Here’s my thought of the day: Let’s ban last minute scrambling to prep for the standardized tests and focus on infusing our DAILY instruction with Smarter Balanced and PARCC-type questions.  The test won’t be a surprise for the kids – – and the question designs won’t be a surprise!  I like the sound of that, do you?

Try using these in the first two weeks of school this Fall…and watch your kids get ready for Spring 2015 right before your very eyes!

Sample 1: Selected Response Sample

Read the following sentence from the ____ paragraph:
“____________________.”
The author uses the word _______ to show that
A.
B.
C.
D.

Sample 2: Constructed Response

A student is writing a report about ________.  Read this paragraph from the report and the directions that follow.

(insert paragraph with a missing conjunction)

The student needs to complete the last sentence using correct grammar.  Which word best completes the last sentence?

A.    or
B.    also
C.    but
D.    so

Sample 3: Technology Enhanced

Arrange the events from the passage in the order in which they happened by clicking on the sentences and dragging them into the correct order.

Sentence 1.

Sentence 2.

Sentence 3.

Sentence 4.

Sample 4: Extended Response

Teacher provides a literary text

Students are to respond to an assertion, based on implicit information, made about the literary text. The students must agree or disagree with the assertion, then write a brief paragraph citing, as support, implied information from the text and explain how that information is relevant.