SAMPLE: How to build culture and ACT scores.

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Creating ACT Improvement

By Developing The Culture

Mark Westerburg 415 East Clay Street

New Buffalo, MI 49117 Work Phone: 269-469-6013 Cell Phone: 269-449-6091

Email: mark@trimesters.org www.trimesters.org

50% Free and Reduced 30% College Bound in 2009 now 87%

No AP limited capstone course MMC focused instead of ACT Student computer use was average. 9 of 120 with a 30+ ACT

Senior ACT Prep Class Teachers eager to take the challenge

Content Areas Basics •  All curricular areas should have a natural rotation of class offerings established. Not

every class should be offered each year. •  A staff member should own every term of every course. It is their professional obligation

to be totally responsible for the setup and updating of it. •  The goal of all instruction should be teaching for retention. It doesn't matter how far you

get, it matters what students remember. •  Book series are not curriculum. They are reference sources. •  Technology and videos should be used for efficiency in small time frames for

remediation, not as filler. All videos should have an assessment piece with them. •  All courses for each term have a syllabus and final exam developed prior to teaching

them. •  All elective classes should state in the syllabus how they enhance the core curriculum. •  Each department should have a well-designed scope and sequence of classes that will

ensure proficiency when students pass the designed courses. •  Required classes should be the same for all students - no remedial or honors classes. •  Junior and senior classes should have developed in a proficiency and non-proficient

tracking system. •  Gifted students are moved up to the next level, not stagnated or off on a different track. •  Classes should be determined to be state testing preparation level or ACT preparation

level. Teachers should know if their warm-up board work should be sample ACT or sample MEAP questions.

•  Departmental meetings should be encouraged to work on variety of instruction and retention strategies being shared.

•  All reading assignments have an assessment piece with them to work on reading comprehension in all classes.

•  No writing assignments will be accepted by the teacher if the penmanship is poor and or has numerous grammatical errors.

ACT TEST

ACT Standards English

Instructional level

Level 1 Juniors

Level 2 Juniors

ACT Standards Reading

Level 1 Juniors Literature

ACT Standards Reading

ACT Writing is at the 8 for Level 1 ACT Writing is at the 8+ for Level 2

Level 2 Juniors Literature

ACT Standards Math

After completion of Alg. 1 & 2 and Geometry A

Geometry is Plane and Coordinate Discrete Math ?

ACT Standards Science After completion of Biology, Introduction to Physics, Introduction to Chemistry, Earth Science and ACT Prep.

If you use a trimester schedule students should have 3 credits completed In all four cores prior to the ACT.

ACT Success Report

Common Core and ACT

On-line Experience

ACT Work Keys Prep software. Either of these will fulfill the on-line requirement and prepare students for the MME test.

ITunes U

IPAD APPS

http://www.grammarbook.com

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

http://www.mel.org

http://www.learnatest.com/LEL/index.cfm/?HR=http://elibrary.mel.org

http://www.act.org/aap/writing/index.html http://www.act.org/workkeys/pdf/Preparing.pdf

http://www.act.org/workkeys/assess/reading/index.html

https://www.number2.com/

http://www.4tests.com/

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/act_sat.htm

http://www.studyguidezone.com/acttest.htm

http://www.act-sat-prep.com/

Good Practice Websites

3 X 5 TRIMESTER

Periods Range 68-75 Minutes

60 Days long 12 Weeks Long

“A” classes “A”and“B”classes “B”and“C”classes First Semester

Classes or

1 term only Classes

First and Second Semester Classes

or 1 term only

Classes

Second Semester Classes

or 1 term only

Classes *AP classes, Band and Choir only have a part “C” that is in the spring term.

Teachers teach 4 out of 5 classes and 12 blocks a year. For teachers fewer performances, preps, and less students to be responsible for. This will reduce paperwork, performances, conferences and material cost. The schedule is easier on students less classes, homework, and teachers to interact with. This is a college quarter system without the summer term.

ACT PREP CLASS Academic Collegiate Transitions

Winter Term

1st Hour English Reading Fluency / Vocb.

Math Sample items / Calculator

Science Review of unique areas like astronomy and test taking

strategies

2nd Hour English Math Science

Required of all 11th

grade students in the Winter Term.

4 Weeks 4 Weeks 4 Weeks

ACT PREP CLASS u Grading – A, B, CR or NC u Day 1 Practice test u Separate students by math scores u Test taking strategies u Learn to use the calculator u Tell them all about the test u Tell them it is designed so most to finish it u If you get 50% right, it’s an 18 u 2 questions per section make a big difference u Teach the 5 paragraph persuasive essay u Test at the end to see progress

20 http://www.instructivision.com/

School Day Schedule New Buffalo Bonus Period

1st period – 7:50 – 9:02 2nd period – 9:06 – 10:18 3rd period – 10:22 – 11:34 “A” Lunch – 11:34 – 11:59 “B” Lunch – 12:13 – 12:38

4th Hour – 11:38 – 1:15 5th Hour – 1:19 - 2:31 Bonus – 2:35 - 3:10 (M-1st,T-2nd, W-3rd, Th-4th, F-5th)

Periods 72 minutes Lunch 25 minutes

Passing Time 5 minutes Bonus 35 minutes

Course Placement

ACT PREP Lower Upper

Survey of American Literature

Advanced Composition

MME Test March 13 American

Literature Communication

Through Writing

11 Grade English

Spring Winter Fall

Specifically, the student must at a minimum: •  Receive passing grades (A, B, C, D) in Math

and English/Language Arts; •  Pass either Science or Social Studies; •  Achieve a score of fifteen (15) on each of the

Explore Test subtests (English/Language Arts, Math, Reading, Science);

* Special Education students will be determined at the IEP.

