ATI TEAS Reading - Teas

ATI TEAS Reading Boostprep: Here is an example of how to find the main idea of a reading passage: Lemonade stands are a great way for kids to make some easy money. The start-up costs are low, and there is little supervision needed in the creation or sales of the product. Kids also enjoy the process of making and selling lemonade as they chat with neighbors and explain the purpose of their stand. In fact, a real child entrepreneur can fancy up their approach and at the end of the day come away with some real cash. But for the moderate kid just wanting a bit of pocket change, a weekend lemonade stand just might be the way to go. Let’s start with our first strategy. Look at the first and last sentences. What are they saying? They are saying that: 1. 2. 3. Lemonade stands are good. Lemonade stands are good for kids. Lemonade stands are good for kids because they can make money. There you have it. The main idea of this paragraph is that lemonade stands can help kids make money. Let’s pretend that we weren’t so sure. Well let’s try our second strategy: Take a moment and step back. Try to sum up what you learned in a single sentence. I learned about kids and lemonade stands. I also learned about making money. So the main idea must be that kids can make money with lemonade stands. Here’s our third strategy. Let’s look at the supporting details. In the second sentence, we learn about to pros associated with lemonade stands. In the third sentence we learn about why kids like the stands. In the fourth sentence we learn that fancy kids can make some real cash. So again, the main idea has something to do with kids, lemonade and cash. Parking lot 1. Main idea vs. thesis and topic sentence 1.3 (Where do they go?) 2. Pulling questions from summary 1.1 3. Inference 1.2 Main idea- whole concept the most important thing in the text and the main focus. (what is guiding the passage) Usually the first and last sentence of a paragraph. Strategies-when you are not able to identify in a complex text. Ask yourself what is the one thing I learned? That will usually be the main idea. Thesis-specific sentence is the statement that specifically describes what you will talk about. Note: You want to make your thesis the last sentence of the first paragraph. Topic sentence- what is the paragraph about. Example: Thesis- Women are an integral part of the nation’s success (adding to the thesis) because they: Topics: 1. Are mother’s 2. Can multi-task 3. Manage finances well Subject: women Predicate- (what the subject is doing) integral I. Thesis (intro) A. Topic- is the main idea that describes why it makes women part of integral success. 1. Topic- multi-tasking ex: Statistic show that multi-tasking among woman is more prevailing than men. A recent study…….etc. recent study in the sentence supports the topic sentence. Why does it contribute to the nation’s success? (will be the conclusion at the end of III paragraph). I. II. III. Thesis Topic Topic Topic sentence are details that support claim and help transition into next topic. IV. V. Topic financial Conclusion- restate thesis ex: We know that as mothers, women use a multitude of skills. (This will be the first sentence of the conclusion). They are effective multi-taskers, leaders, and planners (etc) Without women the future of our nation might be impaired. (End of conclusion is the last sentence based on thesis statement). Note: -The main idea is in the thesis statement. Ex: importance of women -Thesis is the specific sentence or statement. -Main idea is the key theme. - Topic stated is the transition does not have to be the topic sentence. -Signal words- assist the reader in recognizing the relationship among patterns. Pulling questions from summary. Summary- condensed version of a text (obstract) this is what the main text will touch on. It touches on the main ideas of the larger text. Pulling out the main ideas from a text without your opinion. You need to stay unbiased. Inference-is a conclusion reached by critical thinking. Which is to think beyond what you are reading in the text. -Making predictions drawing conclusions a. Consider what you know b. Gather information the author has given. Strategies (from boostprep TEAS reading section)-First you have to understand the details or topics that serve as the basis of the inference. For example if the inference is asking why the character is cold, you must understand the conditions that are behind that cold. Is the character in a refrigerator? Is the weather bad? Did he forget a coat? All these are reasons that are fundamental to the text that help explain why. Second, you must be able to create a conclusion. Start with the details and come up with a logical reason why that situation is happening. Confirm you guess once again with the text. Make sure when you are answering inference questions that you read all the details to get the right set of information. Example: The wind was howling outside the old shack and neither the electricity nor gas would work. Gerald sat alone wondering how he ever got to this place and shivered as the wind called again. The inference question asks: Why did Gerald shiver? So what do we know? We know there is no heat or gas and he is in an old shack. The wind is howling outside and we can guess it is pretty cold. A shiver is a natural reaction to the cold, so we can guess that Gerald shivered because it was cold. If we test it, we see that the details point to that reason. There is no other reason the text PROVIDES that would cause him to shiver. But what if the text told us more? The wind was howling outside the old shack and neither the electricity nor the gas would work. Gerald sat alone wondering how he ever got to this place and shivered as the wind called. The shiver came again as he thought of how he left his family alone. He knew it wasn’t right but at the time he left, he thought he had no choice. Now, we still have the details that it is cold and he is in an unheated environment, but why do you think he really shivered? We now have more information that the shiver might be an emotional response that related to leaving his family. When we test it against the details of him wondering how he got to this place and how he felt about leaving his family, the stronger inference is that he is shivering because he is questioning his choice. 1. 2. 3. 4. First, find the main idea or understand the context of the story. Find details that give you clues about the inference. Test your theory. Read around the inference to make sure you haven’t missed anything. Remember, inferences take time, so make sure that you have a solid understanding of the passage and time to take in all the important details. Test taking skills: Comprehension 1. Skim the question first and skim the paragraphs for the answer. Don’t waste your time reading the entire text! 2. Summarize a complex text. a. Start reading, circle or jot down words you don’t know. Ask questions, reread difficult sentences. Please note you cannot really do this in the TEAS. b. Identify topic and controlling idea and key points. -Topic (what am I reading about) usually the first sentence of paragraph. It signals what the paragraph will be about. -Noun or noun phrase captures subject matter. Ex: healthcare Controlling idea- what it is about? Identify by asking why is this important? Ex: electronic health records are changing the way healthcare is delivered. Controlling idea: identify why is the author writing about topic and what are the points (repetition and patterns). -Key points (phrases or topics) support our understanding of controlling idea. How it relates to the topic and what is the controlling idea. -Paraphrasing to understand what you read. Use your own words. Main goal of understanding a difficult text.