ACT Prep & College Writing Class Notes -- Week 9 (March 25)

 Greetings!

We had a productive time in class today.  We started with a Quick Write for which I asked the students to think about what they might write about for their college application essay.  They were to start with 3 and then choose 1 to expand upon.  

We've finished the Math section of the ACT Prep and are now onto the Reading section of the test.  The Reading test is passage-based with 40 questions and is 35 minutes long.  The 4 passages are prose fiction, social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences.  The first strategy is to decide the personal order of the passages and then to work the passages and the questions.  We covered basics this week and will go over some of the more challenging types of questions.  

Students will write 2 rough drafts of College Application Essays.  These will be potential essays that they could use for their own college applications.   I have some sample essays that we'll be reading for the next few weeks.  The one we read today had 3 versions, each one with improvements.  It's helpful to look at samples to get a more clear idea about what a good essay looks like.  

At the beginning of the class I checked in with the students about their homework and cleared up some missing work.  

Have a blessed weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week

• Read Chapters 17 & 18

• Take notes, highlight, underline, and flag sections

• Read Summary for Chapter 17 on p. 244

• Work Sample passage (p. 261 – 263)  (Answers in Ch. 25 on p. 394 - 395)

• Reading Drill 1 on p. 269 – 271 (Answers in Ch. 25 on p. 395 - 396)

• Start on College Application Essay (Not due until April 15)

Links for This Week

Class Notes

Sample "Ellie"  Essay

ACT Prep Slides -- Ch. 17 & 18

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature

ACT Prep & College Writing Class Notes -- Week 8 (March 18)

Greetings!

We are officially over half way through the Spring semester.  I don't know about you, but once we hit daylight savings time and the days get longer, the days also seem to fly by more quickly!

We have finished the Math section of the Princeton Review's Cracking the ACT.  For students who are currently taking a math class, it might feel a little unfair to be doing so much more math.  I use the sample questions in the book that especially highlight one of the strategies to keep it from being to overwhelming.  This week I covered graphing and coordinate geometry.  I also gave a short nod to the advanced topics.  In the list of links below are some videos that will help students practice the strategies and to review the math skills.  (Note:  The speaker in the video is talking pretty quickly.  Go to the setting icon and slow the playback speed.)

We have shifted from practice writing the ACT Essay Exam to writing some college application essays.  For this unit, we'll explore personal interests, brainstorm topics, read some sample essays, and write essays that can be used for applications.

Assignments for Next Week:

• Read Chapters 14, 15, and 16  (Remember to be active!)

• Flag or write questions about topics that need further review

• Review graphing calculator functions

• Graphing and Coordinate Geometry Drill on p. 203 (Answers in Ch. 25 on p. 391 - 392)

• Read Summary on p. 204

• OPT. Trigonometry Drill on p. 217 (Answers in Ch. 25 on p. 392 - 393)

• Read Summary on p. 218

• OPT. Advanced Math Drill on p. 227 (Answers in Ch. 25 on p. 393)

• Practice ACT Math Test (60 minutes) p. 430 - 449

• Correct your test and read explanations for missed test questions (p. 495 – 511)

• Finding Your Hook packet

Links for this Week:

Class Notes

Practice Math Exam Breakdown

(this video works through all of the problems on a practice test)

The 52 Math Skills in the ACT (Part 1, 18 Skills)

The 52 Math Skills in the ACT (Part 2, 14 Skills)

The 52 Math Skills in the ACT (Part 3, 12 Skills)

The 52 Math Skills in the ACT (Part 4, 8 Skills)

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature 

ACT Prep & College Writing Class Notes -- Week 7 (March 11)

 Greetings!

Just a quick note about this week's online class.  For beginners, I made the class more challenging by accidentally turning OFF the ability for students to unmute themselves, to turn their cameras on, and to make comments in the CHAT. Thankfully, with the help of the students, I realized the problem, fixed it, and then could go on with the class.

For the ACT Prep section of the class, we are still in the Math section of the test.  I give this section more time so that students can figure out what they need to review before taking the test.  I also feel that having more time to practice the strategies helps be more prepared for those Math topics about which they are not as knowledgeable.  Next week we will cover coordinate geometry and then be done with the Math section.

For the College Writing section of the test, I reminded students to do the second Practice ACT Essay Exam, and then I talked about why the College Application Essay is important.  My hope is that doing a practice application essay in this class will either give the students something they can use in a college application or give the students a springboard for an even better essay.

Have a great weekend!  Enjoy our spring weather!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week:

• Read through Chapter 13

• Be an active reader and highlight important tips and/or information

• Flag or write questions about topics that need further review

• Word Problems Drill on p. 187 (Answers in Ch. 25 on p. 390)

• Read the Summary on 188

• Practice ACT Essay Exam #2

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature

ACT Prep & College Writing Class Notes -- Week 6 (March 4)

 Greetings!

