Greater San Diego Reading Association
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Articles: The Language of Testing In a professional development session by Carlos Ulloa, contributing author to the current Houghton Mifflin Language Arts series, he talked about academic language and the language of the testing. Mr. Ulloa recommended Larry Bell’s power words. Larry Bell discovered that by explicitly teaching students his “12 Power Words” and making certain that all students understood the words, test anxiety has decreased and test scores have increased. Here is the list shared with us: 1. Trace = list in steps, sequence, order 2. Analyze = break apart 3. Infer = read between the lines 4. Evaluate = judge 5. Formulate = create 6. Describe = tell all about 7. Support = back with details 8. Explain = tell how 9. Summarize = give me the short version 10. Compare = tell how they are alike 11. Contrast = tell how they are different 12. Predict = tell what will happen next In addition, Mr. Ulloa suggested that we look at the language of the released CST questions for sentence stems and compare them to the stems that we use in the classroom--orally and in the core text. Some examples are: In the sentence above, the author uses the word __________________. . . What is __________MOST likely to do? Which sentence BEST tells … How did _________ solve his/her problem? This story is best described as a _____________ (genre choice). Which words are ANTONYMS for ______? Which words are SYNONYMS for _______? What is the correct way to _____________? Which of these is NOT a ________________? Think about these ideas when planning daily discussions and preparing oral and written questions. Practice and the students will become fluent in the language of testing. Be sure that the best academic language is used on a regular basis to give all students an equal opportunity when taking a test.
Mini Books: What's In a Name? A mini-book about San Diego's neighborhoods
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Celebrating the 200th Birthday of Abraham Lincoln
Abnett, Dan. Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Comic book format. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2007.
Bial, Raymond. Where Lincoln Walked. New York: Walker and Company, 1998.
Borden, Louise. A. Lincoln and Me. Story of a young boy as he compared himself to Lincoln. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1999.
Cary, Barbara. Meet Abraham Lincoln. A Step-Up Book. New York: Random House, 1989.
Deutsch, Stacia and Cohon, Rhody. Lincoln’s Legacy. Part of the series Blast to the Past. Simon Schuster.
Freedman, Russell. Lincoln, A Photobiography. Newberry Medal Book. New York: Clarion Books, 1987.
Gresko, Marcia S., Abraham Lincoln. Huntington Beach, CA: Teacher Created Materials, Inc., 1997
Gross, Anthony. The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln--The Best Stories By and About American’s Most Beloved President. Many short stories ready for a quick read aloud. New York: Fall River Press, 1994.
Kirensky, Stephen. Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig. Part of a series of the Childhood of Famous Americans. Ready-to-Read Level 2 book. New York: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 2002
Jones, Veda Boyd. Abraham Lincoln. Part of the Amazing Americans series by Chicago: Wright Group/MacMillan/McGraw-Hill, 2006.
Kunhardt, Dorothy, and Kunhardt, Phillip, Jr. Twenty Days. Book for older students and adults who are interested in Lincoln’s assassination, funeral, and the assassins. New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1965.
Turner, Ann. Drummer Boy. A 13-year old soldier coming of age during the Civil War, reflects on hearing A. Lincoln and his experiences as a soldier. Harper Collins Publisher, 1998.
Winnick, Karen. Mr. Lincoln’s Whiskers. Story of how a little girl wrote to Lincoln suggesting that he grow a beard. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Boyds Mills Press, Inc., 1996.