How to Prepare Texas Junior High Students for the Writing TAKS Test
The writing Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) is used to determine how well students write short essays and correct writing errors. In junior high school, students are perfecting their writing skills and their ability to edit their work. The TAKS writing test is given in seventh grade. In order to prepare Texas junior high students for the writing TAKS test, explain the format of the test, have the students write essays in class, analyze paragraphs with the students, give the students practice exams and review the correct answers to the multiple choice questions.
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Instructions
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Explain the format of the junior high TAKS writing exam. When preparing students for the test, you should tell them what types of questions will be asked. The first part of the test is the short essay. There is a theme that the students will have to write about and guidelines to follow. The second part of the test is the editing portion. This part has short passages in which each sentence is numbered and multiple choice questions about errors the sentences have and how to fix them.
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Have the students write essays in class. On the day of the test, the junior high school students will have to read the prompt and then immediately come up with an idea to write about. Practicing this technique will help the students to feel more prepared. For example, have the students write an essay about their favorite fruit.
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Analyze paragraphs with the students. Often, junior high school students have literature books that have short stories. You can analyze the paragraphs of such stories by explaining to the students how the sentence transition helps to present the main idea. Observing properly written works will help the students to recognize the errors on the junior high TAKS writing exam.
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Give the students practice junior high TAKS writing exams. Taking the practice writing TAKS exams will familiarize the students with the exam format and questions.
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Review the correct answers to the editing multiple choice questions. You can prepare the students for the junior high TAKS writing test by telling them the correct answers after they take the practice test. This way, iif a student has a question about the answer, you can clarify it for everyone else that may have the same question.
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Tips & Warnings
You can find practice junior high TAKS writing tests online at the Texas Education Agency website. Click on "TAKS Resources," and then "Released Tests."
References
- Photo Credit writing image by DBarby from Fotolia.com
