perfect moment of play captured in motion."

This can also be used for describing pictures in picture books!

Sentences

Words turn into pictures and pictures turn into words.

Now, we are turning words into pictures again. This time we are putting together a bunch of words in sentences to make a picture. Once your child can do that, you can start to put multiple sentences together, like in paragraph, into one picture of the paragraph.

Here is what you do!

Have your child read a sentence to you OR you read a sentence to your child. This could be a sentence from a book or one you made up.

Now you would say, "I want you to tell me what you picture or what you see for this sentence. Your words are going to help me see the picture in my mind."

After, they describe the sentence with words, you might need to ask questions to help you get the whole sentence.

Here is an example of what your student may say to you for the sentence, The fireflies lit up the backyard last night.

"I picture a warm summer night in a quiet backyard, where the grass is a little cool under your feet and the air feels still.

At first, it’s pretty dark—but then tiny flashes of light start appearing. One… then another… then dozens. The fireflies blink on and off, their soft yellow-green glow flickering like little floating lanterns. They drift slowly through the air, rising and dipping, almost like they’re dancing.

Some hover near the bushes, others dot the open space, and a few blink close to the ground. The light isn’t constant—it pulses gently, so the whole yard seems to sparkle in waves."

To move to paragraphs, you would do the same thing for each senence in the paragraph and then have them summarize all the images for the paragraph.

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