Practice

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Today was time again for SSR, or self-selected reading. As I wrote at the year's beginning, studies show that the more kids read, the better they become at the skill of reading. Because for most of us, reading, like any sport or ability, is a skill: our football team didn't have a great season because they went out on the field once a week and played--they had a great season because they practiced and drilled and worked on their on-field skills. Our band wasn't successful because once a week they competed in a competition--they practiced daily and Monday nights, too. So reading our class novel and articles of the week just won't be enough to improve reading skills--it takes a real workout. Our Friday SSR times are only meant to supplement what students are already doing at home.

A few weeks ago a letter went home to all juniors with information about opportunities for ACT practice. Mr. Gough gave students a username and password that gives them access to an online test-prep site. Students can work through practice tests and get immediate feedback on their answer choices. Core classes also do ACT prep--in ELA 11, Mrs. Steffes and I devote about 10 class days to ACT practice in English, reading, and writing. My kids have already spent about 5 practice days with more to come closer to the test date. Our hope is that by becoming familiar with the test language and timing, those "test jitters" won't interfere as much.