F.A.M.E. - Pages - Homeschools.peelschools.org/sec/fletchersmeadow/SiteCollectionDocuments/Student Life/OSSLT...Similarly, famous people that are bad role models are bad role models

F.A.M.E. Fletcher's Arrows Model Excellence

(on the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test – OSSLT)

OSSLT Workshop #3

Monday, March 30th,

2009

• Writing Supported Opinion Paragraphs

• Reading Narrative Texts

• Answering Multiple Choice Questions

Answering Supported

Opinion Questions

Questions from Previous Tests

OSSLT 2006 Could you answer these questions?

OSSLT 2006

Short Answer (six lines) Supported

Opinion Paragraph Questions:

1. What is the best invention in the world

today? Explain why you think it's the best.

2. If you could change one thing in the world,

what would you change? Explain why.



OSSLT 2007



1. Choose a time of the year and explain

how it makes you feel.

2. State one of your goals in life. Explain why

it is important to you.



OSSLT 2008



1. If you could visit anywhere in the world,

which place would you visit? Explain why.

2. Describe two positive features of living in

Canada. Give reasons to support your

answer.

Structure: Supported Opinion Paragraph

Introductory

Sentence

(introductory

sentence

containing your

opinion)

Support #1

(explanation of your

opinion using

real-world

support as proof)

Support #2

(explanation of your

opinion using

personal experience

support as proof)

Concluding

Sentence

(concluding

sentence

that links with the

introductory

sentence

Exemplar

Question: What's the best invention in the world today. Explain why.

The best invention in the world today is still the wheel. The wheel

allows things to be transported from one place to another:

people, freight, and just about anything else. Without the wheel,

even this test that I am writing could not have been printed on the

photocopier nor transported to and from my school. Without the

wheel, transportation as we know it would not be possible.



OSSLT 2006

Long Answer (two pages) Series of

Supported Opinion Paragraph

Question:

1. Should the sale of junk foods be banned

from Ontario schools?



OSSLT 2007

Long Answer (two pages) Series of Supported Opinion Paragraph Question:

• Should every student be required to take a Physical Education Class every year of high school?



OSSLT 2008

Long Answer (two pages) Series of

Supported Opinion Paragraph

Question:

1. Are today's famous people good role

models for young people?

Structure: Series of Supported Opinion Paragraphs

Introductory Paragraph:

•Begins with a topic sentence that links to the statement of opinion (thesis statement).

•There is at least one sentence that follows and explains the topic sentence.

•There is a transition between the explanation of the topic sentence and the statement of opinion.

•There is a final statement of opinion that ends the Introductory Paragraph.

Body Paragraphs:

•There is a topic sentence that introduces each of the Body Paragraphs.

•There are facts and ideas that support the statement of opinion.

•There is a concluding sentence that links the support with the statement of opinion

•and leads into the next paragraph.

Body Paragraphs:




and leads into the next paragraph.

Body Paragraphs:




and leads into the next paragraph.

Conclusion:

•There is a restatement/rewording of the thesis statement to begin the Conclusion.

•There is a brief (1-2 sentence) summary of each of the supports in the essay.

•There is a concluding sentence that ends the essay and links with the topic sentence.

Exemplar: Are today's famous people good role models for young people?

Today's famous people that are good role models are good role models for young people.

Similarly, famous people that are bad role models are bad role models for young people. The

question that must be answered, however, is what makes a good role model versus what

makes a bad role model. A good role model is someone who demonstrates virtuous, generous,

kind, and noble actions. With this definition in mind, there are many current famous people who

could influence today's youth. Unfortunately, the money-making agendas of the media often

results in teen-targeted news resources celebrating the questionable actions of today's

celebrities.

Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, two popular celebrities are admired by teenage girls for

their beauty, talent, and success. Unfortunately, the actions that these two stars have taken

have also been closely watched by their fans. These stars have modeled drinking, drug abuse,

and poor parenting techniques that may serve to influence their fan base.

Similarly, Chris Brown's physically abusive behaviour towards his girlfriend, Rihanna, and

her subsequent acceptance and forgiveness of this behaviour sets another example for today's

youth. Because they are a couple who is constantly in the public eye, their actions, combined

with their success serves to justify behaviours that they exhibit.

From a more positive angle, people like Warrick Dunn, a former Florida State running back,

and Brad Pitt, a movie star, use their fame for good. Both of these men build homes for people

in unfortunate circumstances. Warrick Dunn, a product of a single mom, uses his money to

fund the building of houses for single mom's. Brad Pitt is currently working toward rebuilding

the houses of those who were hit by hurricane Katrina. Both of these men are people to be

admired, who are aware of their fame and use it to promote good deeds.

