Raising Readers

Reading at Home | “Reading for Exams”

Our literacy focus this year is reading. While many of us read on different platforms and enjoy the different formats that reading is presented to us in, it’s important that we share our reading journeys with our learners at home too.

This fortnight’s focus is Reading for Exams.

Most of our learners are currently in the assessment phase of their learning cycle and for many of them, the most challenging assessment that they will face is their exam (short for examination).

To help prepare your learner for this assessment, there are ways to incorporate reading strategies into their study and ensure their success.

Before the exam itself, encourage you learner to read over the texts that they have read and analysed over the course of the semester. This may appear to be daunting at first, but breaking it up into manageable segments makes revising that much easier. A chapter a night is a good measure.

During the exam, your learner will feel anxious. The easiest way to reduce stress is to be prepared. One strategy to practice for the exam itself, is to know how to tackle the exam questions. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, so reading the test question thoroughly will give your learner more time to let the question sink in. Some tips to discuss with your learner:

Read through the question more than once.
Read the directions carefully. Most students will go right to the questions without reading the directions at all. The directions usually provide hints about the best way to tackle the exam.
Go through the questions slowly. Do not skip words, and do not assume that you know what the question is asking.
Make sure that you always read the questions thoroughly. Sometimes students provide an excellent answer, but it doesn’t relate to the question. Ensure that you know what the question is asking you to do.
Look for the most basic meaning. The reason why so many people do not test well is because they look for deep and hidden meanings in questions.

If you have any tips or tricks that work for you, let me know, as I’m always looking for different ways to maximise effectiveness of reading for assessment.

Good-luck and Keep Reading,

Ecehan B. Gulbayrak

ecehan.Gulbayrak@education.vic.gov.au

PS: This week, I have been reading - “How Decent Folk Behave,” (2021) by Maxine Beneba Clarke. Interestingly enough, we will be introducing one of Maxine Beneba Clarke’s other books, “The Hate Race,” into the year 12 English course next year, so this new book provides some insights into her thinking. “How Decent Folk Behave” is an anthology of poems that she has written over the years. The poems are gritty and eye-opening, as they comment on important topics that raise issues about the things that we turn a blind eye to, becoming societal norms. At the same time, her poems also provide a sense of hope and resolution for a better future. A good read that truly aims to pivot one’s moral compass.