Thomas A. StewartLiteracy Test (OSSLT)Prep Guide2013Overview

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Introduction

This guide is intended to be a resource for students, teachers and parents.

Basically this guide is designed to give you an idea of what to expect in the Literacy Test (OSSLT)

Throughout the guide there are suggestions, tips and hints.

You can jump from section to section or go through the guide in order (recommended).

We recommend visiting this guide more than once.

To help you navigate the guide, the TAS Logo is a link to the Table of Contents

• This guide contains tips, and information on how to prepare for the Grade 10 Literacy Test. You can jump to the sections below or work your way through the guide

• 1) What is the OSSLT?

• 2) Overview

• 3) Sample Questions

• 4) Students’ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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What is the OSSLT?

• The OSSLT is the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test .

• ALL Grade 10 students in Ontario must write the OSSLT

• You must pass the test, or the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) to graduate High School.

• This guide will give you an overview of the OSSLT and some tips and hints that can help pass it.

FAQs

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OSSLT Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who has to take the OSSLT?

How long will it take me to write the test?

Is the test difficult?

Who marks the OSSLT?

Does my name appear anywhere?

What happens if I do not pass the OSSLT?

How and when will I receive my results?

What is the OSSLC?

What happens if I leave questions blank?

What if I need accommodations?

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OSSLT FAQ

Who has to take the OSSLT?If you entered Grade 9 in September 2000 or later and are working toward an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, you must write the OSSLT to graduate.This applies to all students in publicly funded schools and inspected private schools.

How long will it take me to write the test?The allotted time for each of the two sessions is one hour and 15 minutes. It is very important that you manage your time properly to complete the entire test.

Is the test difficult?The OSSLT is designed to reflect the requirements of The Ontario Curriculum. The test assesses literacy (reading and writing) skills students are expected to have acquired by the end of Grade 9.

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FAQs

OSSLT FAQ

Who marks the OSSLT?

The test is scored by qualified individuals who have received special training for this purpose.

Does my name appear anywhere?

Written responses are identified only by a number. Furthermore, the booklets from different schools and different school boards are all mixed up when they are distributed for scoring.

You are asked to write your name on the Student Answer Sheet to assist EQAO in case some materials are misplaced.

How will I receive my results?

You will receive an Individual Student Report in June

indicating whether or not you have passed

the OSSLT.

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FAQs

OSSLT FAQ

What happens if I do not pass the OSSLT?

You can take the test again the following year.

You can also talk to your parents or guardians and your school principal and/or teacher about taking the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) instead of retaking the test.

What is the OSSLC?

The OSSLC is another way of meeting the literacy graduation requirement.

Principals have the discretion to allow a student to enroll in the OSSLC before he or she has had a second opportunity to take the OSSLT, if the principal determines that it is in the best educational interests of the student (Ministry of Education Policy/Program Memorandum 127).

What happens if I leave questions blank?

You’ll get a score of zero for these questions.

What if I need accommodations?

If you have an IEP you are entitled to the same accommodations you normally get. Be sure to speak to Mrs. Duffey and/or Mr. White BEFORE the test to set this up.

FAQs

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Overview

The test contains Two test booklets and one student answer sheet. Written “responses” (answers) go in the test booklets. The student answer sheet is for the multiple choice questions.

The test takes 2.5 hours, with a short (5 min) break halfway through. You are given 1 hour and 15 min for each booklet. There is also a short questionnaire at the end. They add 10 minutes to the second session to allow for this.

An Individual Student Report indicating whether you passed or not will be sent to you in June.

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Test Materials

Duration

Results

Overview

What is in the test?

Decoding the OSSLT:

Each booklet will have one (1) long writing question – a page or two pages, a couple of short writing/reading questions – 6 lines each and 15-20 multiple choice questions.

The OSSLT has its own special terminology. It’s important to know what their terms mean.

Selection: A “selection” is the thing they have you read…it might be part of a book, a story from a magazine, something from a website, but basically it’s the thing you need to base your answers on.

Prompt: The “prompt” is basically the question. For a Series of Paragraphs Expressing an Opinion, the “prompt” will be the topic they want you to write about.

Response: Your “response” is your answer; what you write about the “selection” in answer to the “prompt.”

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Overview

The OSSLT is divided into two main types of questions: Reading and Writing

Reading Questions

There are two different kinds of Reading Questions in the OSSLT: Open response and Multiple Choice. These can come from different types of “selections*.”

