Today in Michigan schools, the measure of English Language Arts for the purpose of Annual Yearly Progress report will be determined by Reading only. Only 25 percent of the passages on the ACT assessment are prose fiction with the other passages equally distributed among the three areas: Social Studies, Humanities, and Natural Science.

Performance on complex texts is the clearest differentiator in reading between students who are likely to be ready for college and those who are not.
And this is true for both genders, all racial/ethnic groups, and all annual family income levels.
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ACT Reading Between the Lines


Pasted Graphic Getting Students Ready for the Big Game

ACT Toolbox -
Great Resources to support all areas of the ACT/MME!

Just like playing a sport or an instrument, students need practice before game day.
Therefore, teachers need a game plan!


Think about . . .
If you just keep giving students multiple choice tests, and you don’t change your instructional methods, how can you expect different results?

Scaffolding Student Instruction
- Have students decide on a reading technique – read questions first; then read the passage.
- Model and guide students through the process.
- Gradually releasing the structure of support.

Guided Highlighted Reading

Close and Critical Reading

online-tools-business-should-be-using Tools
Close and Critical Reading Bookmarks

ACT Reading Passages Bookmarks
ACT Question Stem Bookmark

ACT Reading Review and Practice

ACT Guided Highlighted Suggested Directions
A Seven Step Guide to ACT Critical Reading

ACT Close and Critical Reading Power Point


simpson-practice ACT Practice Materials

ACT Practice Tests - The History of Jazz
The History of Jazz - Practice Test
The History of Jazz - Key

ACT Guided Highlighted Reading (Social Science) - America's Homeless in America
America's Homeless in America - Practice Test
America's Homeless in America - Key
America's Homeless in America - Guided Highlighted Reading

ACT Guided Highlighted Reading (Natural Science) - The Health Effects of Caffeine
The Health Effects of Caffeine - Practice Test
The Health Effects of Caffeine - Key
The Health Effects of Caffeine - Guided Highlighted Reading

ACT Scaffolding Materials Aligned to the Common Core State Standards -
NEW!
ACT Science Lesson - (The Health Effects of Caffeine)
Power Point
ACT Social Studies Lesson - (9/11)
NPR Podcast
NPR Text of Podcast
ACT Humanities - (The War of the Worlds)
Podcast
Video