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FCAT for Families FCAT for Families Winning the Home FrontWinning the Home Front

3500 E. Fletcher Ave., Suite 301Tampa, FL 33613

Office: 813-558-5096 Fax: 813-396-9925

www.partnershipcenter.usf.edu

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FCAT for Families FCAT for Families Winning the Home FrontWinning the Home Front

Simple strategies for helping your child achieve better scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

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GOALGOAL• Support the efforts of families in

assisting children’s attainment of FCAT skills.

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ObjectivesObjectives1. Understand what the FCAT is and

what our children are expected to do.

2. Understand why increasing time spent reading and in conversation is the most effective way to help your child be successful on the FCAT.

3. Leave with simple strategies to use right away.

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FCATFCAT““What does it What does it

look like?”look like?”  • multiple choice questions

• short response questions

• long response questions

• gridded response questions in Math, Reading, Writing, and Science

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FCAT-Expects Our Children FCAT-Expects Our Children To:To:• Take skills and use them in

real-life problem solving situations.

• Solve multi-step problems.

• Understand and use information.

• Get the main idea from reading.

• Write and organize thoughts.

• Sustain reading, writing and problem solving for forty-five minutes or more.

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QuestioningQuestioning

• Lower Order: “What is the color of the animal in the picture?” (fact/meaning/definition)

• Higher Order: “How does the animals coloring help him stay safe?” (concept/explanation/example)

Two kinds of questions:

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QUESTIONINGQUESTIONING (continued) (continued)

  Easy ways to start High Order questions• Why did…?• Why do you think…?• What if…?• How would you…?• How do you know…?• How are…alike/different?• How did/does…?• Which is better…? Why?• Why do you think…?• Why did…?

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READINGREADING • Support your child’s reading interest

(include fiction, non fiction, informational, poetry, etc.)

• Support your child’s reading level (most of the words can be understood and pronounced correctly.)

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READINGREADING (continued) (continued)

  

• Have family reading time where everyone reads. Read together and individually.

• Use sticky notes and sticky flags to write or mark interesting or difficult words or concepts in the text to talk about later.

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WRITINGWRITING Have your child:

• Write in a daily journal or diary.

• Write letters or emails to friends.

• Write out chore schedules, errand lists, and extracurricular schedules and appointments.

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WRITINGWRITING (continued)(continued)

  

• Set up a writing station at home with scrap paper, pens, markers, pencils, stapler, tape, scissors and magazines.

• Encourage your child to write their own version of favorite stories and poems. (ex. The book, The Hungry Caterpillar could become The Hungry Tadpole.)

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MATHMATH

• Make math fun! Read fun math books. Play cards, number games and puzzles.

• Read and interpret charts and graphs in the newspaper.

• Determine how far you will be able to drive with the amount of gas in the tank.

• Find measuring opportunities. -Have your child help with cooking, reading the recipes and measuring the ingredients. -Keep a growth chart.

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MATHMATH(continued)(continued)

• Let your child handle money. Have him estimate change due back. Help him check by counting it back.

• Create written schedules together and let your child be responsible for telling time.

• Let your child practice using a pocket calculator. Use it at the store to check predictions about the total.

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ScienceScience • Science is not just a collection of facts. It is a way of thinking which include these

components:

Observing-Help your children notice small details. “What shapes do you see in the spider web?”

Classifying-Find opportunities for your child to put things into groups, such as sorting socks, their toys, canned goods.

Predicting-Ask “What might happen if…?” questions and then test them when appropriate. “How long do you think that ice cube will last sitting on the counter?”

Quantifying-Find everyday opportunities to quantify. “Who is the shortest person in the family?”, “Whose bedroom is bigger?”

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SCIENCESCIENCE (continued) (continued)

  

  

• Look for opportunities for your child to collect things from nature to observe, sort, compare or experiment with. Such as shells, leaves, rocks, water smaples.

• Observe plants, birds, or insects and discuss how they are similar/different.

• Encourage your child to take things apart such as, old toys, clocks, and broken small appliances. (Don’t forget about safety.)

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SCIENCESCIENCE (continued) (continued)

  

  • Read and DISCUSS science related

books and magazines together.

• Help your child learn how to use the text features: illustrations/photographs, table of contents, index, glossary, captions, charts, maps, tables, and graphs to better understand the information.

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SCIENCESCIENCE (continued) (continued)

  

  

• Watch and discuss the weather station and science related television shows together as a family.

• Check for local science workshops, caps, nature walks or other science related programs.

• Visit local attractions that teach science concepts such as science museums, planetariums, aquariums, and zoos.

• Talk positively about science and set reasonable but high expectations for science schoolwork.

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SCIENCESCIENCE (continued) (continued)

  

  

• Let your child experiment with cooking.

-Observe and discuss how individual ingredients mixed together create something new.

-Predict and test what will happen if you change ingredients or cooking methods.

• Look for recipes for creative activities like play dough, paste, and paper machet.

• Experiment with mixing paints and water colors.

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TELEVISION…TELEVISION…It does not have to It does not have to

be the enemy of education!be the enemy of education! • Use the TV Guide and schedule the programs

to be watched during the week.• Watch programs together and make it

interactive. Remember, talking builds vocabulary which supports comprehension and problem solving skills. “What do you think will happen next?”“Do you think what that character did was right? “Why or why not?”

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VIDEO GAMESVIDEO GAMES• Video games require problem solving skills to

advance from one level to the next level.• Have your child write and/or illustrate a story about

characters from the game and describe the characters’ personalities.