Reading questions require short written - 6 line - answers - and/or multiple-choice answers. The short written answers are what the OSSLT calls “Open Response”…which basically means the answer is up to you based on what you’ve just read.

*A “selection” is what they have you read so you can answer questions from it. Selections might come from Newspapers, Magazines, Novels. Websites etc. They might be stories (narratives), articles about an event, place or person or they might have only a few words and a lot of pictures/images (graphics).

What’s in the test?

Whenever you have a short answer question USE ALL 6 LINES.

NEVER leave a question blank…you will get zero.

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Overview

The OSSLT is divided into two main types of questions: Reading and Writing

Writing Questions

Writing questions fall into one of three different “tasks.”

Each booklet will have one Long Writing task – either a news report or a “series of paragraphs” which is basically an essay.

There will also be two short – 6 lines – writing tasks and a number of multiple choice questions…usually between 20-30.

Whenever you have a short answer question USE ALL 6 LINES.

NEVER leave a question blank…you will get zero.

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Types of Questions

There are two major kinds of questions in the OSSLT:

Reading Questions and Writing Questions

The following are examples of actual OSSLT questions from past tests. We’re just going to give you a idea of what they look like in this guide. There is a specific guide for each kind of question that goes in to much more detail.

Links to all the other guides are at the back of this presentation.

Writing Questions

Open Response – Short Answer

Multiple ChoiceReal-Life Narrative

Graphic “Selection”

Long Writing Task – News Report

Long Writing Task – Series of Paragraphs

Short Writing Task

Multiple ChoiceTable of Contents

Reading Questions

Reading Selection Example:

Read the selection below and answer the questions that follow it.

The Little Bear is a vital, year-roundtrain in Northern Ontario. It connectsthe town of Cochrane in the borealforests with Moosonee, 310 kilometersnorth in the James Bay Lowlands. It is a “mixed train”—one that carriesboth passengers and freight. Duringthe morning, in Cochrane, the crewloads the box cars with things people

in Southern Ontario take for granted (fresh fruits, vegetables and meats, dry goods, frozen foods, mail). Then, flat cars are connected behind the loaded box cars. These flat cars carry everything from heavy construction equipment to entire prebuilt fabricated houses. Once people have boarded the passenger cars, the Little Bear heads north. It is one of the last “flag stop” trains in Canada. This means the train will stop anywhere along the route to let people on and off. It is common for the Little Bear to stop for canoe tripping parties at the major rivers— the Missinaibi, Mattagami or Kwataboahegan. Adventurers from all over the world match their trips on these rivers with the Little Bear’s schedule. In summer, the train pulls a special flat car with racks for transporting canoes. The famous Polar Bear Express carries tourists over the same route during the summer months, but the Little Bear is the all-season working train for this northern route.

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10

15

20

Multiple Choice Short Answer

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Examples

This is an example of an Information Paragraph “Selection” It is one of the different kinds of selections that Reading questions can be based on.

These numbers show you the lines in the paragraph

Reading Selection Example:

Multiple-Choice (Record the best or most correct answer on the Student Answer Sheet.)

What is the best meaning for “crew” in thisselection?A touristsB workers C passengersD adventurers

Why would words be placed in parentheses inthe fourth sentence?F to explain what is carried on flat carsG to show in what order things are loaded on the trainH to demonstrate that the Little Bear is a “mixed train”J to clarify what “people in Southern Ontario take for granted”

What does “the train will stop anywhere alongthe route to let people on and off” suggest tothe reader?A There are other trains.B The Little Bear is not in a hurry.C The Little Bear has no schedule.D The area has very few settled communities.

Why does the Little Bear pull a special flat carduring the summer?F to let people on and offG to carry canoes for adventurers H to carry heavy construction equipmentJ to carry fresh fruits, vegetables and meats

The main way the Little Bear differs from thePolar Bear Express isA its schedule. B its destination.C the route it follows.D the passengers it carries.

What idea connects the first and last sentences?F tourismG flag stopsH vital serviceJ summer months

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Examples

Give this a try. See how you do. Just click to see the correct answers.

Reading Selection Example:

Written Answers

Summarize this selection. Include a main idea and one detail that supports it.

Rough NotesUse the space below for rough notes. Nothing you write in this space will be scored.

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Whenever you have a short answer question USE ALL 6 LINES.

NEVER leave a question blank…you will get zero.

THIS is a short answer Open Response Question. They will give you six lines.Use them all!