This week, as with every week, we covered a lot of ground.  We started with a Quick Write in which I asked the students to list the strategies that we had learned so far. It's important to continually review these so that they are at the students' "fingertips" when they take the test.

During the ACT Prep portion of today's class we continued to review for the Math portion of the test.  We reviewed basic strategies to be used for this test:  ballparking, POE (process of elimination), Plugging In, and Plugging in the Answers (PITA).  For each Math test question, students should follow the same Basic Approach:  1) Know the question; 2) Let the answers help; and 3) Break the problem into bite-sized pieces.  A challenge with a number of test questions is two-fold:  geometry questions combine algebraic reasoning, and many questions have so much information that they become word problems.  I added to Google Classroom a post with a number of helpful Math videos.  

Our College Essays topic this week included an review of the ACT Essay Test.  This test is structured differently than the SAT, but both of the tests are designed with the types of writing required in college in mind.  Rather than analyzing and evaluating the persuasive writing of a passage, students are given a topic that elicits multiple perspectives.  They are to develop their own perspective and then compare it with 3 other perspectives.  In the course of their writing, they are to support their viewpoints with details, logical arguments, and persuasive elements.  A basic outline for this essay would look like this:

I.  Introduction -- state the idea presented in the passage and give your perspective as a thesis statement

II.  Explain your perspective and back it up with  details, logical arguments, and persuasive elements

III.  Compare your perspective with the perspective that you mostly agree with.  Unpack that perspective to explain its strengths and weaknesses.

IV.   Compare your perspective with the perspective that you kind of agree with.  Unpack that perspective to explain its strengths and weaknesses.

V.   Compare your perspective with the perspective that you mostly disagree with.  Unpack that perspective to explain its strengths and weaknesses.

VI,  Conclusion -- Summarize the main points of the body and reassert your perspective.

This type of writing can be really challenging, so lots of practice is important.  The students have a take-home ACT test for next week, and we will continue to brainstorm and talk through multiple tests.

Have a great weekend!  The weather looks to be marvelous, so get some fresh air!!!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week:

• Read through Chapter 12

• Be an active reader and highlight important tips and/or information

• Flag or write questions about topics that need further review

• Read through the “Fun Facts” on p. 156 - 159

• Review the formulas on p. 160 - 161

• Review the vocabulary on p. 162

• Geometry Drill on p. 163 (Answers in Ch. 25 on p. 390)

• Read the Summary on 164 – 165

• Practice ACT Essay Exam #1 (I handed out Practice Exam #2, but it is not due)

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature

ACT Prep & College Writing Class Notes -- Week 5 (February 18)

 Greetings!

This week we started right in with our slides and discussion of the strategies from the Princeton Review's Cracking the ACT.  We've started on the Math section of the ACT and worked through Chapter 11, "No More Algebra."  In this chapter, the writers gave us strategies for answering some kinds of problems without specifically using algebra skills.  By using ballparking (a strategy from Ch. 10), POE (process of elimination), Plugging In (choosing workable numbers for variables) and PITA (plugging in answer options into equations), students can often solve problems more quickly.  As I've stated multiple times in class, the #1 enemy in the whole ACT test-taking process is the lack of time.  If students can employ some test-taking strategies that will buy them time, they will have more time for harder questions and will more likely raise their scores. In last week's class notes, I included a number of videos that would be helpful.  

Our College Essays topic this week included an introduction to the ACT Essay Test.  In the ACT Essay Exam, students are given a topic that elicits multiple perspectives.  They are to develop their own perspective and then compare it with 3 other perspectives.  In the course of their writing, they are to support their viewpoints with details, logical arguments, and persuasive elements.  A basic outline for this essay would look like this:

I.  Introduction -- state the idea presented in the passage and give your perspective as a thesis statement

II.  Explain your perspective and back it up with  details, logical arguments, and persuasive elements

III.  Compare your perspective with the perspective that you mostly agree with.  Unpack that perspective to explain its strengths and weaknesses.

IV.   Compare your perspective with the perspective that you kind of agree with.  Unpack that perspective to explain its strengths and weaknesses.

V.   Compare your perspective with the perspective that you mostly disagree with.  Unpack that perspective to explain its strengths and weaknesses.

VI,  Conclusion -- Summarize the main points of the body and reassert your perspective.

This type of writing can be really challenging, so lots of practice is important.  The students have a take-home ACT test for next week, and we will continue to brainstorm and talk through multiple tests.

Assignments for March 4

• Read through Chapter 11 (Actively!)

• Work through the examples and carefully read the explanations 

• Review the Summary

• Algebra Drill on p. 130 (Answers in Ch. 25 on p. 389)

• Bring to class questions about troublesome sections or topics

• Note: I had my weeks wrong with the ACT Practice Essay Exam. I gave students the exam and paper for writing it, and they can feel free to do it some time over the next 2 weeks. It is not due until March ll.

