Test Prep!

Important Test Prep Links and Documents:

• Listening Practice
• Editing Practice
• Comma Review

This is a section of the blog that I will devote to preparation for your ELA Exam in January. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the ELA Exam, this test helps to determine where each student will be placed for the following year. So, needless to say, this test is extremely important and should not be taken lightly.

Multiple Choice strategies:

1. Read the question at least 2 times before moving on to the answers.
2. Never choose an answer before reading every choice.
3. Read the text all the way through before answering any questions.
4. Your first choice is usually the correct choice. Don’t change your mind unless you are absolutely positive.
5. Look for choices that you can eliminate.
6. After you have read the article once, read the first question and read it again. Look for the correct answer.
7. Pay close attention to highlighted or bolded words.

Note Taking Strategies:

1. Organize the information into categories: Topic and Details
2. Or, draw a line to signify information missed
3. Use the title to help you understand
4. Don’t worry about being neat
5. Use abbreviations to speed up the process
6. Just like a quick write, write to get your thoughts out!
7. Remeber, you get two chances. Don't try to copy everything down on the first reading.
   
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Here is a link that will help you practice for the listening portion of the ELA exam. We have talked about 2 different ways to take notes during this portion, find the way which works best for you.
Strategy #1: organize the information into topics and details.

Strategy #2: Draw a line for missed information, that way you can remember what you forgot during the second reading.

Click here for Listening Prep!

*Don't forget to try the multiple choice section to see how well you did with your note taking.
Whichever way you choose, the more you practice now, the better your chance come test day.

Strategies for reading myths, folk tales, legends and fables

1. Enjoy the tale. These stories are fun because they are filled with action and adventure. As you read, imagine the stories being repeated through many generations.
2. Think about the purpose of the story, is its purpose to explain a mystery of nature, to teach a lesson, or poke fun at human weakness?
3. Look for values and customs of the culture from which the story comes. What is virtuous behavior, and how is it rewarded? What traits are admired and respected? Which are negative?
4. Decide who holds the power in the story. Do humans control their own fate, or are the gods or some supernatural power in charge?
5. Compare the story with others that you know about, perhaps from other cultures. What do the stories have in common?

Genre Focus: Legend

Legends are considered factual by those who tell them, and many have some basis in historical fact. For example, the legends surrounding King Arhtur and his knights of the round table, Joan of Arc, and John Henry are based upon people who actually existed. These stories tend to be set in a past more recent than that of myths. Legends often include elements of magic and the supernatural.

Helpful Links:

Overview of legend

Genre Focus: Folk Tale

In contrast to myths, folk tales are not about the gods, nor are they about the origins of the world. Told primarily for entertainment, folk tales are not taken as truthful or factual by their audience.
The characters in folk tales are usually ordinary humans or animals that act like humans. Typically the humans are peasants or other members of lowly classes; often, they are portrayed as having better values than the rich and powerful.
These tails are told in a simple style, sometimes with each character representing a human trait (greed, curiosity, kindness and so on). Many folk tales feature a kind or cruel supernatural being, such as a giant fairy godmother. Magic and enchantment may play a key role in some of these stories.
The themes of folk tales are usually simple – the reward of good, the punishment of evil, the exposing of a fool. Some folk tales teach practical lesson for living; others illustrate moral truths or offer warning about dangers to avoid. Many folk tales are comical and poke fun at human weaknesses, such as the trickster tales found in most cultures. In trickster tales a smart person or animal outwits or takes advantage of some fool.

Helpful Links:

Folk Tales and more

Genre Focus: Mythology

Myths are stories that were created to answer basic questions about the world, the gods, and human life. Myths tell about events from the distant past and were considered truthful and often sacred by the societies that told them.
Many myths offer explanations of natural events. For example, Demeter and Persephone, explained why the seasons change. Almost all cultures have creation myths, which explain how the world came into being and how humans were created.
Myths usually tell about the adventures of gods or the humans who come into contact with them. These gods and goddesses have extraordinary powers. The gods of ancient Greece, for example, were all immortal – they could not die. Each god or goddess had their own special areas of power: Aphrodite governed love, Poseidon controlled the sea, Demeter ruled agriculture, and so on. Yet divine powers were not unlimited. Even Zeus, the ruler of the Greek gods, could always get his way. In the myths of many cultures, the gods possess all the emotions and personality traits of human beings. Greek myths tell about the jealousy of Aphrodite and the impatience of Poseidon. In Norse mythology (the body of myths from Scandinavia), Thor is famous for his temper, and Loki is known for him trickery.

Links:
Folklore and Mythology: Many stories from the mythological genre
Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology
Wikipedia - Mythology: Use this link to search for any myth you might have a questions about