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Examples

Heroes of the Noronic DisasterTwenty-seven-year-old Don Williamson completed his shift at the Goodyear Tire Plant anddrove a friend downtown. Although it was past one o’clock in the morning, Don, who hadworked on lake boats, decided to take a few minutes to view the ships tied up alongToronto’s waterfront.It was September 17, 1949. In those days the Port of Toronto was a very different place,with all sorts of passenger and freight boats lining the docks from one end of the bay to theother. The elegant passenger ship S.S. Noronic had arrived in Toronto on Friday evening foran overnight stop before heading down the lake to Prescott.As Williamson turned onto Queen’s Quay, he suddenly heard a ship’s whistle blasting thedreaded fire signal — 10 short blasts followed by one, two or three additional blastsdepending on where the fire was raging. Approaching the lake at the foot of Yonge Street,he could distinctly see flames dancing from the back of a large passenger vessel docked atCanada Steamship Lines Pier 9.The Noronic was on fire!

Pulling his car to the side of the road, Williamsonscrambled over the iron fence, removed his heavyjacket and jumped onto a large floating painter’s raft tied up beside the Noronic.Calling encouragement to those huddled on the deckof the ship that was now a blazing inferno,Williamson was soon busy pulling onto his raft thosewho had the nerve to jump into the black water.Cont…

Read the selection below and answer the questions that follow it.This is an example of a Real-Life Narrative “Selection.”“Selection is the word the OSSLT uses to refer to whatever it is you have to read to answer the questions. These “Selections” will be followed by Multiple Choice and Open Response short answer questions.

Examples

Table of Contents There’s more to this story. We’re

just showing you what these questions look like.

Francais Contact Us Help Search Canada Site Welcome News and Publications Services to PreservationSite Map Events Exhibitions Government

Read the selection below and answer the questions that follow it.

The National Archivesis a treasure house of the memory of Canada. We care for and share millionsof documents of all kinds—films, maps, diaries,treaties, journals, art,government records,photographs, soundrecordings and more.Many are of unique valueand exceptional beauty.Some are centuries old.All reveal how we havelived in this place calledCanada and enableCanadians to betterunderstand the story oftheir country and of theirfellow citizens.

Top Ten:In a recent survey, Canadians were askedto choose the top ten defining moments inCanadian history. The Archives holdsdocuments relating to each one. Can youmatch the survey result?

Puzzles:Unscramble puzzles using historical images.Pop Quiz:Test your knowledge.Map Trap:Match the event and location.

This is an example of a Graphic “Selection.”It’s from a government web-site.

As you can see not all the reading questions will be based on straight text.

Examples

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Types of Questions

Remember there are two major kinds of questions in the OSSLT:

Reading Questions and Writing Questions

We just covered the Reading questions, now we’ll take a look at the Writing Questions.

There are detailed guides to each of these questions. The links are at the end of this presentation.

.

Writing Questions

Open Response – Short Answer

Multiple ChoiceReal-Life Narrative

Graphic “Selection”

Long Writing Task – News Report

Long Writing Task – Series of Paragraphs

Short Writing Task

Multiple ChoiceTable of Contents

Reading Questions

Types of Questions

Remember there are two major kinds of questions in the OSSLT:

Reading Questions and Writing Questions

We just covered the Reading questions, now we’ll take a look at the Writing Questions.

There are detailed guides to each of these questions. The links are at the end of this presentation.

.

Writing Questions

Open Response – Short Answer

Multiple ChoiceReal-Life Narrative

Graphic “Selection”

Long Writing Task – News Report

Long Writing Task – Series of Paragraphs

Short Writing Task

Multiple ChoiceTable of Contents

Reading Questions

There are three types of writing questions on the OSSLT:

Long-writing tasksShort-writing tasks and Multiple-choice questions.

Writing Questions Types of Questions

There are two Long-writing tasks:

The news reportand “a series of paragraphs expressing an opinion.”(which is really an essay.)

Long Writing tasks

The following are examples of actual OSSLT questions from past tests. We’re just going to give you a idea of what they look like in this guide. There is a specific guide for each kind of question that goes in to much more detail.Links to all the other guides are at the back of this presentation.

The following are examples of actual OSSLT questions from past tests. We’re just going to give you a idea of what they look like in this guide. There is a specific guide for each kind of question that goes in to much more detail.Links to all the other guides are at the back of this presentation.

This is an example of a News Report “task” or question.

In a News Report you are given the headline and a photo and you have to use them to create a story that could appear in the newspaper. The trick is to make a connection between the photo and the headline that makes sense. They give you one page , about 24 lines, to write the story

A news report usually answers the questions who, what, where, when, why and how.