Links for this week

Class Notes

Class Notes for 2/11 with Math videos

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature

ACT Prep Class Notes -- Week 4 (February 11)

 Greetings!

We covered a lot of material this week.  We've switched from going over strategies and review topics for the English portion of the ACT.  Now we're on to the Math section.  Some of the same strategies apply, but there a number that are specific to answering the math questions.  The Math test is always the second test.  It's a 60 minute test with 60 questions.  Approximately 33 of the questions cover algebra, 23 cover geometry, and 4 are from trigonometry or pre-calculus topics.  We worked through a few practice problems in order to practice some of the strategies.  In the Links section below, I have listed a number of helpful videos specific to the Math portion of the test.

Next week we will work through Chapter 11 -- "No More Algebra."  We'll learn some more strategies and practice them through some of the test questions.  

We've also started learning about the ACT Essay portion of the test.  All of the students in the class have plenty of practice writing essays that have thesis statements, introductions, conclusions, and supporting paragraphs, so composing an essay like this should not bee too difficult.  We will brainstorm a few sample prompts over the next week or so, and then the students will write a couple essays of their own.

Assignments for Next Week:

• Read through Chapters 9 & 10 (Be an active reader!)

• Review the Summary

• Especially mark any areas where you have questions or need further review

• Quiz yourself on the vocabulary list on p. 109 - 110

• Fundamentals Drill on page 113 (Answers in Ch. 25, p. 388)

• Bring to class questions about troublesome sections or topics

Links for This Week

Class Notes

Chapters 9 & 10 Slides

ACT Calculator Policy

Sample ACT Essay Prompts for Brainstorming

Some Helpful Math Videos

Note:  Some of the videos are short explanations of strategies, and some are instructional videos that go through actual past tests.  There are also links for information about calculator policies and calculator use. 

5 Hacks for the ACT Math Test (8:19)

Ti-84 Calculator Downloading Programs (9:47)

ACT Math Calculator Skills  (6:46)

Here ACT/SAT Prep (10:27)

     15 Concepts you need to know

ACT Math 2018 (act.magoosh.com) (7:30)

   Strategies and common types of problems

Here ACT/SAT Best Math Prep Strategies, Tips, and Tricks  (5:48)

     Using the Answer Choices

ACT Math Practice Test 1 (1:16:19)

    Actual Problems from the Official ACT Prep Pack 2019-2020

Note:  The instructor in this video uses his calculator a lot, so if you are unfamiliar with various possibilities of your calculator, this would be a good video to watch to help you become more familiar.

ACT Prep & College Writing Class Notes -- Week 3 (February 4)

 Greetings!

We had a different class this week because 1/2 of our students were attending via Zoom due to the weather.  Unfortunately for those in the classroom, they were the ones who had to answer all of the questions for our sample problems.

This week we worked through Chapters 7 & 8, which are primarily reviews of common grammar topics found in the ACT and examples of some of the rhetorical questions that they will encounter in the English section of the test.  These topics included verbs, passive voice, pronouns, possessive, and contractions.  We used the 5-Step Basic Approach as we worked through the sample problems in the book:

• 5-Step Basic Approach

• Step 1:  Identify the Topic (see p. 35)

• Step 2:  Use POE

• Step 3:  Use the context

• Step 4: Trust your ear, but verify

• Step 5: Don't fix what isn't broken.

Another important set of guidelines to remember when taking the English Test are the 4 Cs:  Complete, consistent, clear, and concise.

The end of the class was devoted to an introduction to the ACT Essay Exam.  As we work through the chapters of our book, Cracking the ACT, we will simultaneously be doing some writing.  Since the essay portion of the exam is a little more demanding than the multiple choice section of the other tests, we will take sufficient time throughout the semester to brainstorm possible responses and to do practice essay exams.

Assignments for Next Week:

• Read through Chapters 7 & 8  (Be an active reader!)

• Especially read the practice/example questions & explanations

• Review the Summary

• English Drill 2 on p. 70 - 71.  (Answers in Ch. 25, p. 385)

• Rhetorical Skills Drill on p. 84 - 85 (Answers in Ch. 25, p. 387 - 388)

• Review the following topics as needed:  

• Verbs, indefinite pronouns, prepositional phrases, apostrophes, transitions, and concision 

• Bring to class questions about troublesome sections or topics

• Practice English Test (45 minutes) p. 416 – 429

• Correct your test and read explanations for missed test questions (p. 477 - 495)

Links for This Week:

Class Notes

Chapter 7 & 8 Slides

ACT Related Videos

3 Must Know Tips for English Test
4 Major Rules for Commas for the ACT
Number 1 Tip for the English Test
10 Quick Hints for the English Test
ACT Grammar Top Punctuation Rules

ACT Grammar Tips -- Comma Rules

ACT Multiple Choice Strategies

Have a great weekend!  Stay warm!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature