Tag Archives: Test Prep

New York State ELA Tests for Grades 3-8: FREE Resources and Guidance!

Posted on December 17, 2022 by theliteracycookbook

For my friends in New York, I just launched a new page on The Literacy Cookbook Website called “NY State Tests” that provides FREE resources and guidance re: how to prepare students in grades 3-8 for the spring ELA tests. … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment(s), New York, Resources, Test Prep, TLC Website Resources | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

PARCC Prep: Research Simulation Task Writing Lesson Cycle UPDATED 2-2-2020

Posted on February 2, 2020 by theliteracycookbook

[The original version of this post can be found here.] In New Jersey, where I live and work, the state’s most recent test specs for NJSLA (formerly known as PARCC and quite honestly the same test with a different name) … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment(s), Close Reading, Compare and Contrast, DBQ Approach, Nonfiction, PARCC, Punchy Insights, Research Writing, Resources, Rubrics, Test Prep, Thesis Statements, TLC Website Resources, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

PARCC Prep: Literary Analysis Writing Lesson Cycle UPDATED, 1-28-2020

Posted on January 29, 2020 by theliteracycookbook

[The original version of this post can be found here.  I’ve added some new resources and updated explanations.] As many of you know, I have written numerous posts on how to teach literary analysis writing HERE. You will want to … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment(s), Close Reading, Compare and Contrast, Demo Lesson, Lesson-planning, Literary Analysis Writing, Note-taking, Organizing an Essay, PARCC, Rubrics, Test Prep, Thesis Statements, TLC Website Resources, Writing, Writing Feedback | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

PARCC RST Prep: How to Connect Note-taking to Sentence Writing

Posted on April 13, 2019 by theliteracycookbook

Whether you are in the throes of “test prep season” or not, it’s important to teach students how to take effective notes (i.e., brief and suited to the question at hand) and turn those notes into sentences (then paragraphs and … Continue reading →

Posted in ELA Common Core Standards, Instruction, Lesson-planning, Note-taking, Paragraph writing, PARCC, Research Writing, Test Prep, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

PARCC ELA Prep Checklist

Posted on March 14, 2018 by theliteracycookbook

As a former high school English teacher who loves literature and loves to write, I do not believe in doing test prep 24/7. I believe tests are a genre, the same way that drama is a genre and poetry is … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment(s), PARCC, Resources, Test Prep, TLC Website Resources | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Looking for Essential Literacy Work PD? SIGN UP NOW!

Posted on August 21, 2017 by theliteracycookbook

If you are looking for professional development support on Essential Literacy Work, I encourage you to attend my full-day training session at NJPSA/FEA on Oct. 2 from 9am-3pm! Here’s the link for more information: http://njpsa.org/documents/pdf/PDCalFall2017-web.pdf Here’s the blurb: PARCC ELA … Continue reading →

Posted in Argument, Close Reading, Evidence, Paraphrasing, PARCC, Professional Development, Test Prep, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PARCC Prep: Literary Analysis Writing DEMO LESSON

Posted on February 22, 2017 by theliteracycookbook

As I’ve noted in posts about the PARCC Narrative Writing Task Lesson Cycle, the PARCC Literary Analysis Lesson Task Cycle, and Research Simulation Task Lesson Cycle, it’s really important to provide and explain models of the work we expect. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment(s), Close Reading, Compare and Contrast, Demo Lesson, Literary Analysis Writing, PARCC, Research Writing, Resources, Test Prep, Thesis Statements, TLC Website Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PARCC Prep: Suggested Writing Skills Tracker

Posted on February 3, 2017 by theliteracycookbook

If you are working with students on any of the three writing tasks, this Writing Skills Tracker may be helpful. For an Excel spreadsheet version of the table below, here’s the free downloadable parcc-writing-skills-tracker.  For more tools like this, please check … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment(s), Literary Analysis Writing, Narrative Writing, PARCC, Research Writing, Resources, Test Prep, TLC Website Resources, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PARCC Prep: Suggested Grading Conversion Charts for PARCC ELA Rubrics

Posted on February 1, 2017 by theliteracycookbook

As you probably know, the PARCC ELA Writing Rubrics have been revised a few times. I have previously blogged about the rubrics HERE. If you are trying to convert scores from PARCC ELA rubrics to grades for your grade book, … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment(s), Literary Analysis Writing, Narrative Writing, PARCC, Research Writing, Rubrics, Test Prep, TLC Website Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PARCC Prep: Literary Analysis Writing Lesson Cycle

Posted on January 18, 2017 by theliteracycookbook

As many of you know, I have written numerous posts on how to teach literary analysis writing HERE. You will want to review this post on Essential Literacy Work Before You Begin Test Prep. You can also find an array … Continue reading →

Posted in Assessment(s), Close Reading, Compare and Contrast, Evidence, Explanation, Lesson-planning, Literary Analysis Writing, PARCC, Reading Literature, Resources, Rubrics, Test Prep, Themes, Thesis Statements, TLC Website Resources, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments