Items Tested on Reading FCAT

Ø  Understands Vocabulary

Ø  Determines Main Idea or Essential Message, Supporting Details and Chronological Order

Ø  Identifies Author’s Purpose/Recognizes Persuasion

Ø  Recognizes Fact and Opinion

Ø  Recognizes Comparison and Contrast/Knows Similarities and Differences

Ø  Reads and Organizes Information

Ø  Selects and Uses Reference Materials

Ø  Recognizes Cause and Effect

Strategies Good Readers Use

Use Decoding and Phonics: Look for familiar spelling patterns and word parts to help you decode longer words as you read.

Make and Confirm Predictions: Think about what might happen next in a story. Read to find out whether you are right. Make new predictions as you read.

Create Mental Images: Picture in your mind what you are reading to help you understand and enjoy a selection.

Self-Question: Learn to ask yourself good questions as you read. This will help you check your understanding and focus on important ideas in the selection.

Summarize: Tell or list the main points of the selection or the main things that happened. This will help you understand and remember what you read.

Read Ahead: If you are having trouble understanding something, do not give up! Keep on reading. The meaning may become clearer when you have more information.

Reread to Clarify: If something doesn’t make sense, you may have missed an important point. Try reading the passage again or going back to an earlier part of the selection.

Use Context to Confirm Meaning: After you read an unfamiliar or difficult word, ask yourself whether what you read makes sense in the sentence and whether it fits what is happening in the selection. By paying attention to the words around unfamiliar words, you can learn many new words and become a stronger reader.

Use Text Structure and Format: Find clues to meaning by looking at how the author organized the information. Is it arranged in time order? By main idea and details? Look at headings and captions.

Adjust Reading Rate: Think about the type of selection you are reading. A selection that has a lot of facts and details, such as a selection about volcanoes, may have to be read more slowly than a story about a character your age.