• Ask questions about strategies used to win the games.“How do you get to the next level?”“Why do you need that yellow ‘power-up’ thing?”“Why did you choose to play this game?”

• Computers are great resources for building background knowledge and skills in all subject areas.

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TEST TAKING STRATEGIESTEST TAKING STRATEGIES• Make sure to read and follow all directions. Reread if

necessary.• Read the questions first (not the answer choices). This

will help you know what to pay attention to as you read the passages.

• Look for key words from the questions as you read passage.

• Do not spend too much time on any one question. If the question is too difficult, skip it and come back to it later.

• If you are still not sure of the correct answer, make your best guess.

• Do no leave any questions unanswered.

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TEST TAKING TEST TAKING STATEGIESSTATEGIES

(continued)(continued)• When you are finished, check to see you

have not skipped any questions.

• If you have time, reread to be sure you are satisfied with your answer choices.

• Be especially careful to check math work since errors are more likely.

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TEST TAKING TEST TAKING STATEGIESSTATEGIES

(continued)(continued)• On multiple choice questions, avoid the

temptation to choose an answer until you have read and thought about the choices.

• On a multiple choice test, eliminate the answers that you know are wrong, then make your best guess.

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TIMETIME

• Use everyday opportunities to build reading vocabulary, problem solving skills and reading stamina.

• Make the most of the time you already have. A little bit of time over the long haul makes all the difference.

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Simple IdeasSimple Ideas

Find the time to teach while you’re:• Doing Laundry• At the Doctors Office• In the Checkout line• Riding in the car

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Simple IdeasSimple Ideas

Doing Laundry: • Let your child help sort some of the

laundry and explain his reasoning.• Ask the child to determine the size

of the load of clothes and the appropriate amount of detergent that should be used.

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Simple IdeasSimple Ideas (continued)

Doing Laundry: • How long will it take the clothes to

wash? To dry?• What water temperature should be

used? Why?• At the laundromat, how much will it

cost to wash and dry one load of the clothes? All the clothes?

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Simple IdeasSimple Ideas (continued)

Doctors Office:

• What time do we need to leave in order to be on time for the appointment?

• How long (do we need/did we have) to wait to see the doctor?

• Why do we usually have to wait past our appointment time to see the doctor?

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Simple IdeasSimple Ideas (continued)

Doctors Office:

• Make use of the wait time by looking at the office magazines.

• Bring books from home for both of you to read.

• Bring a crossword puzzle, cards or other portable game to play with your child while you wait.

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Simple IdeasSimple Ideas (continued)

Checkout line:

• Have the child put items on the counter the way they should be bagged (frozen items, clothing, soaps).

• Read and discuss the labels on products, checking out the ingredients and nutritional information.

• Why are certain items put near the check-out counter?

• How much will we save using coupons?

 

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Checkout line:

• Read aloud the shopping list as you are shopping. Let your child help you by finding the items on the list and cross them off as you put them in the cart.

Simple IdeasSimple Ideas (continued)

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Simple IdeasSimple Ideas (continued)

Riding in the car:

• Predict how long it will take to get to the destination and compare to how long it actually took.

• Talk with your child about landmarks on the route.

• What is an alternate route to get to the destination? Which route is the most efficient?

• Create a traveling backpack. Include things like paper, maps, books/magazines, pencils, markers, calculator and activity books.

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Simple IdeasSimple Ideas (continued)

Riding in the car:

• Play songs that teach sounds/letters/words, math or other education concepts.

• Print mapquest for your destination. Ask your child to follow along with the map while you drive.

• Play an audio book on tape or CD.

• Have your child read aloud to you.

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WINNING AT HOMEWINNING AT HOME• Start by making learning a priority.

• Show interest in school work.

• Support 100% attendance.

• Provide a variety of reading materials for your child.

• Focus on finding opportunities to build sustained reading time.

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WINNING AT HOMEWINNING AT HOME(continued)(continued)

• Look for everyday opportunities to have frequent conversations and listen attentively.

• Ask high order questions at every opportunity.• Play with your child and explore his/her thinking.

Young children learn through play.• READ, READ, READ!!!• Make it FUN! FUN! FUN!!

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Please Complete Evaluations

3500 E. Fletcher Ave., Suite 301Tampa, FL 33613

Office: 813-558-5096

Fax: 813-396-9925www.partnershipcenter.usf.edu

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FCAT

Student Interviews

Before the parent night, students were chosen to interview other students, teachers and parents on their feelings toward FCAT. The interviews were recorded and shown at the parent night.

To increase parent attendance, teachers chose students and parents from grades three through five for the interviews.

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Interview Questions for Students:Introduce student by name and grade.“Do you spend a lot of time studying for the FCAT?”“Why?”“How do feel about doing FCAT?”

Interview Questions for Teachers:Introduce teacher by name and grade.“How do you feel about your students taking the FCAT?”“Why?”“What techniques do you use to help them prepare for the FCAT?”

Interview Questions for Parents:Introduce parent by name and grade of child and number of times

his/her child has taken the FCAT.“How do you feel about your child taking the FCAT?”“Why?”“What techniques do you use to help your child prepare for the

FCAT?”

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FCAT SONG(Sing 4 times. Audience can join in.)

(Sing Twice)

We like FCATWe like FCATStudy Night and DayWe like FCATWe like FCATThis is what we say…

(Sing Twice)We’re Bears! (replace with your school mascot)

The best!The FCAT is an easy test!