The main issue lies, however, not in what the media chooses to exploit, but rather which role

models readers choose to follow. It is up to us to voice our opinions and let the media sources

know that we would like more coverage about famous people who do good deeds rather than

those who commit controversial acts.

Reading and

Responding to a

Narrative Text

Steps for Reading and Responding to a Narrative Text

1. Read the questions before you begin reading

the Narrative Text: • "Mark-up" the questions to identify what you should look for

• Reading the questions first alerts you to phrases as you read

2. Look for visual cues: • Any illustrations provided

• The appearance of the text

• The amount of dialogue in the text

3. "Mark up" the text as you read it carefully • Highlight repeated and key words / phrases

• Identify each of the characters

• Pay close attention to the text's first and last sentence (usually

the most important)

Steps for Reading and Responding to a Narrative Text

continued…

4. Read the dialogue closely: • Determine who is speaking

• Examine dialogue tags to clarify the situation (i.e. "she

yelled" is different from "she whispered").

• Carefully examine the wording of the dialogue, and try to

determine the speaker’s tone (i.e. “You’ve got to be

kidding me” is a sarcastic statement that is meant to show

disapproval toward the speaker’s audience).

• Think about what each piece of direct speech in the

dialogue reveals about the person speaking (i.e. The

person who utters the phrase “You’ve got to be kidding” is,

likely, not a person who is considerate of others’ feelings).

Tips for Answering Multiple Choice Questions 1. Read all instructions carefully before beginning, “marking up” the text as you read.

Underline the action words in the instructions, to remind yourself of your task, and any adjectives (describing words) to make sure that you are answering the question completely.

2. Read the multiple choice questions and answers before reading the actual text to familiarize yourself with what to look for in the text itself.

3. “Mark up” the text as you read it, and try to identify the text’s 5WH (who, what, where, when, why, and how). Again, highlight, underline, circle, and make notes in the margins, in an attempt to identify the key words, phrases, and ideas of the text.

4. Read the entire section, including all answer choices, before choosing an answer. If more than one choice seems to answer the question to a certain degree, choose the one which seems to be most correct.

5. Beware of “distracters,” deliberately incorrect answers which are designed to lead you away from the correct answer.

6. Use the “process of elimination” method to select the correct answer; rule out the answers that you know cannot be correct before marking your answers on the answer sheet.

7. If you have no idea what the correct answer is, make an “educated guess”: 1. If two of the options are very similar except for one or two words, one of these options is usually

the correct answer.

2. If two options mean the same thing, both options are probably wrong.

3. An option that is longer and more specific than the others is often correct.

4. The option “all of the above,” is often correct.

5. If all else fails, answer b or c are more likely to be correct than a or d.

6. NEVER leave a question blank!

How to Achieve F.A.M.E.

• Fill in all lines

• Answer all stuff

• Mark up the pages

• can't Edit enough!

Fill in all lines • The lines provided for you outline the expected

length of your answers; therefore, fill all of the lines without going over.

• Going over the prescribed number of lines will lead to a mark of zero on that question.

• Use the rough work areas to ensure that you plan your answer before writing it in the lines provided for you.

• Write as clearly and as concisely (i.e. "to the point") as possible.

Answer all stuff • Do not leave any of the questions blank!

• You do not lose marks for incorrect

answers, but you will receive failing marks

for unanswered questions.

• Even if you do not know the correct

answer…GUESS!

• When answering short answer questions,

answer in complete sentences.

Mark up the pages • Mark up the questions to ensure that you

understand what you are being asked (i.e.

underline and circle important instructions

and key words)

• Mark up any texts that you are asked to

read as you go along, identifying the 5WH

and the topics of each paragraph

can't Edit enough! • You will have plenty of time to complete your test and

many students finish early; if you find that you are one of these students, ensure that you edit every single section of your test:

• Mark up the questions to ensure that you have answered the questions fully.

• Mark up the texts to ensure that you answered the questions correctly.

• Search your answers for grammatical errors, for spelling errors, and for punctuation errors.

• Add to your long writing tasks if you have not filled in all of the lines.

• Review your multiple choice answers to see if they make sense.

With all of these tips in mind,

all of you

Fletcher's Arrows will Model Excellence!

Good luck on the 2009 OSSLT!