Examples

Example of a News Report:

A News Report should include:

Who

What

When

Where

Why

How

Examples

Writing a Series of Paragraphs

Task: Write a minimum of three paragraphs expressing an opinion on the

topic below. Develop your main idea with supporting details (proof, facts,

examples, etc.).

Purpose and

Audience: an adult who is interested in your opinion

Length: The lined space provided for your written work indicates the approximate

length of the writing expected.

Topic: Is it important for teenagers to pay attention to world news?

Rough Notes

Use the space below for rough notes. Nothing you write in this space will be scored.

Series of Paragraphs Expressing an opinion

Task: Write a minimum of three paragraphs expressing an opinion on the topic below. Develop your main idea with supporting details (proof, facts, examples, etc.).

Purpose andAudience: an adult who is interested in your opinionLength: The lined space provided for your written work indicates the approximate

length of the writing expected.Topic: Is it important for teenagers to pay attention to world news?

This is an example of a Series of Paragraphs "task” or question.

It’s really important to follow the instructions on these.They are looking for minimum of three paragraphs, which include an introduction, proof and a conclusion.

You get two lined pages (about 50 lines) to answer these questions.

Examples

A “Series of Paragraphs” is basically an essay. We highly recommend you write five paragraphs and treat it like an essay.

Short Writing

Short Writing Task (Answer in full and correctly written sentences.)

What was your favourite game as a child? Explain why you liked it.

Rough NotesUse the space below for rough notes. Nothing you write in this space will be scored.

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It looks like an Open Response Reading Question but it isn’t.The big difference is it’s marked out of 50 as opposed to 30. What is the same is: they give you 6 lines. Use them all!

Whenever you have a short answer question USE ALL 6 LINES.

NEVER leave a question blank…you will get zero.Examples

This is a Short Writing “task” or question. It’s a stand-alone question, meaning it doesn’t follow a reading “selection.”

Choose the sentence that does not belong in the paragraph.

(1) Wayne Gretzky’s early career foretells what an amazing hockey player he was to become. (2) At ten, while playing in a league with boys four years older, he scored 378 goals in 85 games. (3) That was 238 more goals than the boy who came second. (4) At 18, Gretzky scored 46 goals as an Edmonton Oiler and won the National Hockey League Rookie of the Year award. (5) The Wayne Gretzky Foundation Golf Classic raises over $120,000 a year for youth in sports.

A Sentence 2

B Sentence 3

C Sentence 4

D Sentence 5

Multiple Choice This is an example of a Multiple Choice Writing question.

Unlike the Multiple Choice Reading questions there is no “selection” attached to the question.

These questions are about what they call the “three writing skills.”

1: Developing a main idea with sufficient supporting details

2: organizing information and ideas in a coherent manner

3: Using conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation) in a manner that does not distract from clear communication.

Examples

Which is the best way to combine all the information in the following sentences?

Anna’s assignment is due tomorrow.

She has to work tonight.

She is feeling rushed.

F Anna’s assignment is due tomorrow because she is rushing to work tonight.

G Anna is feeling rushed because she has to work tonight and her assignment

is due tomorrow.

H Since Anna’s assignment is due tomorrow and she has to work tonight and

she is feeling rushed.

J Although Anna has to work tonight and her assignment is due tomorrow

because she is feeling rushed.

Multiple Choice Here are a couple more.Give them a shot.

Examples

Choose the sentence that uses capitalization correctly.

A My friend from manitoba, whose name is ari, earns money by delivering the

Winnipeg herald.

B My friend from Manitoba, whose name is Ari, earns money by delivering the

Winnipeg herald.

C My friend from manitoba, whose name is Ari, earns money by delivering the

Winnipeg Herald.

D My friend from Manitoba, whose name is Ari, earns money by delivering the

Winnipeg Herald.

Multiple Choice

Examples

Choose the correct option to fill in the blank.

Like her mother, the artist Manuela Sanchez _________________________

F painted portraits to support her family.

G her paintings of portraits supported her family.

H and also painted portraits to support her family.

J whose famous portraits were painted to support her family.

Multiple Choice

Examples

TAS OSSLT Guides:

Thomas A Stewart OSSLT Guide

How the test is marked and why this matters

Reading Questions: Open Response

Reading Questions: Multiple Choice

Writing Questions: Series of Paragraphs

Overview of the OSSLT

Writing Questions: Open Response Short Writing

How to prepare for the OSSLT

Writing Questions: News Report