High School Readiness Standard

On Demand Testing with excellent data returned quickly.

ACT in the NBHS English Classroom Kris Totzke

English Dept. Chair

New Buffalo High School

New Buffalo, MI 49117

ktotzke@nbas.org

Our Focus

¤ Before: Michigan Merit Curriculum

¤ Supposed to be: Common Core Standards

¤ NOW: ACT College Readiness Standards

Was I skeptical? YES!

Does it work? YES!

English 9, English 10 Benchmarks

English 9, English 10 English CRS

Grammar, diction, syntax, punctuation, etc.

English 9, English 10 Reading CRS

Main ideas, details, relationships, meaning of words, etc.

English 9, English 10 Writing CRS

Judgment, focusing on topic, develop position, etc.

English 9, English 10 Classroom

¤  Focus on ¤  Literature & reading comprehension w/nonfiction

¤  Grammar

¤  Vocabulary

¤  Writing with Six Traits

¤  Assessing & Measuring ¤  SPI test at beginning of course – modified PLAN Test

¤  Post-test at end of course – same modified PLAN Test

English 11 Classroom

¤  Focus is the same ¤  Literature & reading comprehension w/nonfiction

¤  Grammar

¤  Vocabulary

¤  Writing with Six Traits

¤  With more … ¤  Test-taking strategies

¤  Test-timing strategies

¤  Applying learned skills to the test

¤  Assessing & Measuring ¤  SPI test at beginning of course – full ACT Test

¤  Day 2 of class – English test ¤  Day 3 of class – Reading test ¤  Day 4 of class – Writing test ¤  NOTE: This year used Cambridge ACT Test and gave all five

tests Days 2-6 of class ¤  Determine what concepts need to be reviewed,

mastered, and reinforced ¤  Create ACT Prep classes

¤  SPI post-test at end of course ¤  Same full ACT Test OR ¤  Michigan ACT Test

¤  Assessing & Measuring – throughout the year ¤  1st trimester

¤  Focus on skills, skills, skills in core areas

¤  Take one full-length test of each core before final exam in early December – not timed

¤  Final Exam consists of English & Reading tests

¤  Scores tracked in Xcel spreadsheet

¤  Assessing & Measuring – throughout the year, cont. ¤  2nd trimester

¤  Still focus on skills, skills, skills in core areas

¤  Take one full-length test of one core each week – “Testing Tuesday” – if we need to

¤  Timing is now applied gradually

¤  SPI post-test/final exam at end of course

¤  Same full ACT Test from beginning of course OR

¤  Michigan ACT Test

¤  Scores tracked in Xcel spreadsheet

English 11 Benchmarks

English 11 ACT CRSs

¤  English College Readiness Standards focus ¤  20-23 score range for lower level

¤  24-27 score range for higher level

¤  Reading College Readiness Standards focus ¤  20-23 score range for lower level

¤  Writing College Readiness Standards focus ¤  7-8 score range for lower level

English 11 Materials & Resources

¤  Literature & Reading Comprehension (no textbook) ¤  Books

¤  Bleachers by John Grisham

¤  Marley & Me by John Grogan (nonfiction)

¤  Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde

¤  Crunch Time by Mariah Fredericks

¤  Nonfiction

¤  The New York Times

¤  ACT Reading by Instructivision, Inc.

¤  TIME Magazine & Newsweek magazines

¤  Grammar ¤  HOLT Elements of Language, Fifth Course. Grammar, Usage,

and Mechanics: Language Skills Practice (workbook only)

¤  I use textbook as a reference if needed

¤  Sadlier-Oxford. Grammar for Writing

¤  Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer’s Workshop by Jeff Anderson

¤  Vocabulary ¤  Great Source, Fifth Course. Vocabulary for Achievement

¤  Words in context from readings

¤  Novels and books

¤  ACT Reading

¤  The New York Times

¤  TIME Magazine & Newsweek

¤  Writing ¤  Teach the Traits of Effective Writing: A “How To” Guide by

Shirley Poulton (resulting Bison Power Writing Handbook)

¤  HOLT. Six Traits for Writing

¤  Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer’s Workshop by Jeff Anderson

¤  Writing ¤  Bison Power Writing Handbook

¤  Writing ¤  ACT Rubric – pulled apart

¤  Test Prep ¤  The Princeton Review. Cracking the ACT, 2011 Edition

¤  McGraw-Hill’s 10 ACT Practice Tests, Second Edition

¤  ACT. The Real ACT Prep Guide, Third Edition

¤  ACT. Preparing for the ACT

English Classes at NBHS

¤  Have we gone back to the BASICS? Yes!

¤  Have we been backtracking the last three years? Yes!

¤  Is it working? Yes!

¤  Results include ¤  Improvements at all levels ¤  Middle school finally catching on (also now being held

accountable, which helps) ¤  Ability to incorporate more novels, more independent work

than ever before

SAMPLE: How to build culture and ACT scores.

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